Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Ongoing Lecturing
Community Health Care Worker Program
Ohio University
Provides ongoing lectures for the CHCW program:
Anatomy & Physiology for CHWs
Vital Signs and Medical Terminology including Diabetes, hypertension, anti-fat medical myths and discrimination & breaking down barriers for health
Gestational Health for CHWs
Modern medicine promises that birth is safer than ever, but actual data contradicts this in the colonial US. Gestational Health for CHWS depicts the arc of the modern gestational health crisis for all birthers and particularly Black birthers through evidence and understanding the pathologization of birth by the institution of modern medicine. The class discusses obstetric violence from micro to macro expressions, and dives into the important of somatic safety during childbirth, supporting clients through early parenting topics such as lactation, co-sleeping, and co-regulating with children.
Queer Competency in Healthcare
Gestational Health for CHWs including current updates in Black gestational health disparities, other preventable poor outcome trends & basics of perinatal/postpartum patient education.
Trans/Queer Embodied Birth Class
Embodied Birth
Every 3-4 months Ash teaches their curriculum to another birth class cohort which include trans and/or queer people trying to conceive, pregnant, supporting pregnant people, and birth workers.
Virtual
A Selection of Prior Speaking, Lectures & Workshops.
Affirming & Embodied Birth: Transformative Approaches to De-Feminizing Perinatal Care and Supporting Trans/Queer Well-Being
Maternal Mental Health Now
The trans/queer community faces unique and specific barriers to well-being throughout the gestational family building journey. This webinar will focus on tangible and nuanced strategies for practitioners & educators to support trans/queer folks through navigating gestational healthcare. We will dive into intentional pre-labor fear engagement, permission to dissociate, the criticality and methodology of de-feminizing birth, preparing for pronounced gender dysphoria in labor, and important self-advocacy tools for trans/queer folks.
July 2, 2025
Contact ash@embodiedbirthclass.com to watch the recording.
Beyond Pronouns: Cultivating Intuitive Trans-Affirming Advocacy
Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence
In this workshop, participants will begin deconstructing the biological, psychological, and sociopolitical origins of the cultural gender binary and uncover the importance of authentic gender expression and its significance for survivor advocacy. Rather than memorizing a rigid list of “do’s and dont’s,” attendees will develop intuition for authentic and transformative interactions with trans survivors. The workshop will deepen attendees’ understanding of oppression faced by trans survivors and dive into many tangible advocacy strategies.
June 24, 2025
OAESV Conference in Columbus, OH
Embodied Birth: Unfolding the colonization of gender as Indigenous people
This session situates the genocidal invisibilization of the native, and the native woman in particular, within the context of colonization, in order to further understand how gender oppression, gender violence, a fixed gender binary, and gender essentialism (the idea that gender is determined by anatomy/biology) function to uphold the very same oppressive system that is harming Indigenous folks (and all creatures and land). We will dive into the unintended and dangerous ramifications of conceptualizing birth as a strictly feminine process while uplifting our native women and staunchly refusing to allow for their continued erasure. This session may provide fresh and significant insight in particular if you are about the liberation of Indigenous and marginalized people, and also struggle to affirm any of the following: that gender is a spectrum and a construct, that men and nonbinary people give birth, that they deserve to give birth, and that they are sacred birthers in the way that women who birth are.
May 1-4, 2025 in Tempe, Arizona
Trans & Queer Birth
Equitas Health: Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Nonbinary Business Resource Group
Discuss the unique experiences trans & gender nonconforming folks face while going through pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum, including gender dysphoria and euphoria, chest feeding and binding, lactation induction, and medical discrimination. Explore deeper considerations in working with or being apart of the TGNC birthing community that will build effective advocacy skills in the medical-gestational health setting. These skills are critical for decreasing traumatization and increasing health and safety, for birthing people and babies, in pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.
November 25, 2024 in Athens, OH
Colonization in Board Gaming and Decolonizing Design
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Guest lecture for RISD students on the embedded nature colonization within themes and mechanics in modern board game design, and the large scale cultural ramification of these trends, as well as discussion on imagining design outside of colonial frameworks, including imagining models for a liberated human society.
October 22, 2024
Gender Workshop: Accessible Workshop for Breaking Down the Gender Binary
Currents Community
A gender and queerness competency workshop designed to help folks with generational and cultural struggles to broaden their understanding and embracing of gender nonconformity and sexual diversity. It aims at deconstructing deeply embedded gender programming from a wide myraid of lenses, allowing the brain to slowly and somatically let go of the fear based fixations that prevent people from embracing trans and queer identities.
August 10, 2024 in Glouster, OH
Trans Birth in the Context of Power, Violence & Traumatic Birth Practice
Ohio University OBGYN Club
Trauma prevention, obstetric violence, true informed consent, power dynamics, & trans birth care
April 12, 2024 in Athens, Ohio
Gender Workshop: Breaking Down the Gender Binary (Considerations for a Radical Feminist Choir!)
Calliope Feminist Choir
A gender competency workshop developed to support an age and ideology diverse feminist choir, providing additional learning support to individuals who may operate from trans-exclusionary feminist frameworks
February 3, 2024 in Athens, OH
Navigating Queer & Trans Perinatal Health
Maternal MH Now
Gender dysphoria & euphoria, chestfeeding, binding, lactation induction, medical discrimination and becoming a more confident provider to trans birthers
June 30, 3023
Virtual for Los Angeles, CA org
Power Dynamics in Health Care
Healthcare Autonomy Convergence
Playing a Power Dyanmics Game Simulator created by Ash Dasuqi & Misty Porter with debrief and post-game lecture assessing providers’ decision making in the present model of medical care which competes powering over patients in their own health against providing time consuming and more expensive but higher quality patient centered care
May 27, 2023 in Durham, NC
Mortality Trends in Obstetrics, Evidence Contrary Birth Policy & Transgender Competent Birth Care
Ohio University OBGYN Club
Including medical vs. midwifery models of care, evidence contrary routine birth polic, and sizeism & fatphobia in gestational healthcare
March 30, 2023 in Athens, OH
Trauma Informed Care & Prevention for Trans Birthers and other Marginalized Populations
Ohio State Univ. Adv. Practice Nursing/Midwifery
Trauma Informed Care & Trauma Prevention for Healthcare Professionals: Particularly in the Context of Birth & Trans/Queer Affirming Care, & Birth Care in Other Marginalized Populations
February 15, 2023, Virtual for Columbus, OH
Pain in Labor: Unfortunate Side Affect or Incredible Benefit?
Athens Birth Circle
Understanding the life saving hormonal physiology behind labor pain & when pain becomes suffering.
January 27, 2021, virtual for Athens, OH