Raquel Lazar-Paley, Esq., is the owner and director of Conscious Woman, Inc., an organization aimed at raising awareness of legal and consumer issues concerning women’s health and the environment through cutting-edge online learning classrooms and forums. Raquel graduated from Binghamton University in New York with a degree in Political Science and Latin, received an M.A. in History from Columbia University, and went on to earn her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation at the University of San Diego School of Law. Raquel lives in Haifa, Israel, with her husband, Jacob Hans, D.C., and their three children.
Laura Possessky, Esq. has a national practice in intellectual property, media, and entertainment law. For over a decade, she has counseled artists, nonprofits, associations and small businesses on intellectual property protection and on content transactions in publishing, television, film, media and the internet. Laura also advises clients on First Amendment issues relating to fair use of third-party content and intellectual property. Prior to private practice, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution, negotiating agreements for the museum’s revenue-generating activities including publishing, film and image licensing, product development, art consignments and special events including the Presidential Inauguration. She also managed the legal services and education programs at Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. Laura currently serves as an elected Member of the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, and is an active member of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. Laura is licensed to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Philippe, and their two young children.
Laureen Hudson is the technical editor and online community advocate for java.sun.com and developers.sun.com at Sun Microsystems, and a freelance editor for Hunt Press. She served ICAN as Publications Director, editing Cesarean Voices, publishing the ICAN eNews, co-managing the relaunch of the website, and being the primary cheering section for the Clarion. She’s also the brand-new co-publisher (with Melissa Collins) of Free Birth! (formerly New Nativity II). She’s a blogger, a website manager, and an enthusiastic geek enabler.
Laureen has spoken before capacity crowds at engineering conferences, gatherings, and hackfests on the topics of new media, communications, and publication models. She’s also recently started taking similar material, combining that with her passion for birth advocacy, and presenting at conferences like Trust Birth (where her talk, “Reclaiming Women’s Voices Through Multimedia” got high marks from attendees).
Laureen has a BS degree in Environmental Studies, and all but a thesis of an MS in the same thing, with an emphasis in coastal policy interpretation, which of course then had nothing to do with the rest of what she’s done with her life, other than to teach her a lot about grassroots advocacy work, closed-doors politics, and doublespeak. She’s a scuba instructor, a beginning sailor, a traveler, and an obsessive researcher, who’s chiefly focused on, and delighted with, her husband Jason, her sons Rowan and Kestrel, and daughter Aurora. They live on a 47′ catamaran, s/v Excellent Adventure, in the San Francisco Bay.
Sarah J. Buckley, MD, is an Australian family physician with a diploma in family physician (GP) obstetrics. She is the author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth and parenting. Sarah’s work critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting, and her blend of solid scientific evidence with anthropological, psychological and experiential perspectives is widely acclaimed. Sarah’s writing has been published in parenting and professional publications worldwide, including Mothering, Midwifery Today and MIDIRS Midwifery Digest (UK) and she has lectured in the US, Canada Australia and New Zealand on these topics. Sarah lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and four children, ages 8 to 18.
“Sarah Buckley is precious, because she is bilingual. She can speak the language of a mother who gave birth to her four children at home. She can also speak like a medical doctor. By intermingling the language of the heart and the scientific language she is driving the history of childbirth towards a radical and inspiring new direction.” Dr. Michel Odent, obstetrician, author and natural birth pioneer
Linda Chae is President and CEO of Chaé® Organics. During her early years in the beauty industry, Linda was shocked when she noticed the negative effects that common skin care products can have on women recovering from breast cancer and chemotherapy. Since then, Linda has devoted over thirty years to researching toxic chemicals commonly used in personal and skin care products to develop effective alternatives that ‘Do No Harm’.
In 2006, Linda launched Chaé® Organics, a company devoted to providing ToxicFree® products for life. Her products will be advertised in 90,000,000 households weekly by early 2008. Linda is focused on providing solutions to consumers eager for clean, effective natural products. Chaé® Organics‘ certified organic, wild crafted lines include anti-aging skin care, acne care, personal care, hair care, sanitizers and household care. All Chaé® Organics products carry the ToxicFree® label, guaranteeing the quality and purity of the ingredients. The products also exceed requirements of the California Safe Cosmetics Act, due to go into effect January 2007.
