Tami Canales, CD(DONA) Board President Email: laboroflovedoula@live.com It's my heart's desire to make a difference in women's lives. As a doula, I am honored to witness one of the most intimate and life changing experiences in a woman's life. I believe that each birth journey is unique and that in order for a woman to surrender to the instinctual nature of birth that she must feel safe and supported. Birth isn't something that just happens to us we are empowered by becoming conscious, active participants. Each woman needs to be encouraged and reassured in such a way that she is empowered and able to recognize her own strength. A woman always has a reason for her choices and I affirm her innate ability to know what she needs to do to take care of herself and her baby. I believe in being fully present and available in the moment to surround a birthing woman with loving acceptance free from judgment and expectations. As a mother of three (a singleton and one set of twins) and a grandmother of three I have had the opportunity to personally experience birth under a wide variety of circumstances: induction, epidural, high risk, natural multiple breech birth, emergency cesarean and birth in a nontraditional setting with hospital transport. I received my DONA International training in 2007 and was certified as a Birth Doula in 2008. I have also completed advanced training through a 6 month internship with Mother Tree Birth Services. Just as each birth is unique so is each doula. She uses her own individual style, skills, strengths and life experience to provide a nurturing space. I have an intuitive, calm nature which allows me to be a supportive, patient and calming presence for families. Whether or not this is your first child each birth is has its own course. I would be privileged to be part of your birth support team as you make this once in a lifetime journey. "There is a power that comes to women when they give birth. They don't ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it." -Sheryl Feldman

Rhea Taylor Board Treasurer Email: rhealistic11@yahoo.com Ask me for strength and I will lend not only my hand, but also my heart. -Unknown I am a new member to PDX Doulas, and am excited to attend the birth of your baby! I have a passion for the miracle of birth, and am awed by the inner strength that blossoms through women in labor. As strong and naturally capable as a laboring woman is, her efforts are focused, making support from others essential in helping create a safe and productive environment that accommodates her needs. Every birth is unique, as you are, and I support the path that you choose for you and your baby's birth experience. As your doula, I am dedicated to providing continuous support through the labor process, and to help create a welcoming space for the arrival of your baby. I received training through Mother Tree Birth Services in Portland, OR, and am currently completing requirements for certification through DONA International. A student at Portland State University, I aspire to contribute to the research and progress of Health Sciences. I am conversational in Spanish. In my free time I enjoy riding my bicycle, swimming, and going to the beach.

Patricia (Trish) Woodbury Board Member Email: allforyoudoula@live.com My desire and role as a birth doula is to provide continuous comfort and reassurance while helping women discover the strength they possess during labor. I am passionate about each woman experiencing birth in her own very personal and unique way and helping her and her family through the wonderful birthing process. As a postpartum doula my intention is to help the whole family adjust to the early days after the new baby arrives. I have been a lay doula for over 25 years and have attended numerous births including, home and hospital, non-medicated and medicated, multiples, preterm and cesarean. I have worked alongside midwives, obstetricians and obstetric nurses After realizing how great the need is for support and nurturing of mothers and families during labor and postpartum, I decided to become a DONA certified doula and follow my passion as a full time birth and postpartum assistant. I am a transplant to the North West from Southern California and love the rain, green trees and waterfalls so prevalent here. I have had the privilege of giving birth to three seriously humorous children.

Jenn Misner, CD (DONA)

