Jamaa Village Staff

Jamaa Birth Village is a volunteer-based organization with a small & mighty core staff. Meet the Women who make Jamaa the warm, serene, community-care space that it is.

Brittany "Tru" Kellman
CPM, CD, CLC

Tru Kellman Midwife, Founder Jamaa Birth Village

Tru is the founder of Jamaa Birth Village and serves as Executive Director. She is a mother and wife, Certified Professional Midwife, Certified Doula & Doula trainer Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, and Author.
Through the Midwifery Model of care, Tru has seen hope restored, thriving pregnancies, healthy births and postpartum periods. She believes in empowered, gentle and culturally engaged care. Tru brings that to the urban core of St. Louis. You'll see her in the community embracing families, connecting with leaders, and at Jamaa providing client led care.

Read more about Tru
Brittany "Tru" Kellman, CPM, CD, CLC

As a young teen mom, Tru has experienced the disgraceful side of U.S. maternity care. After 2 unnecessary cesarean sections and debilitating postpartum depression, Tru took her health care into her own hands when she became pregnant with her third son. She discovered traditional midwifery care and found a local Certified Professional Midwife to help her deliver her third son at home. She researched and found that her journey was similar for many women of color across the country. Tru felt her calling and dug deeper into traditional midwifery care after her successful and healing home birth.

She began by working with traditional midwives in Ghana in 2013. During her time there, she had a vision for what her own community needed in order to help improve the lives of families of color, and of those that are underserved. In 2015, she launched her community campaign to improve birth, maternal and infant care, and the overall wellness of families in and around St. Louis by launching her non-profit that is today the Jamaa Birth Village.

In 2019, Tru became Missouri’s first black Certified Professional Midwife in order to serve families in the provider role and has been the recipient of the prestigious Corinne Walentik Leadership in Health Award in 2018 through Missouri Foundation for Health.

Tru enjoys reading poetry and sci-fi, exploring nature and café’s, libraries & bookstores all over the world.

Adaora C. Eizke
CD

Adaora C Ezike

Adaora, originally from Nigeria, is the first point of contact at Jamaa as our Administrative Assistant supporting moms & families with beginning care, support & educational services at Jamaa. You'll also see her at births as a Doula and out in the community speaking and sharing information about Jamaa Birth Village & Programs.

Jen Jester
CPM, CD

Jen-Jester

Jen Jester is an experienced doula and Midwife that has served over 350 St. Louis families over the last 14 years. Jen is a Certified Professional Midwife and holds a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from Midwives College of Utah. Previously, she served families as a certified childbirth educator for 6 years. As a Staff Midwife, Jen provides attentive care to women and families at Jamaa Birth Village.

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Jen Jester, CPM

Jen is dedicated to serving the community and committed to providing services to any family that wishes for doula and midwifery care. Jen understands that few experiences can be as empowering and rewarding as realizing your body's full potential to bring life into the world and honors the sacred and vulnerable space of birth. 

Jen’s clients receive customized care and are encouraged to make informed decisions based upon their unique labor experience in the hospital, birth center, or home. Jen believes that a birthing family, during the preparation for and process of giving birth, deserve emotional and physical support, guidance, choice, advocacy, and respect.  Jen is a mother of 2, a yogi, a knitter, and lover of the outdoor sanctuary. 

Our Wise Woman Council

Benetta-Ward

Benetta Ward

Chair of the Wise Woman Council Doula & Perinatal Health Provider

Read more about Benetta

Benetta Marie Ward, MPH is a St. Louis native who has a background and passion in Health Education and Maternal and Child Health. She is a graduate of the greatest HBCU in the Midwest, Lincoln University- Missouri with a Bachlors in Health & Wellness in 2012. She later earned her Masters in Public Health from the University of South Florida- Tampa in 2014.

She recieved her Perinatal Doula certification through Jamaa Birth Village in 2016. Her personal belief and birth philosophy is the power of informed choice. She understands that this can only be achieved with knowledge.

With knowledge, comes empowerment to advocate and make informed decisions. This is what she hopes to encourage through her work with women, children and families. The reproductive process is a sacred journey and no one should have to do it alone or with little knowledge or understanding of what their choices are. To be apart of anyone's journey is a true blessing and she is dedicated and honored to travel that journey through being a doula and also helping support Jamaa Birth Village as being a vital pillar in the community by serving as a board member.

Brittany-Ferrell

Brittany Ferrell, RN

Wise Woman Co-Chair, Activist, Organizer & Nurse

Read more about Benetta

Brittany is a 30-year old community activist, organizer, and nurse from St. Louis, MO. She currently works in high risk obstetrics, and as a Fellow with the Black Futures Lab-- and organization strategically using data and policy to build independent Black political power throughout the nation.

Committed to the overall well-being of all Black people and people of color, Brittany has committed the next two years to Washington University’s Brown School in pursuit of a Master of Public Health. She has an interest in maternal health disparities, reproductive health, and the intersections of race, class, and health.

Kim-Martino

Kim Martino-Sexton

Wise Woman Council Member, Doula & PMAD Consultant

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Kim Martino-Sexton has spent the past twenty years creating a career in the birth world after her first childbirth and dive into postpartum depression changed her life. She went from a career woman who was never going to have children to being a stay at home mom.

Kim lives her passion for raising awareness and supporting moms with perinatal mood and anxiety.  As Co-Owner of Spectrum Birth she delivers calm & confident parents to newborn babies through educational and doula services. Kim is the Postpartum Resource Coordinator for SSM St. Mary’s MOMS Line, providing peer telephone and group support for perinatal women. She is also Co-Founder of Heartland PMAD Consultants: the experts in perinatal mental health provider training.

At home, she’s called the “mominator”, an endearing term given by her rocket-scientist husband and two amazing sons.  She loves family dinners, walking her dog, singing, reading, and being her own boss.