Kenda Sutton-El (Kenda Denia) is a nationally recognized leader and activist dedicated to advancing reproductive justice, maternal health equity, and racial justice. Raised in the rural community of Northern Neck, Virginia, she witnessed firsthand the systemic disparities affecting marginalized communities, which inspired her lifelong commitment to transformative change in healthcare and public policy.

Kenda is the Founder and Executive Director of Birth In Color, a Virginia based nonprofit organization and the largest doula collective in the Commonwealth specializing in Black maternal health. Under her leadership, Birth In Color has become a leading force in redefining maternal health by centering culturally responsive care, integrating doulas into healthcare systems, and advocating for policies that reduce disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.

Her policy and advocacy leadership includes serving as a Co creator of the Virginia Momnibus Package, a comprehensive set of legislative initiatives designed to address maternal mortality and improve maternal health systems across Virginia. Kenda’s work has helped advance major policy reforms including Medicaid reimbursement for doula services, racial bias training for healthcare providers, and the establishment of Black Maternal Health Week in Virginia.

Kenda has also been appointed to several influential leadership roles within the Commonwealth. She was appointed to Governor Abigail Spanberger’s Transition Team, appointed to Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi’s Transition Team, and appointed to the Virginia Women’s Health Commission, where she contributes expertise on maternal health policy and reproductive justice initiatives.

In partnership with Virginia Union University, the first Historically Black College and University in Virginia to offer a doula training program, Kenda led a groundbreaking collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health to train students to support families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. This initiative addresses workforce shortages in maternal health while cultivating a new generation of culturally competent maternal health advocates.

Beyond her executive leadership, Kenda remains deeply connected to the communities she serves. She continues to work as an active doula, providing personalized support to families, while also serving as a doula trainer, diversity equity and inclusion consultant, and maternal health policy analyst.

She currently holds several key leadership roles including Appointed to Virginia Women’s Health Commission, Safety Measures Taskforce, former Chair of the Virginia Doula Taskforce, Chair of the Greater Richmond Regional Maternal Child Health Taskforce, and serves as a member of the Virginia Maternal and Data Outcomes Taskforce and the Pregnancy Services for Incarcerated Individuals Workgroup.

Kenda’s work has received national recognition, including participation in Vice President Kamala Harris’s White House Roundtable on Reproductive Health. She has also received numerous honors including ACHI Magazine’s Women of the Year, the Urban One Hometown Hero Award, and Health Equity Advocate of the Year by Families USA.

Through her unwavering dedication, Kenda continues to drive systemic reform and community centered innovation, ensuring that Black families receive respectful, informed, and culturally responsive maternal healthcare across Virginia and beyond.