Jenny Miller, CD (DONA), CMT, Board President email: birthlovedoula@hotmail.com Hello Birthing Mamas, Papas, Partners and Families! I am Jenny Miller, a Certified Birth Doula with DONA (Doulas of North America) and a Certified Massage Therapist in the State of Montana. I believe pregnancy and birth are normal, healthy passages in life. Each birth is truly unique, exceptional and humbling, unlike any other, no matter how a babies enters the world. Every mother or couple deserves to be mothered, loved, empowered and cared for through this amazing journey. I have experience in home birth, medicated and un-medicated hospital birth, water birth and free standing birth centers, vaginal birth after cesarean, premature birth, adoption and teen birth, both planned and unexpected cesarean birth and recently non-English speaking birth. My background includes studying homebirth midwifery in Ashland at the International School of Traditional Midwifery and thereafter with the Ancient Art Midwifery Institute. I am currently attending Oregon Health and Science University for my BSN in Nursing to be followed by a graduate degree in Nurse Midwifery. Originally I am from Missoula, Montana were I was devoted to the birthing community. I have volunteered with the local hospitals, teen pregnancy centers, the Public Health System and was an active board member of the Missoula Birth Network. I am confident in a woman's innate ability to surrender to the birth process and let her instincts guide her towards a gentle delivery when given the best environment and support. My goal as a birth doula is to effectively support a mother and father or partner throughout labor and birth by providing information, respect, privacy, physical comfort and encouragement in a nurturing, loving way. By doing so, I hope to help a mother or couple have the most positive, rewarding and memorable birth experience possible. Birth Blessings, Jenny

Kelly Gomes Peer Group Co-Director There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don't ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it. Sheryl Feldman The birth of my son in 2005 was a beautiful and profound event: an awakening. One of the results of this experience is a desire to help women create positive birth memories. In addition to the birth of a child, there exists the birth of a new woman and the birth of a family. When these events are bathed in a favorable light, then the child, the woman, and the family become awash in this glow as they begin their new adventure together. I believe in the power of women's spirits and the wisdom of women's bodies. Whatever a woman's ideal birth, my role as a doula is to support mom and her partner in achieving this goal through physical and emotional labor support. While working toward certification through DONA, I embrace the lessons that every birth brings. I also teach high school English and enjoy spending playful, snuggly days with my family.

Stephanie Fitting Director of Fundraising email: stephanie.fitting@gmail.com I believe in the wisdom of a woman's body to birth her baby the best way it can. I will support mama and partner with every choice they make. Birth is awe-inspiring, as is the amazing strength that flows through women. I am dedicated to providing physical and emotional support, information, and advocacy to laboring women and their partners. I am thrilled to be a part of PDX Doulas. I have a B.A. in Biology from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Now I am an aspiring nurse-midwife, and in my search for schools I discovered doulas. It was a new concept to me at the time, but I knew instantly that it was in my future. Here I am, a doula, eager to help you have a positive birth experience!

Bonnie Simmering, CD(DONA), Board Secretary Email: bjsimmering@hotmail.com I am married and have 6 children and am a native Oregonian. My husband and I are enjoying grandchildren being added to our family. I love the green of the northwest with all of its outdoor recreation. I love horseback riding, hiking, scuba diving and volunteering with the teen program at our church. I love everything about pregnancy and birth and have great memories of each of my children's births. I have been providing Doula Services to Clients since June of 2002. I have been certified with DONA since December of 2003. I believe birth is a unique experience that has life long memories associated with it. I believe women benefit immensely and have better birth outcomes when supported during labor and delivery. As a Doula I have a great passion to help women have the best birth experience possible. Experience: I have professional and/or personal experience with premature birth, cesarean birth, VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), support women with back labor, non medicated natural childbirth as well as women who have chosen an epidural. I can bring to your birth my experiences with relaxation, visualization, water therapy, birth ball, message, and aromatherapy. For more information about me, visit my website: www.renchildbirth.com

Lani Doser, CD (DONA), Advisory Board Member Past Board President, Clinical Liason, RN Advisory Board My name is Lani and I had the privilege of attending my first birth in 1995. I formally certified with DONA in 2001 and since then, I have doulaed over a hundred births, each one of them was unique and memorable. I have assisted with medicated, unmedicated, VBACs, planned and unplanned operative births, home birth, birth centers, waterbirth, most area hospitals, fetal demises and births in other languages. I have bachelor's degrees in Education and Nursing. I speak locally regarding doula programs, labor support and increasing collaboration between nurses and doulas. I am a substitute childbirth educator for Legacy hospitals. I currently work at OHSU as a labor and delivery nurse. I continue to serve families with wonderment at each birth miracle. It is a privilege to be with women and families during this momentous journey. Certifications and Degrees: Certified Doula (Doulas of North America), BS Education, BS Nursing, RN, Adult Acute Cardiac Life Support, Neonatal Acute Life Support, Basic Life Support, International Certified Childbirth Educator (ICEA)

