Who We Are

Labor of Hope: 

Providing Comprehensive Support For Complicated Pregnancies.

Labor of Hope is a faith-based non-profit organization that exists to celebrate and value every life. We accomplish this by supporting and equipping families who have received a critical or life-limiting diagnosis during pregnancy.

In action, we serve our clients by providing:

Meet Our Team

We are honored to be a part of your family's story.

 
 

KIESHA BAKER

CO-FOUNDER

Kiesha, along with her husband, two boys, and daughter, live in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff in Dallas. Her husband is on staff with Fellowship Church where Kiesha is also is actively involved. She has a current practice as a private doula with Dallas Birth Doulas. Her goal as a doula is to give every woman and baby an empowering birth experience that will positively effect them for the rest of their lives. She believes a woman should not feel like birth “happened to her”, but rather that she had an active role in her birth story and the decisions that were made. After her experience walking alongside a clients whose baby was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, Kiesha became passionate about bringing doula support to families with similar needs.

 
 

MELISSA MATHIS

CO-FOUNDER

Melissa is married to Mark and mom to three daughters. The Mathis family lives in Fort Worth, Texas and are active members of their church community. Melissa celebrates pregnancy and childbirth as a miracle and was given a calling to serve as an advocate in this field in 2014. She subsequently spearheaded legislation, trained as a doula, and served with numerous non-profit organizations prior to founding Labor of Hope. It is with great pleasure that she has committed her energy to advocacy, education, and individual support surrounding new life.  Melissa is an information-seeker at heart and enjoys absorbing new information from all avenues (especially books!) in her spare time. Her favorite Psalm is 139. 

 

Ryley Chestnut

Director of Outreach

Ryley, her husband Jesse, their three sons, and daughter live in Richardson Texas and are active members of Prestoncrest Church of Christ. They have a daughter, Jaycee Grace, who is in heaven and the driving force behind their passion for life. In 2016 their daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly and they were one of the first families served by Labor of Hope. Ryley went on to become a certified birth and bereavement doula and has served several families who have walked a similar journey. Ryley is passionate about creating lasting memories during a critical or life limiting pregnancy and birth and believes every life is to be celebrated and cherished. As a homeschool mom, most of her spare time is spent reading, playing outside, and enjoying time together as a family. 

 

Hayley Martinez

Director of Development

Hayley lives in Plano Texas with her husband and three young sons. Hayley and her husband Jay lost their first son after being told he was “incompatible with life” at a routine anatomy scan at 20 weeks gestation. By the grace of God, he lived for 8 ½ beautiful days, all of which were filled with love. The Martinez’s were the first family Labor of Hope served, and what has fueled Hayley’s passion to support other Labor of Hope families. She is a certified birth and bereavement doula, serving both Labor of Hope clients and private clients as well. Hayley honors her son Xander by providing personal assistance to families facing the most difficult of journeys, planning events for past families, fundraisers, and finding ways to honor all of our beautiful children we have been blessed enough to serve.