A popular guest on talk shows, Linda has appeared on over 200 radio and television shows and made frequent advocacy trips to Washington D.C. Engaging and authentic as a speaker, her lectures and tours have taken her across the nation to educate consumers about the need to avoid toxic ingredients. Many of those commonly used toxic ingredients, which have been banned in places like the European Union and Japan, are suspected of contributing to short-term memory loss, hormonal disruptions, birth defects and many other health concerns. Linda’s courage and personal philosophy recently caught the attention of best-selling author Jennifer Read Hawthorne whose books, The Soul of Successand Life Lessons for Loving the Life That You Live include a chapter entitled: “Integrity, Linda Chaé’s Story, The Beautiful Truth”.
Cate Colburn-Smith is the co-author of The Milk Memos: How Real Moms Learned to Mix Business With Babies - and How You Can, Too. Cate has 18 years of experience with IBM in marketing, strategy, business development, management and sales. At IBM, she was recognized for best practice in marketing strategy, and selected for the executive leadership development program. Cate is the founding principal of Moms on Board, an organization that helps employers design and deliver programs to attract and retain valuable working mother talent, and coaches mothers to craft and negotiate flexible work arrangements that deliver employer results while honoring family needs and responsibilities. She has a B.S. in Business from the University of Colorado. Cate lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two beautiful daughters.
Rachel Correa is a lab technician by trade, mother by nature and a part time sling maker. She is passionately involved in the New Zealand Homebirth network and along with her children, is an avid part of a Playcentre co-operative. Wife to Scott and Mother to Stella, Aléjandro, Miguel & Níco, Rachel’s hope is that all women will be raised with empowering beliefs around fertility, pregnancy, birth, mothering and death. Through the stillbirth of her first child at home, the reflection that continues and her global connection to other like families, Rachel has an openly strong testimony to instinctive and uninterrupted death processes. She has welcomed the healing opportunities that have come for herself and other through the sharing of her experience at New Zealand, Australian and American Birth Conferences.
Rachel’s Presentation:
Stella’s Living Legacy (program description coming soon!)
Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, is founder and director of the Farm Midwifery Center, located near Summertown, Tennessee. This 37-year-old midwifery service is noted for its women-centered care.
Early in her career, while in the mountains of Guatemala, she learned an effective method for dealing with shoulder dystocia from indigenous midwives. Her campaign to promote this low-intervention maneuver began in 1985. Fourteen years later “The Gaskin Maneuver” became the first obstetrical procedure to be named for a midwife in this era. It is now included in obstetric textbooks as one of the most effective methods for dealing with a feared complication. The Farm Midwifery Center is noted for its low rates of intervention, morbidity and mortality despite the inclusion of many vaginally delivered breeches, twin and grand multiparas.
Author of Spiritual Midwifery (1975, revised 2002) and Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (2003), Ina May promotes joyful birth, maintenance of breech skills and has popularized the use of the Gaskin maneuver for shoulder dystocia. She is originator and curator of the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project.
Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. (psychology), is a researcher, educator, writer, and Executive Director of the Circumcision Resource Center in Boston, a nonprofit educational organization. His work includes the first intensive exploration of the unacknowledged psychological and social aspects of this uniquely American cultural practice. Dr. Goldman is internationally known for his work on circumcision and is the author of various publications including two books, Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma and Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective. The first book, with a foreword by renowned anthropologist Ashley Montagu, is endorsed by dozens of professionals in mental health, medicine, and social science. His book addressing Jewish concerns is endorsed by five rabbis among others. Other writing has appeared in newspapers, parenting publications, Jewish periodicals, and medical journals. Dr. Goldman has participated in over 200 media interviews with radio and television shows, newspapers, wire services, and periodicals, and has been consulted by Time and Newsweek. His presentations on circumcision and its effects are offered independently to professionals, universities, expectant parents, men, and the Jewish community. He also provides counseling for those making the circumcision decision and men who have issues connected with their circumcision. He is a member of the Advisory Council to the International Symposia on Circumcision and participates in exhibits at professional conferences and public expositions.
