Displaying items by tag: Certified Nurse Midwife

Valerie Garcia is a Certified Nurse Midwife. She completed her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Molecular Biology and Gender Studies from Colgate University in Central New York. Her graduate education in nursing was completed at Yale School of Nursing in New Haven, CT in 2022. Valerie's nursing school sub-specialty was in Gender & Sexuality Health Justice, where she trained to provide Gender Affirming Care. Valerie completed her training at the Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT, and at Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx, NY.  Prior to nursing, she was a biologist at Columbia University Medical Center. Valerie is from the Bronx, New York and speaks fluent Spanish. Her hobbies include hiking, Latin dancing, plants, and reading.

Kathleen Britten is a Certified Nurse Midwife. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at University of Illinois at Chicago. Kathleen received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing in May of 2018, and then completed her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in May 2022 to become a Certified Nurse Midwife. Most of her midwifery training was done with the midwives at PCC, which is why she was happy to join the team. Experiencing PCC's mission and team work first-hand is why Kathleen decided to stay as a provider after completing her training. Kathleen's experience as a Registered Nurse was with a home-birth practice and also in the hospital. So, the PCC Birth Center feels like just the right fit and she is honored to be a piece in making out-of-hospital birth and patient-centered midwifery care more accessible. Kathleen is an active member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Illinois Board and is a proud midwife of the LGBTQ+ community. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dogs for walks, spoiling her nephew, and practicing hot yoga. When it gets cold out, you can find Kathleen binge-watching TV shows and trying out new dinner recipes. 

Kamala Krakover is a Certified Nurse Midwife. They received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Columbia University and a Master of Science in Nursing from SUNY Downstate Health Science University. They also hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film and literature. Kamala loves working as a midwife and strives to support and nurture their patients, believing stronger and healthier parents are the foundation of a stronger and healthier community. Kamala's pronouns are she/they.

Rachel Strietzel is a Certified Nurse Midwife. She completed her Master of Science in Nurse Midwifery at Frontier Nursing University in 2022. Before completing her master's degree, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Oak Point University in Chicago. Prior to becoming a nurse, Rachel was a labor and delivery doula. She was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador and is fluent in Spanish.

Megan Dawson is a Certified Nurse Midwife. She completed her RN and Midwifery degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing. Before nursing, she received a Bachelor's in Spanish from Northern Illinois University and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Mexico. Megan completed the 2014-2015 Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and had a previous career in political fundraising in Washington D.C. and New Mexico. In her free time, Megan likes to play board games, cook, go on beach days, hike, and play "mermaid" with her 4-year-old. She speaks Spanish.

Jeanine Valrie-Logan is a Certified Nurse Midwife. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Fisk University and a Master in Science in Nursing from DePaul University. She also received a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Global Reproductive Health from the George Washington University. Jeanine completed the nurse midwifery program at Frontier Nursing University in the fall of 2018. She loves being outside with her family and is interested in herbs, plants, and growing food. Jeanine promotes breastfeeding and has co-authored Free to Breastfeed: Voices of Black Mothers - a book that highlights the experiences of Black women who breastfeed.

Mary Leung is a certified nurse midwife. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and completed her nursing and midwifery education at University of Illinois at Chicago, where she received her Master's of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 2017.

Amy Willen received her Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University in 2004 and has since attended births as a nurse-midwife in several settings including both large and smaller hospitals, free standing birth centers, and homes in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Amy believes childbirth is a normal process and loves being able to tailor her midwifery care to support women's choices no matter what setting they choose to give birth in. Amy enjoys traveling internationally and has worked as a midwife in Uganda and Tanzania. She loves learning new languages and is fluent in Spanish. Committed to providing care to underserved communities, Amy is a member of the National Health Service Corps.

Katy Wehrmann is a certified-nurse midwife who joined PCC in 2013. After completing her Bachelor of Science in Biology at North Park University, she completed her Master of Science in Midwifery at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing in 2013, graduating magna cum laude.

Annette Payot provides leadership to PCC's Midwives as the Director of Midwifery. She is a certified nurse-midwife and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner who joined PCC in 2009. Annette completed her nursing and midwifery education at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2007.