About
Simone is a queer artist and doula based in Victoria, BC. Only two years after midwifery became regulated in Canada, Simone was born in Toronto, Ontario at home with a midwife in attendance. With a feminist mother and a father who encouraged her to connect to her roots, she developed a firm drive for social justice from a young age.
In 2014, she moved across the country to Victoria, BC, where she began her degree in Gender Studies at the University of Victoria. While studying, she continued her passion for dance and social justice outside of the classroom.
Blending her Gender Studies degree and her passion for social justice, Simone became fascinated by the world of birth and fueled by the injustices that Black and Indigenous women face in the health care system. In 2016, she completed her doula training with Doula Training Canada and in 2017, completed a full-spectrum doula training with Indigenous Birth of Alberta. Throughout her studies, she started working with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network. Her work included delivering workshops about sexual and reproductive health. This work brought her to many different communities as far as Nome, Alaska, and Iqaluit, Nunavut. Workshops included topics of consent, family planning, STBBI’s, HIV/AIDS and pleasure. Since then, she has facilitated workshops about reproductive justice and social justice in dance for many institutions and organizations including: University of British Columbia (UBC) Medical School, Simon Frasier University (SFU) Dance program, and Guelph University.
In 2020, she took a deep look at the racial dynamics playing out in the dance community in Victoria, BC by directing her first film, Dance Like Everybody’s Watching. This Storyhive-funded film has been recognized by the local community as an incredible teaching tool about race and dance.
Simone holds a BA in Gender Studies and Indigenous Studies and is completing a Masters in public Health in the field of Black health at the University of Toronto. She currently works as a doula and filmmaker in Toronto.
Doula
Looking for anti-oppressive, culturally-affirming birth or postpartum support?
Workshops
Book Simone for various informative workshops surrounding topics including sexual health, gender, & culture.