Mentors and Instructors

​Manhattan Birth is proud to connect you with our most experienced doulas, who also teach our classes and mentor the newer doulas in the Manhattan Birth Mentor Program.

These doulas have been in practice ranging from 2-15 years.
Additionally, they have completed advanced trainings and certifications.
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Some of these certifications include:
  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), or Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (CBC)
  • Certified Childbirth Educator
  • Certified Holistic Doula
  • And other advanced trainings
JENNA BOURGEOIS
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Jenna Bourgeois completed her initial doula training through DONA International with Debra Pascali-Bonaro in 2012 and then in 2013 went on to become a Certified Holistic Doula with Whapio Diane Bartlett through The Matrona.  This further training reaffirmed her belief in a woman's instinctual knowledge of how to birth her baby and deepened her understanding of how best to accompany a woman without disturbing her process.

An aspiring midwife, Jenna went to Bali in 2014 for an Introduction to Midwifery course through The Birth Institute where she lived and worked in a gentle birth clinic alongside local midwives.   In order to help her clients achieve their breastfeeding goals, in 2015 she became a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor with Lea Rivera Todaro of Mami Mia.

​Seeing first hand the impact of optimal fetal positioning on a smooth vaginal birth, Jenna also trained with Tammy Ryan of Spinning Babies to be able to better serve pregnant and laboring women.
SARAH LOVELL
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Sarah Anne Lovell is a Certified Holistic Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator, Homebirth Assistant and she is voracious in her desire to deeply understand birth and how to support birthing people and their families. Sarah has completed the Holistic Doula Training as well as Tending the Postpartum Psyche through Whapio and The Matrona, studied Neonatal Resuscitation and completed additional courses in Comforting Touch (massage), Acupressure for Pregnancy, Labor & Postpartum, The 4th Trimester, Homeopathy for Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum, Advanced Doula Training with Penny Simkin, Supporting LGBTQ Families in Birth & Postpartum and most recently a workshop on Homeopathy for Birth & Postpartum.   She also has nearly a decade of experience working in natural health clinics with chiropractors specializing in the Webster Technique, pediatric and perinatal care.
 
She feels her work is centered around the whole family, connecting deeply with them while supporting, empowering and protecting their choices and desires for their birth. Sarah has an unwavering belief in the process of birth, no matter how it unfolds.

 “Our society bombards us with such negative images of birth, it has been such a blessing
for me to be able to tell someone, ‘I know you can do this.’ and see them do something they never thought they could.”  

Sarah has been teaching with Manhattan Birth for 3 years, lives in Inwood and supports births in hospitals, birthing centers and at home in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and parts of New Jersey.
YAEL BORENSZTEIN
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Yael Borensztein is a birth doula, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, home birth assistant and experienced postnatal Registered Nurse serving New York City. She is dedicated to educating and nurturing families with a sense of empowerment and strength throughout their pregnancies and births.

​Yael feels strongly that it doesn't matter where or how you have your baby, as long as you are informed, confident, and supported in your choices. With her diverse experience as a home birth assistant and as an RN in a local hospital, she has become extremely comfortable with and passionate about supporting women and their families through the entire spectrum of labor, birth and postpartum in every setting. 
YISKA OBADIA-GEDAL
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Yiska Obadia-Gedal is a NY State licensed acupuncturist, prenatal and therapeutic massage therapist and birth doula. As a massage therapist since 1995 and friend, she attended her first birth in 2001. Awed by the power and beauty of that experience, she attended a doula training program to learn more about the ways she could support mothers and families in the birth process.
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Bringing together her various skill sets has been an integrative experience, enabling Yiska to serve her clients in a variety of ways, inside and outside of birth. Most recently she has been teaching other doulas and partners how to provide the kind of comforting touch she uses during birth to make birthing women feel most deeply supported and soothed.
JENNY LANGBEHN
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Jenny Langbehn is a Certified Advanced Holistic Doula, Lactation Counselor (CLC), Childbirth Educator (Lamaze), Midwifery Assistant ( The Farm Midwives in Tennessee), and Certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor.

Jenny supports home, birth center, and hospital birth. Her particular passion is supporting New York City families in a complex- and often overwhelming- hospital system. Meanwhile, she's in school on track to Midwifery, and is honored to be a part of the Manhattan Birth community.

