For more than 25 years, Joyce Clark ’11 G’21 has devoted her career to supporting women and families during some of the most vulnerable and meaningful moments of their lives. A practicing doula since 1998, she now serves as a Maternal Health Team Lead with the Family Partnership Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston and is the Founder of the Birthingheirs Project, Inc.
In August 2025, Joyce was honored as one of the inaugural Kraft Center Community Health Champions, recognized for her long-standing advocacy in maternal healthcare and her leadership in expanding doula services throughout the Boston region. The award was sponsored by the Kraft Center for Community Health, M&T Bank, and Mass General Brigham and celebrates individuals making transformative contributions to community health.
In this interview, Joyce was joined by Senior Instructor John Brennan, who teaches in Cambridge College’s Healthcare Management program and has followed Joyce’s career with admiration.
A Cambridge College Beginning
Joyce received her undergraduate degree at Cambridge College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a concentration in family and community, and then a Master of Science in Health Care Management. A Boston native, she lives in Roslindale, close to the communities she serves.
She says her connection to the College began and stayed because of the people.
“It was always the professors,” Joyce recalled. “Both Barbara Reid and John Brennan shaped my experience and were mentors and great listeners. They brought energy and dialogue to the classroom.”
She described the environment as uniquely supportive, especially for working adults balancing demanding schedules.
“Everyone in class looked like me, had responsibilities like me, understood the pressures. We’d show up tired from work or parenting, but we supported each other. You could talk honestly about life—kids, jobs, stress—and know others understood. Cambridge College just felt like home.”
Those relationships have endured. Joyce continues to return to Brennan’s classes as a guest speaker, offering students firsthand insights into maternal healthcare and community advocacy.
Finding Her Path Through Education
Joyce admits that early in her career, her education felt like something she pursued simply because she loved learning. But over time, the meaning became clearer.
“Eventually I realized I had two degrees, a certificate, and all this knowledge. I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do with this?’ That’s when doors started opening.”
Her work led her into research and later deeper into maternal health, guided in part by her relationship with Lorenza Holt, a pioneer in doula program development in the Boston area. Holt had trained Joyce as a doula back in 1998, a connection that would shape and continue to impact Joyce’s calling, from the beginning of her career and the decades to follow.
What Is a Doula and Why Their Work Matters
As Joyce’s passion grew, so did her commitment to educating others about the role of a doula, a profession often misunderstood or overlooked.
A doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to a person before, during, and after childbirth. Unlike medical providers, doulas do not deliver babies or perform clinical tasks. Their role is to advocate, to listen, to guide, and to ensure that birthing individuals feel informed, respected, and empowered throughout the process.
This work is especially critical in cities like Boston where, despite world-class medical institutions, women of color experience significantly higher rates of infant mortality and low birth weight. Doulas help bridge the gaps created by medical inequities, offering culturally grounded support that research shows can dramatically improve outcomes.
Studies consistently demonstrate that doula care can lead to:
Shorter labor
Fewer medical interventions
Reduced risk of complications
Improved birth satisfaction
Better outcomes for both parent and baby
For Joyce, being a doula is more than a profession—it is a calling rooted in community, advocacy, and the belief that every mother deserves dignity and safety.
“Today, maternal health is my passion,” she said. “I get misty just thinking about it.”
Teaching, Learning, and Leading: Insights from Professor Brennan
Professor John Brennan has taught healthcare management for decades, drawing on 50 years of leadership experience in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and community health organizations nationwide.
He remembers Joyce as a student who quickly distinguished herself.
“Students like Joyce were in the trenches, bringing real community experience into the classroom,” Brennan said. “When we discussed maternal healthcare, particularly the disparities faced by women of color even in a city like Boston, Joyce didn’t just care. She wanted to change the statistics.”
His teaching approach is rooted in equipping adult learners with both practical and philosophical understanding.
“I want my students to know the realities such as HR, regulations, finance, but also the bigger picture of what healthcare should be. Joyce embodied that balance.”
Receiving the Kraft Community Health Champions Award
Fast forward decades to August 2025 where a large crowd gathered for the Kraft Community Health Champions Award including Robert Kraft, from New England Patriots fame, and leaders from Mass General Brigham in attendance. The event was to acknowledge people doing extraordinary healthcare work in the community. Enter Joyce Clark. For Joyce, the recognition was both unexpected and deeply meaningful.
“I had no idea I was even nominated,” she explained. “My manager gathered everything I’d worked on over 20 or 30 years. She said my career showed a clear through-line—every step built toward supporting pregnant people, doulas, and maternal care.”
Joyce was the only maternal health professional in the Mass General Brigham hospital system to receive the honor.
And she hasn’t slowed down. She recently secured two new grants, expanded her programming, invested in staff development, and even established a doula library to help educate the next generation of birth workers.
Joyce reflected on the work still ahead, and the deep sense of purpose that continues to guide her.
“Maternal health isn’t just my profession, it’s my passion. It’s my life’s work. Every family we support, every doula we train, every barrier we break brings us closer to a world where every mother feels seen, heard, and safe. That’s the future I’m fighting for, and I’m not stopping.”