CHI Faculty

	Carolyn Ansell, CNM, MSN Albuquerque, NM Carolyn Ansell, CNM, MSN, has been a midwife for 22 years. Carolyn received her Master’s Degree in Midwifery from Yale University in l987. After two years at Yale University Hospital, Carolyn moved to Hawaii, as Director of Midwifery Services at Moloka’I General Hospital. Carolyn has been in New Mexico since 1992, first at the University of New Mexico and then with the Lovelace Midwifery Service for 14 years in full-scope practice and an adjunct faculty training student midwives. Currently, Carolyn is Director of the Multiples program at the Center for Prenatal Development, and uses Centering Lifecycle model in her work with diabetic patients, as well as patients who smoke during pregnancy.
	Susan Bellinson, CNM, MSN City Island, NY Originally from Michigan, Susan moved to City Island, Bronx, NY, in 1984 after finishing midwifery school at University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as a midwife at Montefiore in the Bronx since 1985. She has assumed a leadership role in bringing Centering to Montefiore and has been training OB-GYN residents of the Einstein College of Medicine in the model. She has been conducting Centering groups since 2001. In her spare time, she enjoys skiing, kayaking, dancing, biking and reading. She lives with her son, Ari and her daughter Leah.
	Peg Dublin, BSN, MPH Chicago, IL Peg has worked with Community and public health practices for over 25 years developing and leading innovative programs focused on meeting the health and wellness needs of underserved communities. She completed her nursing education at Rush University and received a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Peg has been involved with initiating CenteringPregnancy since 2005 within two large urban institutions, the Cook County Health System, and Access Community Health Network, the largest FQHC in the country with over 50 health centers. She is currently the Sr. Manager of MCH Programs for Access and has been a Centering Faculty member since 2006. Her passion is training and she says, “I especially love leading groups and training for CHI!” In her spare time Peg loves to ride her bike, have adventures, and spend time with family and friends.
	Jennifer Fields, CNM, MSN Denver, CO Jennifer was born and raised in Oregon. She received both a BSN and Master's in Midwifery from OHSU. She has started successful CenteringPregnancy programs in three different practices. Centering has taught her the value of being still and trusting that women have wisdom worth sharing. She delights in watching as her patients engage and become full partners in their healthcare through the Centering experience. Jennifer lives in Denver, CO with her husband, cats and dog. She heads into the mountains whenever her schedule allows, enjoying the beauty through hiking and photography.
	Kim Flanders, CNM, MSN El Paso, TX Kim received her MSN in Midwifery from the University of Texas at El Paso/Texas Tech University of Health Science in May 2001. She currently works at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso Texas as a Certified Nurse Midwife and Director of Centering Prenatal Care. Kim has been leading Centering groups since May 2006.
	Jane Ann Fontenot, CNM, MSN Berkeley, CA Jane Ann has a BA in Political Science and Social Welfare Studies; minor in French, BSRN from University of California at San Francisco and MS in Nursing and Midwifery from Georgetown University, Washington DC. She is a CNM in practice at West Berkeley Family Practice, a community clinic in Berkeley, CA, doing Centering groups in both English and Spanish and "Crossover" groups for Centering Parenting. Have been doing international work for over 10 years, in Indonesia, Africa and Latin America, mostly as a trainer in Emergency Obstetrics and Life Saving Skills. She speaks Fijian (from Peace Corps years in Fiji), Spanish, and Bahasa Indonesian conversationally and writes, and understands French. Jane Ann has been "Partnered" for over 10 years, after being divorced and single for about 10 years; she has 2 grown daughters, one married and both living in the SF Bay area; 3 step-sons, 4 grandsons in Texas and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In her spare time she loves to knit, play the ukulele, swim, hike, bicycle, and do yoga.
