Board of Directors

A MESSAGE

from the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors wishes to express our most sincere gratitude for your support. We are doing this work for the benefit of parents, babies, and families for generations to come, and we will only succeed with support from others like you. Our fundraising campaign launched in fall of 2019 to raise start-up funding for a new birth center. Please donate today to support our mission of restoring birth center services to Lane County, Oregon. Donations of all amounts are helpful.

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ADVISORS
  • Certified Nurse Midwife
  • Graduate of Yale University
  • Former Nurse Midwifery Birth Center Midwife
  • Former Nurse Manager/Educator for Labor & Delivery at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
  • Gynecologist with PeaceHealth Medical Group Women’s Health Services
  • Helped found the first Nurse Midwifery Birth Center in Eugene in 1982 and continued to collaborate with local Nurse Midwives for many years after that in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Chief Operating Officer at Inpria Corporation
  • Member of Oregon Venture Fund / Council of Wise OAFs
  • Parent of birth center babies born 2012 and 2015
  • Member of Lane County Friends of the Birth Center since 2014
  • Retired Obstetrician and Perinatologist in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon.
  • Oregon State Representative for House District 11
  • Attorney specializing in health law
  • Colonel, Oregon Air National Guard
  • Pediatrician with PeaceHealth Medical Group
  • Long-time supporter of the Nurse Midwifery Birth Center in Lane County
  • Neonatologist with PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center – RiverBend
  • Dr. Leonard has provided Neonatal Resuscitation training for Birth Center staff and helped facilitate smooth transfers of care for newborns when indicated for many years

Board of Directors

Mary Carpenter, CNM
Mary Carpenter, CNMPresident of the Board
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Certified Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner
  • Graduate of Oregon Health & Sciences University
  • Mary worked as a Nurse Midwife in Lane County for many years including work in birth centers, hospitals, and homebirth
  • She is currently working as a consultant for the University of Michigan doing international midwifery training in Ghana
  • She is parent of two babies (now adults) born at a birth center in Chicago
Chris Heritage, CNM
Chris Heritage, CNM Vice President of the Board
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Certified Nurse Midwife
  • Graduate of Oregon Health & Sciences University
  • Chris has worked in maternal-child health for over 30 years and as a Birth Center Midwife in Lane County for 24 years
  • She is the parent of three sons, one hospital birth, one birth center birth, and one home-birth
Ricky Grand
Ricky GrandTreasurer of the Board
  • Pronouns: He/Him/His
  • Co-owner/Vice President of Grand Realty Investments
  • Holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Oregon
  • Parent of two daughters, Luna (pictured here) was born at the birth center in 2016
  • Co-founded Impact Club Eugene, a local philanthropic community
Teresa Roark
Teresa RoarkSecretary of the Board
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Program supervisor at Lane County Health and Human Services coordinating the “Dovetail Program”
  • Holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota
  • Parent of a birth center baby born in 2018
Kara Schnoes
Kara Schnoes
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Holds a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University
  • Parent of a birth center baby born in 2016 and an adopted baby born in 2019
Rachel Basolo
Rachel Basolo
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Doula Rachel Basolo, Professional Doula
  • Holds a Bachelors in Psychology from University of Oregon
  • Parent of birth center babies born in 2001 and 2009, Rachel’s baby born in 2009 was the last baby girl born at the former Nurse Midwifery Birth Center in downtown Eugene before it was rebuilt in Springfield
Puja Clifford
Puja Clifford
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Holds a Master of Arts in Education and teaching credentials from Stanford University
  • Parent of two birth center babies: Nina, born at the birth center in 2019, and Tilden, born at a birth center in Ohio in 2016
Catherine Bonomini-Smith
Catherine Bonomini-Smith
  • Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
  • Preferred name: Catherine or Katie
  • Holds a Bachelors of Arts in Dance from UC Irvine
  • Associate Director, Human Resources Operations at University of Oregon
  • Parent of birth center baby boy Jaiden (pictured) born in 2017

Former Board of Directors Members

Dennis Carr, 2019 – 2020

Ruth Ezeonwuka, 2019 – 2020

Mak Estill, 2000 – 2021

Stewardship Council

Lynn Kane
Lynn KaneBirth Center Parent
  • PhD in Musicology from the University of Oregon
  • Parent of two birth center babies born 2010 and 2012
  • Member of Lane County Friends of the Birth Center since 2010
  • Member of the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers Board of Commissioners since 2015
Jenny Noyce
Jenny NoyceBirth Center Parent
  • PhD in English from the University of Oregon
  • Full-time parent & part-time writer
  • Parent of two birth center babies, born in 2012 and 2014
  • Member of Lane County Friends of the Birth Center since 2014
Rabbi Jacob Siegel
Rabbi Jacob SiegelBirth Center Parent
  • Rabbinic ordination, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
  • Bachelors degree, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Director of Engagement at JLens
  • Proud parent of two birth center babies!
AlexAnn Westlake CNM
AlexAnn Westlake CNM
  • Pronouns: she/her/hers
  • Founder and Executive Director of Our Community Birth Center
  • Certified Nurse Midwife
  • Graduate of Oregon Health & Sciences University
  • Former Nurse Midwifery Birth Center Midwife
  • Parent of one child born with a midwife in 2016
Annie Hoag RN IBCLC
Annie Hoag RN IBCLC
  • Pronouns: she/her/hers
  • Registered Nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
  • Graduate of University of Wisconsin, Bachelors of Nursing.
  • Annie has worked in women’s health since 1999 and as a birth center nurse and lactation consultant in Eugene/Springfield since 2002.
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