ABRIONA MARKHAM | 20 Under 40
Written and compiled by KELLY POTTER and LAUREN JURGENSEN | Photos by JOHN BURNS
Abriona is the executive director of the Topeka Doula Project. She has made significant contributions to maternal and infant care for Topeka’s most vulnerable populations, and works to achieve health equity by advocating for breastfeeding and better hospital care.
Abriona hopes that her selection to Topeka’s Top 20 Under 40 will inspire others to follow her lead in maternal and infant care, while shedding light on the resources available to the Topeka community.
She serves on Stormont Vail Health’s Community Committee and the Racial Equity Impact Analysis Group, and is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
What led you to your career?
My journey started in lactation, which I learned about from a Black woman who breastfed. I was 18 and that was the first time anyone had said anything about it. When I began looking into why Black women were not breastfeeding, I learned that Black women are breastfeeding. The problem I did find was that Black women and their babies were dying. Black maternal mortality has always been an issue in the U.S., but I did not realize how big of an issue it is here in Kansas, and how infant mortality among Black families is an even bigger issue in my county. I realized that it begins at pregnancy, so I became a doula.
What advice has served you well?
Rest. Because the things that need to get done will still get done.
What is one word you would use to describe yourself?
Kind. Because as Midwesterners, we are nice — that’s what we are taught. But genuine kindness is something I lead with because I do things with my heart, not just because I’m being nice.