	Toby Furash, CNM, MSN Berkeley, CA Toby has a Masters in Nursing. She has been a CNM since 1982 with most experience in multi-cultural and Medicaid practices in San Diego and the Bay Area. Lead CNM at LifeLong Medical Care for 14 years where she started CenteringPregnancy in 2001. CenteringParenting was started there in 2005. She is also trained in mindfulness based stress reduction, hypnotherapy and other alternative health modalities. Toby is currently leading Centering Pregnancy groups and working for the Alameda County Health Department. Toby has been a Centering faculty member since 2005.
	Gillian Fynn, LCSW Berkeley, CA Gillian Fynn, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a specialty in perinatal and infant mental health. She has worked in maternal and child health for over 20 years as administrator, program developer, clinician and trainer. In 2005 Gillian joined West Berkeley Family Practice, to participate in the planning and implementation of their Centering Parenting program and now co-facilitates Centering Parenting groups. She finds the Centering model a wonderful way to strengthen infant/parent interaction and support healthy development. Gillian is the Manager of Psychosocial Services at the clinic and has been responsible for integrating mental health services in this primary care setting. One aspect of this work has been to introduce universal screening for postpartum depression and develop in-house services for women needing help.
	Amy Gordon, MD Berkeley, CA Amy Gordon, MD, is Associate Medical Director at West Berkeley Family Practice, Lifelong Medical Care in Berkeley, CA. She is responsible for medical, administrative and financial oversight of a busy inner city community clinic (FQHC), supervising 10 MD and mid-level providers. She also maintains oversight of the prenatal/gyn program, podiatry, mental health, and inpatient nursery services. She pioneered a group diabetes visit program and was instrumental in developing and piloting CenteringParenting, a group postpartum/pediatric visit program.
	Mary Alice Grady, CNM, MSN St. Louis, MO Mary Alice is Certified Nurse Midwife. She started one of the first Teen Centering groups in the country at Barnes Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine and published the research from that site in the JNMWH. A CenteringPregnancy Workshop leader since 2003, she created in collaboration a Teen Module to be used as a supplement to the CenteringPregnancy program when working with teens. She developed the curriculum for a CenteringTeen workshop to facilitate the use of teen materials. She has provided consultation services in Louisiana and successfully implemented CenteringPregnancy in 7 or more sites post Katrina. Mary Alice is currently providing consultation services in Illinois and Missouri. Mary Alice lives in St. Louis with her husband and four boys that keep her busy. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga classes, running and music.
	Margy Hutchison, CNM, MSN Berkeley, CA Margy Hutchison is a certified nurse-midwife at San Francisco General Hospital where she is part of a large midwifery group that serving low-income families of San Francisco. In 1999 she implemented her hospital’s successful CenteringPregnancy program with recent immigrant Latinas and with adolescents. The program has grown to include four sites, among them two off-site programs that provide Centering care in innovative partnerships with community multiservice agencies. Since 2006 she has been a leader of the Bay Area CenteringPregnancy Consortium, a grant-funded effort to support the growth and development of Centering in low-income sites in the San Francisco Bay area. She lives in Berkeley with her partner, two children, one dog, two cats, and two mice.
	Rima Jolivet, CNM, BCLC, MSN, MPH Silver Spring, MD Rima studied nursing at Georgetown University and received her degree in midwifery from Yale University. Thereafter, she practiced midwifery in a variety of settings, including federally qualified health centers, private and hospital based practices, birth centers, a home–birth practice, and, a large government teaching hospital. She received a master’s degree in public health in 2005 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where she is currently working to complete a doctorate in public health. Rima joined Childbirth Connection as Associate Director of Programs in 2007. Prior to that she was Senior Technical Advisor in the Department of Professional Services at the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Rima lives in the suburban Washington, DC area with her teenage son, Lucas. They enjoy art, film, and music and like to travel.
	Laurie Jurkiewicz, CNM, MS San Anselmo, CA Laurie Jurkiewicz, CNM, MS, did her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and received her midwifery degree from the University of California at San Francisco in 1999. She has spent 3 years in private practice. She now is on faculty at the University of California at San Francisco in a full scope midwifery practice and Midwifery education program. She has been leading Centering groups for 6 years and is leading workshops for the Centering Healthcare Institute.