Jenny is the (very) proud mother of a certain redheaded boy named Robby, born unexpectedly at 29 weeks. Robby escaped his "life pod" after 10 weeks in the NICU, and has amazed his mother ever since.
MAGGIE ROSENFELD
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Maggie Rosenfeld is a birth doula in Westchester County who provides services in the Tri-State Area. She completed her DONA training and is working toward her certification. For years she has served people as a mental health counselor, crisis counselor, and organizational psychologist.

Maggie views life as an ongoing opportunity to express her strengths, creativity and passion through her work. Her desire to use her hands and build intimate relationships has led her to the birth world. She comes from a large family with six adopted siblings and Maggie being the seventh is the youngest. This upbringing allows for a celebration of the diversity each family holds in her eyes.

​She supports women and their families through the birth journey whether at home, in a birth center or a hospital. Maggie values building lasting bonds with families and supporting them as they make informed and instinctive decisions during pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.
ANNETTE PEREL
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Working with women in labor and the birth of her son in 2005 inspired Annette Perel to focus her studies towards becoming a midwife. Growing up bilingual in two different cultures, New York and Panama City, Annette draws from a time-honored tradition in which supporting women is an integral part of community life.

Annette has a great enthusiasm for babywearing and Diaper Free Infant Hygiene (“Elimination Communication”). She has a respect for and interest in exploring different parenting styles and traditions. Annette is honored to be a new parent mentor helping new moms and dads make the transition confidently into parenthood.
GRACE VERAS SEALY
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Grace Veras Sealy is a birth and postpartum doula, and a certified lactation counselor. She offers labor and birth services for home births, birthing center, hospital births, and planned cesareans.

Her aim as a birth doula is to support parents in labor and birth so that when they look back on the moment can remember that they felt strong, knowledgeable, respected and joyous. By providing postpartum services she offers continuity of care after the birth and early breastfeeding support.

Her approach to postpartum doula care is hinged on helping to building the new parents' confidence while providing practical support to them and their new baby.

​Grace lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

Experienced Doulas

These doulas have all completed doula trainings and advanced trainings with the Manhattan Birth Mentor Program.

​They share the Manhattan Birth style of devotion to their clients in the down-to-earth, heartfelt way and are a huge part of the fabric of our community.

They have been in practice more than one year in a variety of birth settings.
DAWN CHORBA
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Dawn Chorba is a Certified Holistic Birth and Postpartum Doula and a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor. She came to this work through the birth of her son, Orson. She credits her own extremely satisfying and empowering childbirth experience to the support she received prenatally, in labor and postpartum. A deep passion and value surrounding pregnancy, birth and postpartum awakened within her and she couldn’t imagine spending her life doing anything else. She is also trained in Spinning Babies and Rebozo and holds a Healthcare Provider Adult/Child/Infant/CPR/AED/Choking Certification. She studied The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth with Tanya Wills to prepare for her son’s birth and is currently undergoing certification to teach The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth. Dawn completed the GoGo Babies® Infant Developmental Movement and Yoga for Babies Professional Training with Ellynne Skove as well as her Understanding your Newborn in the 4th Trimester: Soothing, Settling & Centering.
 
She is the middle child of three sisters, was raised in New Jersey and married her high school sweetheart. She studied Design and Merchandising with a concentration in Marketing at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She loves art, fashion and considers herself a Jane of All Trades when it comes to creative projects.
AUDREY JESSUP
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Audrey Jessup is a birth and postpartum doula seeking to empower and celebrate women through this incredible period in their lives. She provides support from pregnancy through the newborn period and has numerous additional trainings in massage techniques/comforting touch, breastfeeding,

Spinning Babies, newborn care, and more.  Her goal as a doula is to help parents navigate this challenging time while feeling respected, informed, confident, and joyful. Whether it is a hospital, birth center or home birth, Audrey emphasizes compassionate care to help expectant parents achieve the birth that they desire.

In her postnatal work, she strives to build confidence in new parents or growing families with practical tips, tools and resources while smoothing difficult transitions, whether that is a new baby entering the home or a partner returning to work. She provides non-judgmental support and a helping hand based on the individual needs of each particular client.
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Audrey is a native Upper West Sider who received her BA in American History from Barnard College at Columbia University.  She is currently living in Williamsburg with her best friend and many plants, and she is thrilled to serve the women of her home city.
JAYE MAYNARD
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Jaye Maynard attended her first birth while in college for her BFA in Theater from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a 21 year-old, and fell under the birth-spell of life-affirming transformation that is the gift of the work of labor.