In 1995 the U. S Federal Trade Commission tried to prevent Tedd from writing and publishing about chiropractic and alternative health care. In the 6 ½- year legal battle that followed, he and the Washington, D.C. law firm of Swankin & Turner, under the direction of Jim Turner, Esq., succeeded in thwarting the FTC attack on chiropractic education. Emerging from this fight more determined than ever to promote health care freedom, Tedd went on to co-found the Foundation for Health Choice which is devoted to ensuring that providers and patients have an open, free market for health care. He also established an extremely successful holistically oriented health center in Philadelphia, has written extensively for Koren Publications and produced and hosted a popular weekly two-hour call-in show, “Holistic Hotline,” on commercial radio.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, and a graduate of the University of Miami and the Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, S.C., Tedd was instrumental in founding the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania College of Chiropractic in 1978, where he taught histology, neurology and chiropractic adjusting techniques. Tedd lives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania with his wife Beth and children Seth and Shayna. He currently devotes himself to writing, lecturing and doing research, as well as maintaining a private practice.
Gloria Lemay is a lecturer, midwifery educator and has been a traditional birth attendant for 29 years, specializing in VBAC and waterbirth. In 2002, Lemay received the “Women’s Voice Award” from CHOICES Childbirth Education and Doula Services of Ontario for her service to women during the childbearing years. She was also nominated for the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in 1997. Lemay is an advisory board member of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), and a contributing editor of Midwifery Today Magazine. She has three grown daughters and a teenage granddaughter. She resides in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Gillian Longley, RN, BSN is the co-coordinator of the Colorado chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC). She has presented on circumcision and the foreskin to nurses, doctors, doulas, midwives, parents, legislators, and general audiences. Gillian is a Registered Nurse, and has worked for the last nine years in newborn nursery and neonatal intensive care.
A former Bradley Method childbirth educator, she has previous nursing experience in labor & delivery and public health. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in social sciences, focusing on informed consent for infant circumcision. Gillian is the mother of two grown intact sons, and lives with her husband of 25 years in Boulder, Colorado.
Stephanie Mines, Ph.D. is the Founder of the TARA Approach for the Resolution of Shock and Trauma and the Dom Project, a nonprofit organization serving people with AIDS around the world. She is a psychologist, writer and educator whose unique understanding comes from extensive work in the field as well as academic research. Several clinical trials are currently testing the efficacy of the TARA Approach for a variety of populations, including at-risk newborns and children with autism. Her stories of personal transformation lead listeners to become deeply committed to the healing journey. The TARA Approach blends Eastern and Western approaches to both prevent and treat overwhelming shock, including prenatal, perinatal and birth shock. Her latest book is WE ARE ALL IN SHOCK: How Overwhelming Experience Shatters You and What You Can Do About It (New Pages, 2003). Stephanie is the mother of two daughters, both born at home, and a grandmother. Her first home birth journey was published by Random House in 1977 as TWO BIRTHS.
Marilyn Fayre Milos, RN, is the co-founder and Executive Director of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC) and the coordinator of the International Symposia on Circumcision, Sexual Mutilations, and Genital Integrity. She is editor of the NOCIRC Annual Newsletter and the co-editor of five symposia books, including Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy, Male and Female Circumcision: Medical Legal and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice, and Understanding Circumcision: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Multidimensional Problem. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Sexology. Since 1979, Marilyn has spoken about circumcision, genital integrity, and human rights to radio, television, and conference audiences worldwide. She is the recipient of the California Nurses Association’s 1989 Maureen Ricke Award for having “raised public consciousness about America’s most unnecessary surgery” and her “dedicated and unwavering commitment to ‘righting a wrong.’” She also received NurseWeek magazine’s “Nursing Excellence 2001″ Patient Advocacy Award “For outstanding advocacy for the past 22 years on behalf of those among us who are the most vulnerable and unable to protect themselves–infants and children.”
Yeshi Neumann, CNM has been working as a midwife since 1970. She attended births at home for the first 10 years. In 1980 she became a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) in order to also assist childbearing families in the hospital. Out of her desire to provide unhurried, soul-satisfying, personalized care, she created Homestyle Midwifery, a unique model blending home and hospital birth. Homestyle Midwifery, was voted “Best Way to Have a Baby” by San Francisco Magazine in 2007. In addition to her work in the United States, Yeshi has taught and learned from midwives in Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Trinidad, Tibet, Morocco, India, and China.
