Our Story
Mrs. Cynthia Boyd
SDIBP has a history and many stories to tell beginning with our founder at the USA Birthing project, to the San Diego Birthing Project
San Diego International Birthing Project was birthed in San Diego from 1992-2008, the Executive Director was Mrs. Cynthia Boyd. The organization served many women, babies and families. In 2018, the San Diego International Birthing Project was rebirthed by the Executive Director, Shelley Winn to continue the legacy of helping with positive birth outcomes. The San Diego International Birthing Project adopted the Sister-Friend model from the USA Birthing. We start with ten big sisters and ten little sisters, and work with many more. We support the women ages 18-40. Our intent is to support the women and babies until one year of age, however most often the relationships last a lifetime.
San Diego International Birthing Project is a sister satellite of the Birthing Project USA which is The underground railroad to New Life…is a volunteer effort to encourage better birth outcomes by providing practical support to women during pregnancy and for one year after the birth of the baby. Founded in 1988 by Kathryn Hall-Truijillo, Birthing Project USA is the only African American child health program in the country. Additionally, BPUSA has facilitated almost 10,000 women to receive safe birth kits in Haiti, Malawi, Uganda, Nigeran and Ghana! Request from U.S. and other countries wanting us to assist them in establishing volunteer projects in their own communities have increased in the past five years.
Matriarch Bettye Hurd
As a public health administrator, professor and visionary, Ms. Kathryn has been addressing the racial and gender divide in women’s healthcare for over 30 years. She is Founding Director Birthing Project USA: The Underground Railroad for New Life, which is a global maternal and child health organization. Her experience in understanding, translating and bridging policy, administration, services delivery and client cultures have earned her international recognition, including CNN Hero, one of Twenty One Leaders of the 21st Century by Women E-news, UCLA Life Time Achievement Award and is an Ashoka Global Social Entrepreneur Fellow. She is a consultant and mentor to many community leaders, students and young professionals, to whom she is affectionately known as Mama Katt.