Since then she has lived life in Los Angeles for over a decade before moving to NYC to obtain her MA at NYU, (in vocal performance) and working on both coasts and across the country as a customized personal assistant: improving and producing lives, and quality of life for many wherever she goes.

​Now based out of NYC for the most recent decade and a half, she calls Park Slope Brooklyn home with her domestic partner, her cat; Ethel, and his dog; Molly. Her own birth story started in the heartland of the upper Midwest, in the land of Wisco.
SOPHIA O’SHAUGHNESSY
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Sophia O’Shaughnessy is a DONA-trained birth doula. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Sophia moved to New York to pursue a career in opera, though, after the birth of her son, she became passionate about pregnancy and birth.

Sophia gave birth naturally at the birthing center at Mt. Sinai West. Inspired by her own positive experience, she is dedicated to helping women have their own fulfilling birth experiences. She believes that birth can be a transformative, empowering experience for every mother.

​She is an enthusiastic advocate for women to make their own informed choices in birth, and is committed to giving non-judgmental, loving support to women during such a beautiful time in their lives.
KASIA SANVEE
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Kasia Sanvee is a DONA International Certified Birth Doula and has supported women of various cultures in the U.S. and Africa in many different settings and throughout a variety of circumstances.

She supports all birth choices and provides every pregnant person with non-judgmental, respectful and compassionate care so that they may experience the birth in the way that is truthful and unique to them. Kasia has attended multiple trainings that enriched her doula practice including Spinning Babies, Rebozo, acupressure for labor, massage techniques, essential oils, and many more. Also, having a yogic background, she is happy to share some of the techniques that can be helpful in preparation for labor and parenthood.

During postpartum visits, Kasia offers her expertise in breastfeeding, and as needed or requested: mentoring on RIE, attachment parenting, babywearing, cloth diapering, elimination communication (EC), and more. Kasia speaks English, French and Polish and basic Spanish.

She is a mother to a wonderful little girl from whom she learns every day and enjoys life in simple ways, while practicing yoga and discovering the beauty of other cultures through traveling.

““Birth is not only about making babies.  Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
— Barbara Katz Rothman

 Manhattan Birth Mentor Program Doulas

These doulas are alumni of the Manhattan Birth Mentor Program and are a close part of the Manhattan Birth community.  We think they are terrific! They are all professionally trained as doulas, and are working on advanced trainings in a myriad of birth topics, all the courses Manhattan Birth has to offer, and are being personally mentored by our founder, Tanya Wills, and our entire team as they grow their doula practices.

Each has a different level of experience and special skills to offer. We know you will love them as much as we do.
VALENCIA ANDREWS
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​Valencia Andrews is a DONA-trained birth doula, providing services in Westchester County and the Greater New York City area. Her path to birth work was inspired by supporting many close friends and family during their labor and delivery experiences.  It was these formative experiences that guided Valencia during her early training, informing her current approach as a doula, of being centered on wholehearted attentiveness and providing a calm presence, while giving non-judgmental, physical, emotional and spiritual support to pregnant persons. 
 
Valencia believes in the immense power of having a positive labor and birth experience and its long-lasting impact on the mother, child, family and mother’s community. She expresses her creativity and commitment to the health of women and babies through her services, and is devoted to embracing the birth vision and tending to the unique needs of each laboring person. 
JONELLI BORDEN
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Jonelli Borden was a Manhattan Birth student before she became a Certified Holistic Doula through Whapio and The Matrona.  Inspired to become a doula while preparing for the birth of her own son, she strives to assist families by providing caring and knowledgeable service and judgement-free support. She believes that families are empowered through choice and works to create an environment where those choices can be made with full confidence and understanding. Jonelli charges $500. 
YAMILKA DE DIOS
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Yamilka De Dios is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and mother of two, who has been passionate about birth her entire life.  After taking a women's studies course during her undergraduate work, her passion grew through both her pregnancies and births. Yamilka experienced birth trauma with her first birth and despite being a mental health provider, knowing in her core that mental health was imperative to a woman's journey into motherhood, she struggled to find the resources and help she needed.  Through her second pregnancy, she found healing through the support of her midwife and later, her birth team. As a result of her experiences, she has chosen to devote her life to supporting women and families through this life transition.

