Articles & essays
Gratitude in the Margins
Nine voices across three continents, writing from a holiday call shift. The founder on what it costs to build a still self-funded company committed to changing women's health, and eight teammates on what the work means to them — and on why doing the right thing still matters when the world no longer rewards it.
Why I Can Say This
There is no ready-made archetype that makes a Black woman MD/PhD founder building emergency obstetrical infrastructure legible to funders and partners — so people improvise unflattering ones. Radical transparency is the answer: an asset that cannot be described cannot be valued.
We're Rebuilding: A Behind the Scenes
A behind-the-scenes note on the Labora Collective rebuild: over the next few days, pages, fonts, and designs may shift across our publications as we unify the visual identity and reorganize the ecosystem. This isn’t an error — it’s a transition, and instead of going silent we chose to keep publishing.
Founder’s Statement
Why Dr. Yamicia Connor founded Diosa Ara, and how post-Dobbs restrictions — from the Zurawski ruling in Texas to the EMTALA fight in Idaho — are endangering pregnant women. The medical case that abortion access is essential to safe pregnancy care.
Balance Isn’t a Destination
Balance as a daily negotiation rather than a destination. A year of leading a team, mothering, and building while carrying the extra weight the world assigns Black women — and why clarity is kindness, boundaries are structure, and nothing lasting gets built from constant depletion.
About Founder's Notes
Founder's Notes is Dr. Yamicia Connor's behind-the-scenes journal on building the Labora Collective. The strategic decisions, the doubts, the pivots, and the work of creating something that doesn't exist yet. Written for anyone building in healthcare, in media, or in the spaces where both collide.
Part of the The Blueprint journal at Labora Collective.
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