Joyell

Joyell Arvella, JD (she/her), is a 4th-generation descendant of traditional midwives. She began her midwifery journey 22 years ago and has since explored birth traditions in 20+ countries. Joyell is currently a National State of Birth Justice Fellow with the National Association to Advance Black Birth and Elephant Circle. She is completing a MEAC-accredited program to become a CPM while supporting communities as an advocate, land steward, and medicine woman. While she no longer works in international human rights law, her experience at the United Nations, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and in racial equity informs her approach to reproductive autonomy. Her passion for birth justice is rooted in centering traditional midwifery and building local, sustainable communities. Joyell’s core beliefs are that birth work is an ancestral art form and that midwifery is a blueprint for liberation. After sitting with griots and elders on 5 continents, Joyell founded Wombs of Wata, a birth worker residency that sits at the intersection of birth justice, preservation, and sustainability. Through her passion project, Birthstead, she is establishing a birthing community garden and healing retreat space for birth workers.

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