Board Director

Updated May 2026

Ancestral Hands Midwives (AHM) is seeking transformative leaders to join our Board of Directors. This is an invitation to participate in the movement for improvements in Black maternal health and reproductive justice. We are calling in a cohort of stewards, strategists, practitioners, and advocates who will utilize their power to dismantle systemic anti-Black barriers and build a future where all Black birthing people can thrive.

AHM is a Black-led organization dedicated to providing culturally grounded and trauma-informed midwifery care. We are founded on the principle that birthing with dignity is a human right and that reclaiming ancestral birthing traditions is an act of liberation. Our work is explicitly Afrocentric, pro-Black, queer, and trans-affirming and rooted in a reproductive justice framework.

Although midwifery services are funded by the Ministry of Health, AHM is advancing a broader vision: the development of a Black health hub that addresses both clinical care and the social determinants of health, including housing and community supports. To realize this vision, AHM has established an Afrocentric governance model and is seeking board leadership to help bring this initiative to life.

Over the past year, we have further defined our direction through a comprehensive strategic plan (view here).

As a member of the AHM Board, you are a trustee of the community’s vision for a more just and equitable maternal and reproductive health care. Your role is to ensure the organization has the strategy, resources, and accountability structures to fulfill its mission. This involves a dynamic interplay of oversight, strategic thinking, and community accountability to support the Executive Director.

You will be expected to:

• Uphold fiduciary and ethical duties by ensuring the long-term financial health and legal integrity of the organization, always with an eye toward equity and justice in resource allocation.
• Champion the mission by supporting the organization’s strategic direction, sustainability, and resource development through governance leadership and relationship-building.
• Engage in generative governance by looking beyond the immediate operational issues to explore the larger strategic questions and opportunities facing the organization.
• Uphold and practice AHM’s Afrocentric governance and leadership values, grounded in the principles of Nguzo Saba, as they apply to board decision-making, accountability, and stewardship.

You have expertise in Accounting and or Finance and are committed to ethical, non-extractive investment, fundraising and philanthropic models.

You have governance and/or legal expertise, and understand how to provide strategic direction and fiduciary oversight through an anti-oppressive lens, prioritizing community accountability in all you do.

You have a deep understanding of the social determinants of health as they apply to Black communities and are committed to applying a reproductive justice framework to governance.

You have experience advocating for policy and systems change at the Municipal, Provincial, or Federal levels and can advise on how to leverage funding from these sources.

You are prepared to support the organization’s fundraising efforts through personal contribution, relationship-building, advocacy, or other appropriate means. All board members are expected to donate (at their capacity) to the organization.

You are knowledgeable about business and finance and able to guide AHM to consider alternative forms of earned revenue.

You believe that the board is accountable to the community it serves and have experience building authentic relationships and impactful programs with Black community members.

You are…