	Carrie Klima, CNM, PhD Chicago, IL Carrie received a BSN from Loyola University of Chicago, a MS from the University of Illinois Chicago (Midwifery) and a PhD from the University of Connecticut in 2002. Carrie has been a national trainer for Centering Healthcare Institute since 2000, providing instruction to providers and staff implementing CenteringPregnancy. She has been providing care in groups since 1999 and has conducted numerous research studies regarding CenteringPregnancy as a group model of prenatal care. She is Vice President of the Board of Directors of Centering Healthcare Institute. In addition, she is a Clinical Associate Professor at UIC College of Nursing and practices as a nurse midwife in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.
	Sally Lemke, RNC, WHNP, MS Oak Park, IL Sally Lemke, MS, RN, WHNP-BC, has provided health care for medically underserved urban women in community health settings for over a decade in the capacity of nurse practitioner and nurse educator. Receiving her MS in Nursing from UCSF in 1995, she is currently on faculty at Rush University College of Nursing. Sally led her first Centering Pregnancy group in 2005 and presently heads up the “Healthy Heart Project for African American Women” in partnership with Chicago Lights at Fourth Presbyterian Church, a community based initiative using the Centering model of group care that aims to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in medically underserved African American women. In 2007, Sally was awarded the VNA Foundation’s “Super Star In Community Health Nursing” award for her work in community health. Sally, her husband Tony Bell, and their sons Adam and Charlie enjoy playing outdoors, cooking, and watching movies together.
	Sharon Matlock Mahoney, CNM, MSN Chicago, IL Sharon Matlock Mahoney received her Master’s degree in Nursing from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois and her nurse-midwifery certification while matriculating in Rush University’s doctoral midwifery program in Chicago, Illinois. Clinical teaching has been an integral part of her nursing focus and she has held faculty positions at Chicago State University and University of Illinois. She is an expert clinician with extensive experience managing well women and prenatal care. She is an energetic and self-directed professional with excellent communication skills and adept in forming community alliances to achieve improved health outcomes for clients.
	Deena Mallareddy, CNM, MSN San Francisco, CA Deena Mallareddy, CNM, has worked in hospital, freestanding birth centers, and as a home birth midwife in rural and urban settings. She currently coordinates the Centering Pregnancy program at the St. Luke’s Women’s Center in San Francisco, CA that received a Centering Best Practices Site Award in 2007. She has facilitated groups in English and Spanish and started a teen Centering program. Deena joined the Centering Health Institute faculty in 2003; she conducts site visits, leads training workshops, and has assisted with the development of Spanish curriculum. She is a consultant for the Bay Area Centering Pregnancy Consortium in San Francisco, CA. She most recently joined the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine to assist with developing a Mindfulness-Enhanced Centering Pregnancy. A particular passion of hers is the cultural humility process of group facilitation, as well as the potential impact of the Centering model on international women’s health. Deena lives with her husband, Brett, and their young children Sarek and Nola. She loves photography, cooking her family’s Indian recipes, yoga, travel, crossword puzzles, Boggle, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and the great outdoors.
	Jeanne Murphy, CNM, WHNP, MSN New City, NY Jeanne Murphy, CNM, WHNP, MSN, is a faculty member for Centering Healthcare Institute, who assists sites in New York City in starting CenteringPregnancy programs. She is a full-time faculty member of the Nursing Program at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and an adjunct faculty member for the midwifery program at New York University. She has worked in full-scope midwifery practices in Nyack, Bronx and Brooklyn, New York. She facilitated teen CenteringPregnancy groups at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital.