Yeshi has facilitated hundreds of workshops about communication, women’s leadership, diversity, conflict resolution and organizational development. She brings her passion for women’s empowerment and social justice to her work with mothers and grandmothers. As a midwife and group facilitator Yeshi incorporates her extensive study of meditation, healing, hypnotherapy and bodywork.
As well as being a CNM, Yeshi has a Masters Degree in History from Columbia University and a Masters in Public Health from the University of California. She is a regularly invited speaker at national and international conferences. Yeshi is a mother of two daughters. She received her two granddaughters in her hands as they were born.
Jeanne Ohm, D.C. is a practicing chiropractor in a family, wellness based practice since 1981. She is the Executive Coordinator and Executive Secretary for the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and Editor of the I.C.P.A.’s quarterly magazine: Pathways. She is also a Board Member of the I.C.P.A.- Research and Public Education Foundation, the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice, and the Holistic Pediatric Association. She is an advisory board member for the Foundation for Health Choice, Healthy Child, and Families for Natural Living. Jeanne is an international lecturer on the topic “Chiropractic Care in Pregnancy and Infancy” to practicing Chiropractors and affiliated Care Providers, a post Graduate Instructor for numerous Chiropractic Colleges, and author of many papers on pregnancy, birth, children and chiropractic. She is the Founder of Makin’ Miracles…Connecting Kid’s n’ Chiropractic, community outreach programs and tools to educate children and adults about the life saving benefits of chiropractic. She is the producer and writer of the children’s chiropractic song, “Power On!” and educational video, “Birth Trauma: A Modern Epidemic”. Jeanne is a panel member of Mothering Magazine’s Ask the Expert.
Jeanne’s professional mission is to provide Doctors of Chiropractic with the skills and motivation to care for more pregnant mothers and children. She is comitted to educating other practitioners with the information to support natural birthing in their practices. It is her understanding that birth trauma is a current concern, and therefore it has become her goal to eliminate its damaging effects on the newborn. She intends to accomplish this by adequately training DC’s in specific chiropractic techniques and care for pregnancy, birth & infancy for the promotion of natural birthing; forming national alliances for chiropractors with like-minded birth practitioners and attendants; empowering mothers to make informed choices in pregnancy and birth; and offering patient educational tools which address this issue. Jeanne married to Dr. Thomas Ohm, Chiropractor. They have six children who have all received chiropractic care since conception. They were all born at home and are living drug free, healthy lives.
Sherry L. Payne, RN, BSN is a registered nurse, presenter, author, storyteller, and veteran homebirther. She holds a BSN from Rockhurst University/Reseach College of Nursing. She is an obstetrical nurse, a breastfeeding educator, trained doula, and certified childbirth educator. She is the author of the widely read blog, “Homebirth Diaries”. She is currently chairperson of the Maternal Child Health Coalition of Greater Kansas City’s Breastfeeding Committee. She owns and operates
Perinatal ReSource, a consulting firm that promotes holistic woman-centered alternatives for birth and lactation through advocacy and education. She is the author of a work-in-progress, a book titled, The Homebirth Workbook and producer of an upcoming documentary about homebirth. Sherry, a mother of nine, resides in Overland Park KS with her husband Charles, and six home-birthed and breastfed children ranging in ages from 1 to 19.
Miriam Pollack, M.A., has published a number of articles on the subject of circumcision, beginning with “Circumcision: A Jewish Feminist Perspective”, “Jewish Women Speak Out: Expanding the Boundaries of Psychotherapy”, and “Circumcision: Redefining the Sacred” in Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy.
When Miriam’s two sons were born in 1978 and 1982, she had arranged for their ritual circumcisions, believing that both as a Jewish mother and a modern woman, she was making an informed, intelligent, and, indeed, sacred choice on their behalf. For years she anguished silently about the traumas she had not only witnessed, but facilitated. Finally, in 1991 she decided to attend a symposium on the subject of circumcision. Three and a half days of presentations on the anatomy and physiology of the foreskin, the history of circumcision, and the psychological sequellae of neonatal trauma more than realized her worst fears. With a completely shattered heart, she began to write in hopes that she might spare other Jewish mothers and newborn babies, the grief that she might have been spared, had she only known then what she now knows only too well.
