Get to know Melissa
Choosing an educator you feel comfortable with matters. Here are a few questions and answers to help you get to know me on a more personal level, beyond the credentials.
If you would like a phone chat to get your questions answered, send a message and we will get you scheduled.
Why I do this work
Why do you do this work?
I believe at my core that birth, and the memories made during birth, matters. I have watched the support of a doula make a real difference in a family’s life, and I want to be part of something bigger than me. Through serving families as a childbirth educator and doula, and through training more and more doulas, I can make a small difference. But added together, collectively, we can change the world.
What are you passionate about in maternal healthcare?
Doulas and childbirth educators make a difference. Over the past several years I have had the honor of representing doulas across the country as we marched on Capitol Hill and walked the halls of Congress, spreading the word about the importance of maternal healthcare and the changes we need to improve birth for families.
Doulas are not the whole solution, but we are part of the bigger picture. We are at the table and part of the conversation, and I envision a day when support, education, and informed decision making are part of each and every birth.
A fierce group of birth advocates walking the halls of Congress for the March for Moms. Washington D.C., 2018.
What is the best part of your job?
Oh, too many to list, but if I have to choose a few: watching people become parents, being present for one of life’s most intense and raw moments, and knowing that at times my work makes a difference in the lives of others.
In the same vein, watching people become doulas who then go on to serve lots of families is incredibly fulfilling. What I say before attending a birth or facilitating a training is always the same: “Please let me have today exactly what they need right now.”
Do you have a favorite workshop memory?
There are so, so many, but here are two of my favorites.
One time I was joined by a little “co-trainer.” She was visiting for a moment during a workshop hosted in her own home, and she walked right up in the middle of my teaching, plopped down her own “birth” ball, and started teaching alongside me to a room full of at least a dozen new doulas. It was priceless. She is clearly a natural born leader, and she is now headed off to college herself.
I am also often taken back to a workshop we held in Nashville in 2019. We had just finished a really good, yet hard, conversation about the state of maternity care and the health disparities and inequity in U.S. birth among people of color, who face higher maternal and infant mortality rates. The conversation was honest and real, and in the end there were embraces all over the room. There was a true desire to hear one another. Real, passionate people who care and want to be part of change. We have so much work to do, and together, we can make a difference. This image reminds me of that every time I see it.
“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers: strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
Who has shaped how you do this work?
Without a shadow of a doubt, Penny Simkin. Penny was a co-founder of DONA International, a pioneer of the doula movement, and one of my personal mentors. She taught me how to be a better doula, and she taught me how to be a doula trainer. During my seven years on the DONA International board, Penny would sometimes attend, and we collaborated on projects, on conferences, and even on Capitol Hill, advocating for maternal health policy side by side.
One of my favorite memories is working closely with her on the 2016 rebranding of DONA. I will never forget the phone calls, the texts, and the photos she sent me from her own kitchen of DONA’s original logo as we charted a new direction for the organization she helped build. That was Penny: generous, present, and fully invested no matter the setting.
So much of what I bring to every birth, every training, and every student traces back to her. Penny passed away in April 2024, and her loss is still felt deeply across our community. In 2025 I received the Penny Simkin Award at the DONA Summit, an honor named for her and one of the most meaningful of my career, something I am still wrapping my head around.
With Penny at the close of the very first Trainers Retreat. Clearwater, Florida, 2017.
At the 2018 DONA Summit with Penny, Dr. Neel Shah (a powerhouse supporter of better maternal health policies), and Ana Paula Markel and Sarah Hodin Krinskey, two more forces in this work who I am lucky to call friends and colleagues.
“I say ‘Penny taught me’ in every training I teach, because she did.”
What do you want people to know about you?
I’m me. I value true, real, authentic, loyal, and honest relationships in everything I do. I love this work, I love mentoring others, and I feel that what we are doing truly makes a difference. And I like to have a little fun along the way.
I feel very lucky to work with expecting families and new doulas, and I own my part of the responsibility to nurture and grow our profession for the future of maternal healthcare.
On a personal note
With her sister on the day one of their nieces got married, right after an extra run to Trader Joe’s for more flowers.
What do you wish you could do more often?
Visit with family. Now that my kids are grown, I am learning to grow right along with them, finding what it looks like to mother adult children and to keep that connection strong. Time together is precious. I also have a very large extended family, including lots of adult cousins, and we are intentional about staying close. I have a bunch of nieces and nephews too, and they are one of my favorite parts of life. Our big family fills my cup and helps me do this work of service to others as a doula and educator.
Favorite vacation spot?
The beach is the place I find peace and go to breathe deep! For our 20th and 25th wedding anniversaries we were able to travel abroad for the first time; and Italy has my forever-heart. I love any kind of vacation that exposes our family to something new.
How do you recharge?
Time with family, both immediate and extended. Cooking and baking in my kitchen, a glass of red wine (especially with loved ones), and a good salt bath. I also love filling up at conferences like DONA and Lamaze. I leave ready to take on the world.
Favorite foods?
As the daughter of a cattle rancher, steak, especially the New York Strip is my favorite food. Since we can’t eat steak every day…I also love salad, most things Mexican, tomatoes, and all things chocolate esp chocolate fondue.
Least favorite foods?
Almost all condiments. To know me is to know that I detest mayo, mustard, ketchup, and vinegar. Summertime barbecues can be a real challenge. It’s a good question of nurture vs nature as my mom, Memere (grandma), sister, and several of my aunts don’t eat most condiments either!
What is on your bucket list?
Oh, I love this question, because it makes me think of all that is yet to come. So here goes: learn to play piano, perfect my chocolate cake, travel as much as I can, make a mean from-scratch lemon meringue like my grandma used to, own a beach house, and, last but not least, be the best wife, mom, sister, daughter, doula, cousin, niece, educator, and friend I can be.
If any of this resonates, I would love to meet you
Whether you are expecting, exploring doula work, or somewhere in between, reach out and we will find a time to talk.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”