Doulaing The Doula Support Team
I’m thrilled to introduce to you my support staff. Together we keep Doulaing the Doula trainings and my research moving forward. It is such a joy to work with people who have their own dreams – together we are making all of our separate endeavors move forward!
LeKecia L. Lovett is the CEO and Founder of Encompass Solutions, LLC. Encompass Solutions is a community-based organization that is a sound resource and safe place for expecting mothers (and their families) who are at higher risk for poor pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. She has also served as the Home Visitation Program Manager for Mental Health America of WI Strong Families Healthy Homes Program that was designed to nurture and support families, parent(s) and/or caregiver(s) living with mental illness. LeKecia is devoted to identifying and the eradication of maternal and child health disparities. LeKecia brings an administrative background and desire to nurture doulas to her position as Certification Coordinator. She is responsible for the details and daily running of our certification program.
Jenny Lindley, B.A., AAHCC, CHES is a birth doula with over fifteen years of experience. She is also a veteran Bradley Childbirth Instructor and Certified Health Education Specialist with further nutrition certification. Jenny has been assisting at Doulaing The Doula trainings on and off for over twelve years. She’s a veteran who loves answering new doulas’ questions. Jenny will be part of the assistant staff for online trainings and face to face trainings.
Tamara Thompson, CLC – Project Assistant. Tamara has been a leader in the African American Breastfeeding Alliance for many years, is a founding member of the WI Doulas of Color Collective and co-founder of the Harambee Village community based doula program. She is now a part of the Maroon Calabash Doula Program in Milwaukee, and a midwifery student at the Midwives College of Utah. She is a graduate of the UW-Madison Odyssey Project. After taking her DTD doula training in 2015, Tamara lost no time in becoming a leader in the doula community! She also trained in 2014 as a traditional birth worker with Ms. Shafia Monroe of the Center for Traditional Childbearing. Tamara’s aspiration is to be a midwife with her own free standing birth center. She has been featured in an interview by Our Milky Way, and is the mother of six children.
Emili Butrin has been a birth doula for over 10 years, working on staff at the Columbia Center Birth Hospital of Mequon, WI, (now Ascension St Mary’s) from 2012-2018. Emili has been assisting at Doulaing The Doula trainings for the last couple years, and enjoys encouraging budding doulas on their path! Emili wears many other hats, too: mother of three boys, a partner, a poet, a painter, an aspiring energy healer, and a barista – just to name a few! Emili is one of our regular in person training assistants!
Robin Fuehrer, CD(DONA) started our her career in birth as a photographer but quickly realize that supporting birthing families was where she wanted to focus her energy. She became a certified lactation counselor with ALPP in 2014 and a certified birth doula with DONA International in 2015. In 2018 she became a Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator (SpBCPE). Currently she is pursuing certification as a Hypnobabies Trainer and is a Hypnobabies Doula. She has a desire for birthing families to be well informed and well educated about birth and so she continues to expand her knowledge in birth as well. Robin’s Nest Doula Services is located in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Robin is a favorite assistant of our online trainees! Robin is one of our certification coaches.
Mandi Wagnild, “is a ceaseless advocate for evidence-based care and patient rights in her daily life, even outside of her professional life. Mandi is well-respected in the community… for her willingness to reach out to anyone seeking more birth-related information for a cup of coffee and conversation. She lives her passion and purpose with integrity, and it is my firm belief that every expecting mother needs a ‘Mandi’ in her life.” – Erika, second time mom in Italy.
Katy Sticha – Office Manager/Lead Project Assistant. Katy keeps the DTD world running; she likely assembled your binder and took care of all the tiny set up details so I didn’t have to. With over thirty years in office leadership, catering management and preschool teacher experience, Katy brings the right mix of how to run things to our business. She is an excellent coordinator in that she can see the big picture as well as the small details. For years, Katy did on call AT NIGHT childcare so I could attend births as a doula. I’m still grateful! Katy has a Standard Poodle, Rebel that keeps us busy at the office. He was born on International Women’s Day, during the pandemic.
DeAnna Tharpe started her journey into birth work in 2010 as a Baby Planner, then becoming a Certified Child Safety Educator, Certified Doula, and Perinatal Bereavement Specialist. DeAnna is an Advocate for the March of Dimes, she’s currently a member of the State of WI F.I.M.R (fetal infant mortality review committee), M.E.A.C (midwifery education accreditation council) on the Clinical Training Taskforce along with Wisconsin Guild of Midwives, in which she has assisted in bringing ICTC to Wisconsin for 15 women of color to gain Full Circle Doula Training. These women have also completed CPR & NRP courses. Together we have formulated the Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective. Within the collective we have also gained DONA training. DeAnna is also on the Political Advocacy board for the Wisconsin Guild of Midwives, in which they are actively fighting for reimbursement of licensed Midwives under Medicaid in the State of Wisconsin. DeAnna is currently a student midwife serving the underrepresented communities here in the State of Wisconsin. DeAnna supports our certification program with specialty topics.
Our Community Partners
Harambee Village Doula Program: We regularly offer birth doula training workshops for the program, and they have helped us to create our certification process.
Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective: We work together to create and support high quality doulas and our mutual objectives to address racial inequities.
Roots4Change Raices para el Cambio Co-op: We work together for our mutual goals. They offer trained doulas and community health workers to serve our Latin communities.
Kathy Oppegard Coaching: Kathy provides fun, play centered motivational coaching for our Certification Coaches.
UW Madison School of Human Ecology Center for Community and NonProfit Studies: The CommNS and SoHE supports all of our community change endeavors through connection and education.