Miriam’s most recent writing entitled, If “It Isn’t Ethical, Can It Be Spiritual?” will be part of the book, Human Rights Under Assault: The Atrocity of Circumcision. She appeared in the documentary, “Whose Body, Whose Rights?” and has spoken at a number of international symposia in Baltimore, Lausanne and Seattle. She has also been invited to present her newest work at the Tenth International Symposium on Circumcision, Genital Integrity, and Human Rights: Anthropological, Medical, Legal, and Ethical Analyses in September 2008, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
Laura Shanley is a writer, speaker and author of the book Unassisted Childbirth. She and her husband of 31 years, David, live in Boulder, Colorado within shouting distance of their four children, John (29), Willie (27), Joy (25) and Michelle (21), all of whom were born at home, unassisted. Laura is widely known as the “godmother” of the unassisted birthing movement, and has been interviewed for print media, radio, television and film throughout the world. She maintains a web site devoted to the topic, www.unassistedchildbirth.com, and periodically writes about the joys, trials and tribulations of being an unassisted birth activist in her blog, www.laurashanley.blogspot.com. Laura has yet to tire of talking, reading, and thinking about the miracle of birth.
Sharon Storton, MA, CHT, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Campbell, California, specializing in prenatal and postpartum mental health, and in trauma recovery. She has more than two decades of experience supporting expectant and new families, first in mother-to-mother support, then as a board certified lactation consultant, perinatal health educator and mental health professional. In addition to a narrative therapy orientation, Storton utilizes other tools for healing such as EMDR, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and hypnosis. In her professional practice, Storton supports individuals, couples, and families, and facilitates several groups. She is a board member of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services.
Karen H. Strange is the creator of The Midwifery Management of Neonatal Resuscitation. She has taught throughout the US and internationally.
Karen’s previous experience includes service as midwife and Clinical Director at Maternidad La Luz a high-volume birth center and midwifery school on the US/Mexico border. Later she had a small homebirth practice in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. She served on the Texas Department of Health Midwifery Board and as chairperson of the Complaint Review Process Committee for six and half years.
Since 1991, Karen has been an instructor for Neonatal Resuscitation (AAP/NRP), tailoring her style for those who work in the out-of-hospital setting. An advocate for the conscious and aware prenate, Karen lectures on the babies experience of birth and the impact of when things do not go as planned. Her courses uniquely shed light into the world of what babies truly experience in their journey to be born. She shares her “Simple Tools” for the family, therapist and birth attendant to help babies integrate what goes on for them prenatally, in labor, birth, in the postpartum and even later on in life. She shares her wealth of up-to-date, evidence-based knowledge in each session she teaches.
Eileen Sullivan has served women and families in the childbearing year for over two decades, as a childbirth educator, birth and postpartum doula, and breastfeeding educator. Trained as a doula by a traditional midwife, Eileen is an independent scholar who has also received training through DONA, the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth, and Birthing From Within. Since she began apprenticing with birth in 1987, she has mentored countless families, as well as birth and postpartum doulas, aspiring midwives, breastfeeding counselors and childbirth educators. Eileen is a retired La Leche League leader, was an ICAN group leader, and served as the NC State Representative for CAPPA from 2001-2005. Ms. Sullivan currently acts as a mentor to new doulas through her local doula group, and is a holistic doula trainer and faculty member of The House of La Matrona in Asheville, NC.
Eileen began studying EFT, along with other meridian-based modalities, in 2001 and she has utilized the Emotional Freedom Techniques as a primary modality since 2004. She holds EFT-CC (Basic) and EFT-ADV (Advanced) practitioner certificates, and is actively pursuing additional certification through the World Center for EFT. An ordained minister, Ms. Sullivan provides EFT to clients in her area through individual office visits and group sessions, and works with clients and groups throughout the U.S. and Canada by phone. Eileen is also an instructor of EFT workshops for lay people, birth professionals, and therapists. Eileen specializes in EFT for women’s issues, including the use of EFT for infertility, the childbearing year, VBAC preparation, birth trauma and PTSD, sexual abuse and sexual health concerns.
Eileen’s practice is in Charlotte, NC, where she lives with her husband of 26 years and three of their four children.