Yamilka has a deep desire to support, nurture and share her wisdom with her clients so they feel empowered to advocate for themselves. She believes it takes a village to raise a child, therefore a village to nurture a mother! She has a 9 year old son and a 2 year old daughter and is excited to be a part of the Manhattan Birth community. Yamilka's fee is $1000 but will also work on a sliding scale for our students!
THAMAR INNOCENT
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Thamar Innocent is a trained birth and postpartum doula and her goal is to create a space filled with support, resources, advocacy, love and sometimes just a listening ear.  Her passion is rooted in a Caribbean culture that prides themselves on caring for the woman from preconception through her transition into motherhood.

​Thamar feels that her purpose is to support and empower moms to lead a holistic lifestyle that works for them.  Thamar is also a certified health coach and received her B.S in Health Services Administration in NYC.  She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and 7-year-old son.  
KIMBERLY JOHNSON
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​Kimberly Johnson is a certified holistic doula.  She first trained four years ago with Tara Campbell and Birthing Gently and followed it with holistic doula certification with Whapio Bartlett and The Matrona. Kimberly holds a master’s degree in oral history from Columbia University and brings a passion for life history to her birth work.  She has lived in Manhattan for 10 years and is in the process of transitioning to Westchester and Connecticut.Kimberly loves watching and supporting the birth of parents and new families.  She continues to train in areas of holistic birth, infant and toddler CPR, lactation, and post-partum support.
When she isn’t supporting families in birth, Kimberly enjoys cooking, dance parties in her kitchen, and whenever possible, getting out of the city and closer to nature. She is quite partial to beach trips! Kimberly's fee is $800
BORBALA LAKI
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Borbala Laki's main goal as a doula is to help the birthing mother feel as safe and comfortable as possible, and, even more importantly, work with her to build her self confidence regarding giving birth.  I believe that birthing happens as much in the mind and soul as in the physical body, and if the mother is well informed, supported and aware of what’s happening to her body, it will make her be able to keep her calm, strength and confidence throughout the birth.

My training as of now includes doula training with DONA international, the DONA Childbirth class, the DONA Postpartum Doula training, Manhattan Birth’s Lactation basics Course and Lactation Case Studies Workshop.

I am also a certified Holistic Doula, trained by Whapio Diane Pilgrim (The Matrona) and a Holistic Hospital Doula, certified through the Matrona.

I love aromatherapy and essential oils, and as well as using them during and after the birth, I also make my own organic oils and creams.
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I live on Long Island, and work in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island.

EMILIE RODRIGUEZ
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Emilie Rodriguez is a DONA trained birth doula (via Rina Crane) and a Birth Mama trained holistic postpartum doula (via Mama Ma’at) that addresses mothers' nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. She believes every woman should have the birth she desires, the information needed to see it come to fruition, and be an advocate for herself and her family. She believes that giving birth is one of the most sacred, yet normal, experiences in a woman's life and I want to help women/birthing people stand in that power. She takes a holistic approach to help get them to the other side of the mountain we know as birth, using plant based medicine, aromatherapy, low guttural vocalization, rebozo, counter pressure, guided meditation, breath, etc. depending on the needs of the birthing person.

Her interests first started in medicine where she worked as a veterinary technician for years before becoming interested in the influences of culture on women's bodies. She received her BA in Medical Anthropology from the City College of New York, with a focus on reproductive health in the United States. She did her first ethnography on doula work in Brooklyn, shadowing Chanel Porchia from Ancient Song Doula Services, and then another exploring birth experiences in the US and abroad. She was also a Colin Powell Fellow for Health Justice, advocating with Health Leads in Harlem Hospital's OB/GYN Unit to give low-income families access to resources they needed to stay healthy, as well as writing health policy to advance equality and civil rights at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
Emilie always knew she wanted to work with women and children, but did not know in what capacity. It wasn't until she experienced labor and childbirth myself when giving birth to her son at home that she realized how transformative and empowering it could be.
NICOLE WILLIAMS
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Nicole Williams: As a lover of womens issues, Nicole was drawn to the birth community as a birth and postpartum doula to support and empower women as they bring forth and foster new lives.  
 
She understands the difficulty women face on a daily basis to be a partner, sister and though she has not birthed her own children, sympathizes with the challenges of becoming a mother.
 
Nicole has worked in the health insurance managed care for over ten years and currently works in a busy cardiology office with five doctors. She believes a women should be given the option to birth and raise her children in ways that align with their own values as a person. 

Nicole charges $500 for her birth doula services and $35/hour for postpartum. 

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