Before the birth of SisterWeb, Marna Armstead was a doula in San Francisco’s Bayview District. She provided free and low-cost prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care and breastfeeding support within her community and to those who could not otherwise afford doula care.
In November 2017, Marna hosted an event to raise money and awareness for doula care in San Francisco. This event, presented by BayviewSOL, was called "FamilySOL: A Party for your SOL." Guests jammed to their favorite funk and R&B hits from all eras, danced, and grooved with tunes by Greg Doxey & Fountainetta. Children were encouraged to show up, wear their Halloween costumes, and explore instruments. This is also where Marna met Marlee-I Mystic, who is now SisterWeb's Director of Doula Programs.
SisterWeb was later founded in 2018 by Marna and Alli Cuentos as a community doula organization. SisterWeb was created to address birth-related healthcare inequities by offering culturally congruent, community doula care at no cost to Black, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and Latina/o/x pregnant and birthing people in San Francisco.
Marna is now the Executive Director of SisterWeb. BayviewSOL is now a new non-profit in the San Francisco community. Patty Rodriguez, SisterWeb's Operations Director, is the CEO of Bayview SOL. Greg, our beloved community drummer, passed away in 2020. We hold him and his loved ones in our hearts.
Click here to learn more about SisterWeb's birth story.
This blog post was written by Sofía Carbone, SisterWeb's Communications Coordinator, with support and guidance from Marna Armstead, SisterWeb's Executive Director. Photos by Toni Mobley and Marna.