Tanya Tarail, PT, MsT, CST is a physical therapist in private practice. She performs craniosacral, visceral manipulation and various fascial release techniques and has worked extensively with women who have had physical problems following childbirth. In addition to private practice, Tarail has served as staff therapist at the Upledger Institute and anatomy instructor at the IM School of Healing Arts and Institute of Physical Therapy in New York City. A graduate of Hunter College, Tarail went on to receive extensive training and certificates in a variety of healing techniques, including Advanced CranioSacral Therapy, Urogenital Manipulation, SomatoEmotional Release, Advanced Visceral Manipulation, Meditation and Massage Techniques, Acupressure, and Homeopathy, among others. She lives in San Diego with her husband, Eron, and daughter Teya.
James S. Turner, Esq. is the chair of Citizens for Health, a national nonprofit consumer advocacy group working to broaden health care options, create an integrative health system based on wellness, and advance the freedom to make health choices. One of the original Nader’s Raiders and long-time advocate of informed choice for safe food, drugs and other consumer products, he has authored two best-selling books, The Chemical Feast: The Nader Report on Food Protection at the Food and Drug Administration and Making Your Own Baby Food. As a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Swankin & Turner (organized in 1973), Jim represents businesses as well as individuals and consumer groups in a wide variety of regulatory matters concerning food, drug, health, environmental and product-safety matters. He has appeared before and/or advised the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission, as well as the Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health. He has served as Special Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Food, Nutrition, and Health, and to the Senate Government Operations Subcommittee on Government Research. Jim helped organize the successful campaign to lobby Congress for passage of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 and lead the legal team that in 1996 persuaded the FDA to reclassify acupuncture needles as safe and effective for legal U.S. importation and distribution. He is a graduate of the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University (1969), holds a B.A. in history and political science from Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences (1962) and served as a gunnery and nuclear weapons handling officer on ships in the U.S. Navy from 1962 to 1966.
Nancy Wainer, CPM, a mother of three,is the author of the critically acclaimed “bible of cesarean prevention” Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention and VBAC, which won an American Library Award for the best book in the field of Health and Medicine. She is the author of Open Season: A Survival Guide for Natural Childbirth, and is currently writing Birthquake! A Childbirth Book for Strong Women and Women Who Want to Be Strong. Nancy co-founded C/SEC, the first cesarean awareness organization in the world, and she coined the term Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) which is now used internationally. She is a homebirth midwife, a certified labor assistant, a certified childbirth educator and is also certified in HypnoBirthing. Nancy is a consultant to numerous childbirth organizations and is an internationally known and sought-after childbirth speaker.
Kathy Welter-Nichols, CHT, HBCE, is a Master Hypnotist, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner, Design Human Engineering (DHE) Specialist, Certified HypnoBirthing Educator, and Certified Doula. Profoundly focused on taking women back into their personal place of power, Kathy is the co-owner of Thought Models, Ways of the Wise Woman & Just Be Well Canada. She has been working with hypnosis, guided visualization and meditation with clients and in groups for over 20 years globally. As co-creator of Shaman Inside, Kathy has presented on Bio-Energetic Field (embracing Qi Gong, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Reiki, Crystal Healing, Spiritual coaching, Meditation and Bereavement counseling) several times in Italy, UK and Ireland as well as in Canada. In her practice, Kathy sees clients for Bulimia and other eating disorders, anxiety, stress-related autoimmune disorders, addictions, and depression. She received the Volunteer of the Year Award - Spirit of Community for her contributions to her community in selfless giving to those experiencing life threatening illness.
Kathy is the author of My Birth: My Way (releasing in 2009), an examination of the impact of core values and beliefs surrounding pregnancy and birth, and how these impact mothers and babies. Kathy’s training with Marie Mongan in HypnoBirthing has equipped her to assist mothers during their birthing experience, bringing a deep calm and wisdom to the birthing experience and the birth room. She attends her births as labour support and uses NLP and Hypnosis to assist mothers in preparation for birth and during birth - advancing mothers into states that enable them to go beyond their belief maps; their own internal fears are set aside and they experience birth and themselves in an entirely new way. Doctors and midwives alike have remarked on Kathy’s skill and calming presence in the birthing room assisting mothers and fathers to create remarkable birth experiences.