Denise Beaudoin, CD (DONA), Advisory Board Member Denise Beaudoin has been a doula and childbirth educator for 21 years. Since 2000 she has overseen LHS women�s health education and covers a range of babycare, breastfeeding, and childbirth education. In the meantime she has been a past DONA doula trainer, a current NACEF board member (that trains childbirth educators) and a budding photographer. Denise helped found BSN (a local doula support group) and has attended hundreds of births. While she appreciates her birth experience, she greatly enjoys her primary roles of wife, mother and grandmother of three. Her role of an advisory board member is to assist in relieving tension and resolving board or governing problems when they cannot be deciphered by the existing board members and multiple attempts have been made. She brings an added depth and breadth to PDX Doulas� future and assists us in diversifying and growing.

Shari Exo, CD (DONA) Shari is a dedicated doula, mother and elementary educator. She has skills in conversational Spanish and supporting the Hispanic population. Shari is not taking clients at this time and serves as our Spanish language translator and educator.

Susan Bejarano, CD(DONA), Program Director Email: hsdoula@comcast.net Philosophy of Childbirth:I have total faith in a woman to birth her baby naturally. I believe when women are in a place where they feel safe and secure, their body will do what it was made to do. Childbirth can be scary, exhilarating and overwhelming. Women are sometimes led to believe that they don't have any options during their labor and birth. Childbirth is a normal and healthy process. There are many different ways to give birth, therefore, you should educate yourself and choose the type of birth that is right for you. Women are entitled to complete and accurate information so they can make their own decisions when it comes to their own labor and birth. My job is to make your birth experience the very best and fulfilling it can be, no matter what the circumstances are. I want you to leave the birth feeling joy and accomplishment. You will know that you did the best that you could and made all the right decisions concerning your care and your child's care. I am not there to take the place of anyone in the family. They are the ones that can give you the best love and support there is. I will be there to encourage and support them, as well as you. Your birth is a beautiful event, one which I feel honored to be a part of. Philosophies on Infant Massage: I believe that infant massage is a natural way to promote the health of your child, improve parenting skills, increase bonding, strengthen family bonds, and to create a future generation that is more compassionate and caring. I am an infant massage instructor and teach parents how to massage their own baby. Certifications: CD(DONA)-Certified Doula, CLD(CAPPA)-Certified Labor Doula, CIMI-Cerfied Infant Massage Instructor, additionally I am a postpartum doula. For more information about me, visit my website: www.renchildbirth.com

Elizabeth Morales, CD(DONA) Board Member email: elizabeth.enrico@gmail.com Hello there! My name is Elizabeth, and I am so happy that you are interested in PDX Doulas. I am very excited to be a part of this special organization, and am looking forward to serving so many strong, beautiful pregnant mamas and families during one of the most sacred times in life: the birth of a new baby. The thought of giving birth can be somewhat overwhelming, and maybe even a little scary at times, for both pregnant moms and their partners. My goal as a doula is to be a source of support, encouragement, and comfort to families during this time, contributing to a positive, nurturing environment in the birth room. Every birth is unique and beautiful in it's own way, which is why I strive to attend each birth with an open mind and heart. I respect and honor all birth choices, always remaining focused on the individual goals of each woman I serve. Background and training: I have a B.A. in Sociology with a specialization in Social Work from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. I have been serving victims of domestic violence, homeless women and families, and at-risk youth in various capacities since 2004. During this time, I discovered that I am most passionate about serving pregnant women and new mothers, which led me to doula work, and my eventual goal of attending OHSU to become a nurse-midwife. In the fall of 2006, I attended a DONA Birth Doula training, became certified in early 2007, and began attending births in a variety of settings. I have had the privilege of attending births in homes, hospitals, and a free-standing birth center; furthermore, I have experience with medicated, unmedicated, and water births. I also had the honor of attending Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives with Elizabeth Davis in the spring of 2007.

