Who I am:

My pronouns are they/them. I am a fat Black, queer, disabled, genderfluid person existing on occupied Pottawatomi land (present day Chicago).

I am a visual artist, poet, full spectrum (birth/postpartum/grief & loss/abortion) birthworker, yoga teacher, meditation facilitator, gender affirming and trauma informed care and disability justice educator, access consultant and community care worker. 

I am deeply invested in disability justice, access, centering wellness for Black queer folk, trauma education, and rest. When not doing the most, I enjoy daydreaming, dancing, and hanging with their support pup, Jelly Ferocious.

I started my practice, business Riotous Roots, as a means to house my talents, passions and dreams for my communities in one place.

You can learn more about them at www.riotousroots.com or @riotous_roots on or @covidcautious_careworkers on Instagram

My Values

It looks like I do a lot on this website and in life and that is correct. I do with the help of boundaries, self reflection and community care.

Every day I wake up is a new day to show up for myself, my folk and all the people I support, as honestly, authentically, accountable and transparent as I possibly can.

What is Riotous Roots?:


Riotous Roots is a creative arts, healing and education practice.
Riotous Roots in locationally based:

Digitally/Virtually in Occupied Turtle Island (U.S) and extending globally
Physically on Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa land (Chicago, IL)

I launched Riotous Roots in 2021 as a way to house all of my practices in one place.

Riotous Roots is:
Part Community Based Practice
Part Direct Service, Education and Consulting Practice

Below you will find the full scope:

*

Community Based Practice

Performance:
Poetry and writing workshops

Writing:
Writing workshops
General open writing spaces

Visual art:
Painting, molding and drawing
General open create spaces

Healing Practices:
Grounding and meditation spaces
Breathing and slow body movement spaces (think restorative yoga but not commercialized meets contemporary dance)
Play Time! - Space that encourages adults to engage with their inner child

Community Skills Workshops:
Covid Safety
Self Advocacy
DreamStorm - A series I created to name and weave our individual talents, skills and recourses together as a community

Identity Based Support Spaces:
Black
Black, Brown Indigenous, Palestinian and People of Color
Disabled
Queer
Trans, Nonbinary and Gender Expansive
Queer/Trans/Nonbinary Birthworkers

Large Scale Projects:
Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork is my first huge project. My mission is to show up as authentically as I can. To provide care work and programming that illuminates the wholeness in my communities.
My care model is advocating with versus for when supporting people seeking support from me. I believe in access that is non linear and far reaching. When I think about my role in liberation movements I know that at least part of it is to do disability justice in a way that makes oppressive and exploitative medical/health and adjacent systems obsolete.

Direct Service, Education and Consulting Practice


*Full Spectrum Gestational Care Worker (doula essentially).

For me this comprises of pregnancy labor and delivery, abortion/grief/loss, and postpartum care work with pregnant people; this including and gender affirming neurodivergent affirming and trauma informed and responsive care. Given the roots of the word “doula” I do not use that word for myself but understand it is the most accessible in describing what I do.

*Breath and Body Worker:
I facilitate 1-1 and group grounding and meditation sessions and pre and post event grounding sessions as well as body movement workshops and classes

*Poet/Performer:
I am a poet, writer and storyteller.

Workshops
- Access and Disability Justice
- Gender Affirming
- Interrupting Ableism a
- Interrupting AntiBlackness
- Trauma Informed Care
- Neurodivergent Affirming

Consulting
- Birthworkers and Care Workers
- Medical Providers
- Community Organizations
- Any organization seeking to be supported in their Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and ACCESS practices/journeys