Values

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I highly value the autonomy of birthing people to make decision about their bodies. This includes, where, how, and when they give birth. I support the birthing person choosing their care team. I view birth as a natural event that is to be left alone as much as possible and to proceed as nature intended. I have a high reverence for the life-saving measures that our developed society has attained and fully support their use when necessary. I believe all interventions whether emergent or not require truly informed consent. This starts during pregnancy with discussions on inductions, epidurals, cesareans, dystocias, breeches, twin births, etc. even if none of these are a part of your plan.

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I want to give you and your partner real techniques to help plan for labor, birth, and postpartum. I want to increase your comfort during pregnancy and in labor through, exercise, breathing techniques, acupressure, body positioning, environment, and knowledge.

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I can help by giving you assistance accessing and finding the most up-to-date information. I will listen to you and remind you and your birth team of your preferences. I will advocate for your preferences and speak with your providers to ensure they know your preferences and will speak up when your care is out of alignment with your values.

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I also find it very important to mention that I support all people and family structures however you define them, all birthing people are important and respectful culturally competent care should be available to all communities, BIPOC, LGBTQIA, poly, monogamous, teens, single people, the unmarried, those considering adoption. I am sure I have not covered all the possible scenarios and ways people identify and for that, I apologize but know you belong here. I am also not going to pretend that I am competent in all cultural aspects of those I live near, but I am happy to support any ceremonies or rituals during this rite of passage if I am invited. I am also happy to help you find someone who is a better match. 

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My Background​

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I was born and raised in Vermont. I have always been drawn to education and helping people become their best selves. In 2008 I accepted a job with Eckerd Youth Alternatives in Benson, Vermont. Where I worked with adjudicated youth ages 13-18 in a program that focused on a holistic approach to education, physical well-being, group participation, and personal accountability.

 

In 2011, I joined NOLS in Lander, Wyoming, and became a Senior Instructor leading one-week to three-month-long expeditions in backpacking, canyoneering, canoeing, backcountry skiing, and snowboarding from Alaska to New York. At NOLS I have worked with students from all over the world and have led trips specifically for the US Naval Academy, US Merchant Marines, Archer School for Girls, Summer Search, and Gateway Partnership students. My outdoor education also led me to The Athenian School, in the San Francisco Bay area where I worked for 8 years. First as a Field Instructor, and from 2015 to 2020 as a Course Director for the school and twice a year oversaw the infield operations for 45 students and 10 instructors on month-long hiking courses in the High Sierras and Death Valley.

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I have also had the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors for the NOLS Instructor Association, a labor organization representing over 1,100 faculty and staff, and served briefly as President in 2020. I served as a Founding Board Member of a start-up independent middle/high school in Vermont that opened in the fall of 2020. I now serve on the board of my local preschool. I currently live near Ludlow, Vermont, and spend some time in Palmer, Alaska.

 

Pertinent Experience

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While working for Eckerd, NOLS, and Athenian I was a guide, an educator, and a motivator. Often during these experiences, people were in new and challenging situations. I helped them learn to tolerate and even celebrate the adversity of the most challenging days of their life. Like birth, carrying a pack that weighs half your body weight up a remote mountainside challenges you mentally and physically. I have developed techniques through personal experience and helping others to manage physical and emotional challenges and even be able to enjoy these times. 

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Training, Seminars, and Certifications:

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• Breech Without Borders Professional Workshop, Anchorage, AK - Dr. David Hayes, MD/OBGYN

• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) - American Academy of Pediatrics

• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS) - American Heart Association 

• DONA International Birth Doula Workshop - Tara Campbell, CD, BDT, LCCE

• DONA International Breastfeeding Workshop for Professionals - Mary Rastauskas, RN, IBCLC

• Wilderness First Responder - SOLO

• Infant, Child, and Adult CPR and AED - American Red Cross

• Spinning Babies® 2021 World Confluence
   

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