Judy Appelman Board Treasurer email: jappelman@msn.com I believe that the birth of a baby is an incredible miracle, an event you and your partner will remember the rest your lives. There is nothing more joyous than watching the beginning of a new life, and I would consider it a privilege to be a doula at your baby's birth. My role as your doula is to nurture, encourage, and help facilitate a safe and caring environment for your birth experience. I will provide continuous physical and emotional support during your labor and birth, and will also stay for a time after your baby is born, to make sure you are feeling secure and to answer any questions you might have. I knew after the birth of my own three children ('80, '82, '83), and being asked to help "coach" friends through their birth experiences, I wanted to eventually find "my place" and work with new moms, families and babies. In the late 90's the term "doula" kept appearing in various articles, I think Oprah might have even mentioned the role of a doula on one of her shows! I did some research, found a top notch school and signed up for both the Labor Support Course for Doulas and the Postpartum Doula Training. I've been a doula for seven years now and received training from Seattle Midwifery School (2001, 2002) and Birthingway College of Midwifery (2008). I recently retired from a twenty six year teaching career with Portland Public Schools, most of my experience was at the elementary level (K-8), working in inner city schools. I started with PDX Doulas in June 2008, and I'm currently working toward completing certification requirements with DONA. I am passionate about being a doula....I am right where I'm supposed to be in my life and loving every minute of it!

Annie Amspoker Board Vice President amspoker23@gmail.com I have always had a strong interest in birth and children. When I reached college, that interest expanded towards social work and women's advocacy. Through this work, I was able to fulfill a strong desire in helping and connecting with women. In social work I volunteered as a victim advocate and served women who were victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. This was an incredibly challenging, rewarding, and heartbreaking career. Ultimately I realized my path was toward health care, where I could further use my compassion and passion for women's advocacy and birth. In September of 2007 I traveled to Uganda to volunteer. I worked with women in a rural village creating a safe motherhood program. Through this program I educated women about health and safety during pregnancy, birth and beyond. I was truly touched to be able to spend time with these women and their families. I hope to return someday as a midwife to further serve these women. I believe birth is a beautiful and empowering experience, and in the strength of a woman to give life. My goal as a doula is to create a positive birth experience for mamas where they feel supported, empowered and informed.

Maggie Black Peer Group Co-Director I know that you must be approaching the birth of the newest member of your family with delight and joy. You may also feel a sense of vulnerability in anticipation of the birth process itself. My role as a doula is to provide physical comfort and emotional support through your labor, and to facilitate a caring, safe environment where you and your partner feel empowered and at ease through your journey. I strongly believe that this birth experience is yours to define. There are so many possibilities for how you can approach and move through this birth, and they are all legitimate in their own way. I aim not to shape your ideal, but to support you and your birth choices. Together, I hope we can achieve a birth experience that you find fulfilling. I spent the first eighteen years of my life moving to a new country every three years. As a result, I find satisfaction working with people from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. Those experiences have also given me the confidence to navigate situations where the language spoken isn't necessarily English. I am conversant in French and Italian, and understand some Russian, Spanish, Polish, and Czech. I am also comfortable supporting births where we don't share a common spoken language. I received my doula training through Mother Tree Birth in Portland, and am presently working toward completing the requirements for DONA certification. I am a graduate of Vassar College, where I studied political science and women's studies, and I presently attend Portland State University, where I am taking courses toward my eventual goal of attending medical school. I'm a massage enthusiast, an amateur photographer, and a formidable Trivial Pursuit player.