	Gail Phillips, CNM, MS Northampton, MA Gail Phillips, CNM, MS, has been guiding groups throughout her career as a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). She completed her midwifery education at The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (CNEP). She has had the opportunity to work as a clinical nurse-midwife in full-scope practices, for over twelve years, where she has remained committed to and has facilitated “The Centering Model of Prenatal Care”. She continues to remain passionate about the innovative model of prenatal care which has been have been empowering to her clients, their families, herself and her path, as a midwife. She has been a Faculty member with The Centering Health Care Institute since 2003.
	Betsy Portugal, CNM, RNC, MSN El Paso, TX Betsy is a graduate of the University of Texas – El Paso and Texas Tech Health Science Center. She works in a very busy midwifery service, where she provides care for women and has a special interest in CenteringPregnancy teen groups. She also is piloting a CenteringPregnancy Diabetes model . She has been married 30 years to David and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
	Charlotte Quimby, CNM, MSN, FACNM Meriden, NH Charlotte Houde Quimby is a nurse midwife with over 35 years experience in clinical practice, teaching, program development and management, both in the US and in developing countries. Currently, she is serving her second term in the NH House, where she is Chair of the Licensing Sub-Committee. Charlotte developed the Nurse-Midwifery service at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH after years of clinical practice at Yale and in New Haven. She has been involved with Centering for many years as a workshop co-leader and site visitor. She is the mother of six adult offspring and ten lovely grandchildren.
	Margie Rickell, CNM, MS Richmond, VA Margie Rickell was born in Johannesburg, South Africa where she attended The B.G. Alexander School of Nursing, graduating in 1969. She received both her Bachelor’s (Health Education) and Master’s (Counseling) degrees from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where she lived and worked for many years. Margie gained experience in all areas of OB Nursing, and prior to starting Midwifery school, she was Manager of the OB unit at West Florida Hospital. Margie was honored in by The March of Dimes Maternal Child Health Advocate of the Year in 1985 and 1999. She attended Philadelphia University’s Institute of Midwifery Women and Health, graduated in early 2001, and later joined the faculty at VCU Health System in Richmond, VA as a Certified Nurse Midwife. In 2005, Margie established CenteringPregnancy at VCU. She currently holds the position of Director of CenteringPregnancy and works as a full scope CNM. She is faculty in the OB/GYN residency program and is integrating Resident and Medical Students into Group care. Margie has 4 grown children, 5 grandchildren and continues to delight in the being part of the birth experiences of her family and clients.
	Sharon Schindler Rising, CNM, MSN, FACNM Cheshire, CT Sharon Schindler Rising, MSN, CNM, FACNM, a Yale University School of Nursing graduate and former faculty member, has been active in providing prenatal care in private and public settings. The CenteringPregnancy program is an extension of a model she developed at the University of Minnesota. Sharon is Executive Director of the Centering Healthcare Institute, a 501c3, dedicated to promoting the Centering model of care throughout the lifecycle. She leads workshops and seminars and is sought-after nationally and internationally for consultation in Centering group care. She was awarded the Purpose Prize in 2008 by Civic Ventures. Sharon’s husband, Ron, is an ordained minister/counselor, photographer, and CHI’s web/graphic designer. Their two grown children, Josh and Kristin, are physicians, as is their daughter-in-law, Isabelle. They have one grandchild and a second on the way.
	Genie Rotundo, BS, RN, LCCE, FACCE Cleveland, NY Genie Rotundo, BS, RN, LCCE, FACCE has been a registered nurse for 31 years. She graduated with highest honors from Roberts Wesleyan College with her BS in Nursing in 2008 and is presently enrolled in the masters program for nursing education. She became interested in the concept of CenteringPregnancy when the practice she was working for became an official PCAP provider. She was then responsible for teaching over 175 new pregnant women and the thought of repetition was overwhelming. Centering became the perfect answer. “It wasn’t until I started Centering that I realized the power within a group of women. I was immediately hooked on Centering. “ She travels the country trying to promote this paradigm shift. She has been married for 34 years to Marcus and they have three adult daughters and two wonderful son-in-laws.
