Exploring Life & Business with Sabia Wade

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabia Wade (she/they).

As an advocate for inclusivity, equality, and access, every part of my life’s work seems to now be centered on liberation of all people through Reproductive Justice – because reproductive justice is so much more than birth, it is the inclusion of all systems, everything impacts reproductive justice. From access to healthcare, to career and finances, to housing, nutrition, community support, and so much more.

I didn’t set out for this as a clear professional path. I was working in the hospitals and after witnessing variance in the quality of treatment & outcomes across different races of people across the medical industry, I felt a call to birthwork. That call shifted my career path from a desire to support people through nursing, which is what I was doing in the hospitals, to advocating for reproductive justice as a Full Spectrum Doula. I started by volunteering with The Prison Birth Doula Project, supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people with substance abuse disorders in birth. During my time there, I learned how intrinsically connected reproductive justice is – it touches everything from the water we drink to the medical systems available to us to the education and incarceration system and beyond.

This expanded perspective propelled me into a professional focus on forming solutions to expand wealth, access, and possibilities to Black people and marginalized communities. I founded Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings for community care workers as a result of that, as well as an on-the-ground, non-profit organization, For the Village. FTV provides doulas at no or low cost to low-income and marginalized communities in San Diego, CA.

Although my work is now branching beyond community support as a doula, every part of the work I am involved in points back to Reproductive Justice as the solution to building systems, patterns, and defying expectations in ways that allow possibilities for shifting the dominance of capitalism and racism within the ways we exist as a society.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Each business has had its own journey, for sure. I think what stands out for me is the growth BADT experienced – it was vast and it was quick. We’ve reached thousands of students globally in just a few years. But there is now a global recession and we are living in a post-Roe country and so the focus of the business is different. But we’ve learned to adjust to the needs of our community as we continue in our business, adjusting focus and strategy, all while sticking to our values of anti-oppression, inclusion, and justice.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think that the fact that I am in so many spaces (I’m a board member, investor, speaker, educator, author, and consultant), in so many conversations, proves that things are not singular – that systems are so strongly connected. The values that I hold dear and put forth in my businesses helps them to make an impact – we value anti-capitalist business practices, decolonization, inclusivity and accessibility, and it’s allowed me to reach a wide range of organizations, companies, and communities throughout the Birth and Reproductive Health Industry around the world.