Elyse first became interested in birth as a teenager, when she discovered Youtube and began constantly watching videos of people and animals giving birth. It wasn’t until college, when she was nannying and studying American history, that she began to understand how pregnancy, medicine, bodies, and gender are all connected as areas where people struggle for autonomy. After college, she worked at a social services agency in Brooklyn, where she learned about trauma-informed care, environments that foster successful parenting, and, of course, paperwork. She is a full spectrum doula and certified lactation counselor with a special interest in family building for queer and trans parents.

Elyse believes that birth is an event to be studied and quantified so that we can know the safest practices for birthing people. She also believes that birth can be mysterious, magical, and joyful, a threshold space where life enters the world - and adults are born as parents. Elyse is honored to be in these spaces as a non-judgmental, knowledgeable, affirming presence. Elyse is a grounded presence in high-intensity environments, loves to laugh, and firmly believes that your identities are precious and should be celebrated and uplifted.

When she’s not doula-ing, Elyse loves to spend time outside in nature, birding and looking for mushrooms. Her favorite bird is a belted kingfisher. She also loves karaoke in Koreatown, baking things that look terrible but taste good, and reading novels. Always a student, she is currently learning to swim. 

Elyse is currently working under the mentorship of Chorion Birth.