In addition to training couples in hypnobirthing, Kathy offers programs for VBAC moms and for those experiencing postpartum depression. She lives and works with her husband Harry Nichols in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. They have two children and a granddaughter.
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University. Her first La Leche League meeting in 1980 made her extremely uncomfortable. “I had a shiny new master’s degree and here was this roomful of women all focused on their children. I thought to myself: ‘There is more to me than this’.” However, she went on to become a La Leche League Leader in 1985 and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 1990. The owner of a private lactation consultant practice in Ithaca, NY, she has written many breastfeeding handouts and self-publishes them on CD. She has also published articles and commentaries on numerous breastfeeding topics, most recently co-authoring a chapter on infant latch in “Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants”. Diane has spoken across the United States and in Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand on her favorite topics: “How babies attach to the breast”; “How the language we use reflects our unconscious views of breastfeeding”; and, going back to her La Leche League roots, “The critical importance of mother-to-mother support for successful breastfeeding.” Her animal behavior background from nearly 30 years ago has finally sunk in and she is developing an old but new interest: “The mammal in all of us,” and the implications of our mammalian ancestry when we give birth and learn to breastfeed in a modern obstetric facility. After more than twenty years helping mothers with breastfeeding, Diane says, “Apparently there isn’t any more to me than this!” Her website encourages mothers to listen to their babies and follow their own instincts. She is the mother of two breastfed sons and mother-in-law of two wonderful young women.
Raquel Lazar-Paley, Esq., is the owner and director of Conscious Woman, Inc., an organization aimed at raising awareness of legal and consumer issues concerning women’s health and the environment through cutting-edge online learning classrooms and forums. Raquel graduated from Binghamton University in New York with a degree in Political Science and Latin, received an M.A. in History from Columbia University, and went on to earn her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation at the University of San Diego School of Law. Raquel lives in Haifa, Israel, with her husband, Jacob Hans, D.C., and their three children.
Laura Possessky, Esq. has a national practice in intellectual property, media, and entertainment law. For over a decade, she has counseled artists, nonprofits, associations and small businesses on intellectual property protection and on content transactions in publishing, television, film, media and the internet. Laura also advises clients on First Amendment issues relating to fair use of third-party content and intellectual property. Prior to private practice, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution, negotiating agreements for the museum’s revenue-generating activities including publishing, film and image licensing, product development, art consignments and special events including the Presidential Inauguration. She also managed the legal services and education programs at Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. Laura currently serves as an elected Member of the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, and is an active member of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. Laura is licensed to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Philippe, and their two young children.
Laureen Hudson is the technical editor and online community advocate for 
Sarah J. Buckley, MD, is an Australian family physician with a diploma in family physician (GP) obstetrics. She is the author of 
Cate Colburn-Smith is the co-author of 
Rachel Correa is a lab technician by trade, mother by nature and a part time sling maker. She is passionately involved in the New Zealand Homebirth network and along with her children, is an avid part of a Playcentre co-operative. Wife to Scott and Mother to Stella, Aléjandro, Miguel & Níco, Rachel’s hope is that all women will be raised with empowering beliefs around fertility, pregnancy, birth, mothering and death. Through the stillbirth of her first child at home, the reflection that continues and her global connection to other like families, Rachel has an openly strong testimony to instinctive and uninterrupted death processes. She has welcomed the healing opportunities that have come for herself and other through the sharing of her experience at New Zealand, Australian and American Birth Conferences.
Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, is founder and director of the Farm Midwifery Center, located near Summertown, Tennessee. This 37-year-old midwifery service is noted for its women-centered care.
Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. (psychology), is a researcher, educator, writer, and Executive Director of the 
Tedd Koren, D.C. is the country’s most widely read contemporary authority on chiropractic topics, with patient education materials published and licensed for distribution in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. He is the author of 
Gloria Lemay is a lecturer, midwifery educator and has been a traditional birth attendant for 29 years, specializing in VBAC and waterbirth. In 2002, Lemay received the “Women’s Voice Award” from CHOICES Childbirth Education and Doula Services of Ontario for her service to women during the childbearing years. She was also nominated for the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in 1997. Lemay is an advisory board member of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), and a contributing editor of Midwifery Today Magazine. She has three grown daughters and a teenage granddaughter. She resides in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Gillian Longley, RN, BSN is the co-coordinator of the Colorado chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC). She has presented on circumcision and the foreskin to nurses, doctors, doulas, midwives, parents, legislators, and general audiences. Gillian is a Registered Nurse, and has worked for the last nine years in newborn nursery and neonatal intensive care.