	Amy Russell, MD Boulder, CO Amy Russell, MD, is site medical director at Clinica Family Health Services. She is an experienced and organized clinician and administrator with a strong record of achievement in leading initiatives, projects, and improvements to strengthen the quality of patient care. She is known for her compassionate management style, creative problem-solving, persuasive presentation style, impeccable follow-through, team-building skills, and commitment to service. She began the implementation of group care in 2000, facilitated the spread of group care within Clinica, to include all three clinic sites, and led the expansion of group care to include groups for patients with chronic diseases: asthma, diabetes, chronic pain, and obesity, as well as care for newborns and children.
	Lynn Scheidenhelm, LCSW, LCCE Boulder, CO Lynn Scheidenhelm, LCSW, LCCE, has worked for Clinica Family Health Services for over 17 years. She is the Clinical Manager of Enhanced Clinical Services, a team of over 20 case managers and mental health professionals delivering health education, behavioral health, client centered counseling, solution focused brief therapy and crisis intervention services to uninsured, underserved, low income working populations at four clinics in the Denver metro area. Lynn was responsible for researching the Centering model, getting executive support and applying for the March of Dimes funding in 2006. She is now one of Centering Healthcare Institute’s faculty conducting trainings nationally in Centering Pregnancy and Parenting. She is a mother of three sons, has been a certified Lamaze instructor for over 22 years and is currently teaching at Boulder Foothills Hospital. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, making beaded jewelry, knitting, reading mysteries and traveling when she can.
	Colleen Senterfitt, CNM, MSN Middletown, CT Colleen is a Certified Nurse Midwife with a 30-year career in women’s healthcare. She completed her midwifery training at University of Mississippi and received a MSN from State University of New York, Stony Brook. Her experience includes establishing three nurse-midwifery practices. Other work includes being a nurse consultant for the Florida Board of Nursing, leading a demonstration project for the uninsured in Montana, developing workplace wellness programs, and serving as inpatient director for a women and children’s unit for a community hospital. She served on the Board and was the Program Services Chair for the Big Sky Chapter of March of Dimes. Colleen became involved with Centering in 2001 as a Board Member and when she moved to Montana in 2003, fulfilled her promise to introduce Centering there. In January 2009, she moved back to Connecticut with her husband, Jimmy, to join CHI as the Associate Director.
	Priscilla Tait, CNM, MS Shelby, MI Priscilla is Certified Nurse Midwife with 30 years experience in the physical and mental health of women and infants. She received a master’s degree in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing at the University of Michigan in 1985 and completed her midwifery training at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1987. She completed a post-graduate certificate in Infant Mental Health from Wayne State University in 1998. Since then, she has been a national trainer and program consultant for professionals working with mothers and infants with attachment difficulties due to substance abuse, domestic violence, postpartum depression, and grief and loss. Her midwifery experience includes working in both rural and inner-city practices, as well as international experience in Russia and several Latin American countries. She is a senior faculty member of CHI providing basic and advanced level workshops and site visits for the accreditation process. She believes that group healthcare has the potential to improve the health status of this country.
	Margaret Taylor, CNM, MSN Memphis, TN Margaret C. Taylor CNM, MSN has worked with mothers and babies for 30 years. She received her midwifery training at MUSC (1986). Margaret’s work in midwifery over the last 22 years has included starting a private practice, teaching undergraduate & graduate students, and developing an inner-city women’s health practice. Margaret’s experience also includes overseas medical trips to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and India. She discovered CenteringPregnancy in 2007 and realized that Centering could breathe new life into maternity care. She currently leads CenteringPregnancy groups in Memphis, and has joined the CHI faculty. Margaret is married with three children (1 grown, 2 in college).
	Kathy Trotter, CNM, FNP, MSN Hillsborough, NC Kathy Trotter, MSN, CNM, FNP, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, NC. She is a national Centering Healthcare Institute trainer, teaches 3 clinical courses, as well as practices in the Duke Breast Clinics caring for women with and without known breast cancer. She developed the Breast Cancer Survivor Clinic in Spring, 2008, and initiated the use of the Centering model at the same time. She received her MSN at the University of Kentucky and her Postmaster’s Certificate as a Family Nurse Practitioner at Duke University.