Stephanie Mines, Ph.D. is the Founder of the TARA Approach for the Resolution of Shock and Trauma and the Dom Project, a nonprofit organization serving people with AIDS around the world. She is a psychologist, writer and educator whose unique understanding comes from extensive work in the field as well as academic research. Several clinical trials are currently testing the efficacy of the TARA Approach for a variety of populations, including at-risk newborns and children with autism. Her stories of personal transformation lead listeners to become deeply committed to the healing journey. The TARA Approach blends Eastern and Western approaches to both prevent and treat overwhelming shock, including prenatal, perinatal and birth shock. Her latest book is WE ARE ALL IN SHOCK: How Overwhelming Experience Shatters You and What You Can Do About It (New Pages, 2003). Stephanie is the mother of two daughters, both born at home, and a grandmother. Her first home birth journey was published by Random House in 1977 as TWO BIRTHS.
Marilyn Fayre Milos, RN,
Jeanne Ohm, D.C. is a practicing chiropractor in a family, wellness based practice since 1981. She is the Executive Coordinator and Executive Secretary for the 
Sherry L. Payne, RN, BSN
Miriam Pollack, M.A.,
Sharon Storton, MA, CHT, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Campbell, California, specializing in prenatal and postpartum mental health, and in trauma recovery. She has more than two decades of experience supporting expectant and new families, first in mother-to-mother support, then as a board certified lactation consultant, perinatal health educator and mental health professional. In addition to a narrative therapy orientation, Storton utilizes other tools for healing such as EMDR, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and hypnosis. In her professional practice, Storton supports individuals, couples, and families, and facilitates several groups. She is a board member of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services.
Karen H. Strange is the creator of The Midwifery Management of Neonatal Resuscitation. She has taught throughout the US and internationally.
Tanya Tarail, PT, MsT, CST is a physical therapist in private practice. She performs craniosacral, visceral manipulation and various fascial release techniques and has worked extensively with women who have had physical problems following childbirth. In addition to private practice, Tarail has served as staff therapist at the Upledger Institute and anatomy instructor at the IM School of Healing Arts and Institute of Physical Therapy in New York City. A graduate of Hunter College, Tarail went on to receive extensive training and certificates in a variety of healing techniques, including Advanced 
James S. Turner, Esq. is the chair of 
Nancy Wainer, CPM, a mother of three, is the author of the critically acclaimed “bible of cesarean prevention” 
Kathy Welter-Nichols, CHT, HBCE, is a Master Hypnotist, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner, Design Human Engineering (DHE) Specialist, Certified HypnoBirthing Educator, and Certified Doula. Profoundly focused on taking women back into their personal place of power, Kathy is the co-owner of 
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University. Her first La Leche League meeting in 1980 made her extremely uncomfortable. “I had a shiny new master’s degree and here was this roomful of women all focused on their children. I thought to myself: ‘There is more to me than this’.” However, she went on to become a La Leche League Leader in 1985 and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 1990. The owner of a private lactation consultant practice in Ithaca, NY, she has written many breastfeeding handouts and self-publishes them on CD. She has also published articles and commentaries on numerous breastfeeding topics, most recently co-authoring a chapter on infant latch in “Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants”. Diane has spoken across the United States and in Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand on her favorite topics: “How babies attach to the breast”; “How the language we use reflects our unconscious views of breastfeeding”; and, going back to her La Leche League roots, “The critical importance of mother-to-mother support for successful breastfeeding.” Her animal behavior background from nearly 30 years ago has finally sunk in and she is developing an old but new interest: “The mammal in all of us,” and the implications of our mammalian ancestry when we give birth and learn to breastfeed in a modern obstetric facility. After more than twenty years helping mothers with breastfeeding, Diane says, “Apparently there isn’t any more to me than this!” Her website encourages mothers to listen to their babies and follow their own instincts. She is the mother of two breastfed sons and mother-in-law of two wonderful young women.