	Misae Vela Brol, NPC, MPH, MSN Westminster, CO Misae Vela Brol, MPH, MSN has been a family nurse practitioner since 2005. She received her MSN at Yale University, which is where she first learned about the Centering Healthcare model. Misae currently works at Clinica Family Health Services (FQHC) in Denver, CO and has been able to co-facilitate multiple Centering Pregnancy and Parenting groups. She strongly believes in group care and the Centering model and enjoys being a part of such an innovative way of providing healthcare. She is excited about training and motivating others to implement this model of healthcare into their practice. Misae met her husband while working on her thesis in Guatemala. They have one daughter who helps them see life in the eyes of a child all over again.
	Cynthia Wade, CNM, MSN Houston, TX Cynthia Wade has been a CNM for 20 years and has been involved in Centering Pregnancy since 2005. As Texas Centering Coordinator, she has worked closely with the March of Dimes as a consultant to other sites starting Centering all over Texas. She has been a CHI Faculty since 2006. Originally from Oklahoma she has lived in Texas since 1983 and also 1974-1978 while getting her BSN at the University of Texas, Austin. Her favorite city is San Antonio where she graduated with an MSN in Maternal-Child Nursing from the UTHSC. She met and married a native Houstonian, Dwight Wade, and has been in Houston since 1988 working mostly at Baylor College of Medicine as a faculty midwife, mainly teaching the Well-Woman Gynecology Course. She loves to read and is a member of a book club—GRITS—Girls Reading in The South. When time allows, she is in the water (pool & hot tub in backyard), beading and playing with her “children” (Lillie Jayne—Dachshund & Dawna Jayne—a Papillon).
	Claire Westdahl, CNM, MPH, FACNM Atlanta, GA Claire Westdahl has over 34 years experience as a nurse midwife. She has two graduate degrees in nursing and public health. Her clinical and research interests include CenteringPregnancy, breastfeeding/lactation, social marketing and the professional practice of midwifery. She was named emerita professor upon retirement from Emory University after 14 years as Director of Nurse Midwifery in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. She is currently on faculty of the Centering Healthcare Institute, providing training for implementation of group care, advanced training in group leadership as well as evaluation for site approval. Claire is a certified lactation consultant. Her home in Atlanta is full of mother/baby art and sculpture. She and her husband have two grown sons and one grand daughter.
	Barb Winningham, CNM, MSN Indianapolis, IN Barb has been a pioneer in her field. She was in the first class of CNE P (Community-based University Midwifery Education Program) at the Frontier Nursing School, the first student midwife at Methodist Hospital, the first midwife to establish privileges at 2 Indianapolis hospitals, and established the first free standing birth center in Indiana (as a nurse along with a Family Practice doctor) and was able to set up an in-hospital birth center at Methodist Hospital which helped to promote water birth. “I have thrived on the educational aspect of midwifery – first serving as a preceptor for many students (also medical students and residents) and then by establishing the first nurse-midwifery education program in Indiana.” She also teaches courses for Master of Nursing students including nurse-practitioner students.
	Laura Wise, MD, MPH Berkeley CA Laura Wise, MD, MPH, has a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley in community health education, went to medical school at UC San Francisco, and trained in Family Medicine in Santa Rosa, CA. During residency, she developed an interest in group medical visits and was trained to facilitate group visits with diabetic patients. Since finishing residency in 2002, she has practiced Family Medicine in CA, including facilitating CenteringParenting groups. She has strong interest in combining public health work with the practice of family medicine, improving maternal and infant health, and in quality assessment and improvement. Recently, in addition to facilitating CenteringParenting groups, Laura has led a team working on an evaluation of the CenteringParenting groups at West Berkeley Family Practice.