Vy Mai - Executive Director (she/her)
Vy has always had a passion for helping others and is currently attending the University of Washington as a first-generation college student, focusing her studies on Public and Global Health administration. Vy joined MAWS with a desire to help marginalized communities gain access to quality and affordable healthcare, in an equitable way.
Vy experienced her first birth at the age of 11 when her baby sister was born, but she was appalled at the injustice that her mother faced from hospital staff, so she has always been in support of midwifery. Her experience includes working as a CNA in assisted living and in-home care, interning at various hospitals and nursing facilities around the greater Seattle area, as well as administration work in larger nonprofit hospitals and local organizations. Vy has worked with patients from many diverse backgrounds, which enables her to connect with her community and accommodate different needs.
Born in Vietnam, Vy immigrated to the U.S. with her immediate family when she was five years old. She tries to travel back to her hometown, Huế, every other year to visit her grandparents and extended family. Vy has two dogs that she and her husband, Conner, rescued - Coco is a golden lab/retriever mix and Louis is a white Siberian Husky. In her free time, Vy likes to travel and try new foods to keep up with her Yelp Elite status!
Vy has always had a passion for helping others and is currently attending the University of Washington as a first-generation college student, focusing her studies on Public and Global Health administration. Vy joined MAWS with a desire to help marginalized communities gain access to quality and affordable healthcare, in an equitable way.
Vy experienced her first birth at the age of 11 when her baby sister was born, but she was appalled at the injustice that her mother faced from hospital staff, so she has always been in support of midwifery. Her experience includes working as a CNA in assisted living and in-home care, interning at various hospitals and nursing facilities around the greater Seattle area, as well as administration work in larger nonprofit hospitals and local organizations. Vy has worked with patients from many diverse backgrounds, which enables her to connect with her community and accommodate different needs.
Born in Vietnam, Vy immigrated to the U.S. with her immediate family when she was five years old. She tries to travel back to her hometown, Huế, every other year to visit her grandparents and extended family. Vy has two dogs that she and her husband, Conner, rescued - Coco is a golden lab/retriever mix and Louis is a white Siberian Husky. In her free time, Vy likes to travel and try new foods to keep up with her Yelp Elite status!
Louisa Severn, LM, CPM - President (she/her)
Louisa was licensed in 2010 after graduating with the last cohort of Seattle Midwifery School and practiced in Kitsap County almost continuously since. She is currently re-entering the Washington midwifery scene after a burnout related, three year hiatus spent working in fertility medicine and third party reproduction at Sound Fertility Care in Seattle. She was a member of the MAWS board from 2008-2017 and served as the Midwife Chair of the JUA from 2012-2017. Louisa is passionate (and frequently vocal) about midwives being paid appropriately and student midwives being trained properly and treated fairly. Baked goods and knitting are my love languages. She and her wife live in Kingston Washington where they raise their hilariously massive blended family and plot revolution!
Louisa was licensed in 2010 after graduating with the last cohort of Seattle Midwifery School and practiced in Kitsap County almost continuously since. She is currently re-entering the Washington midwifery scene after a burnout related, three year hiatus spent working in fertility medicine and third party reproduction at Sound Fertility Care in Seattle. She was a member of the MAWS board from 2008-2017 and served as the Midwife Chair of the JUA from 2012-2017. Louisa is passionate (and frequently vocal) about midwives being paid appropriately and student midwives being trained properly and treated fairly. Baked goods and knitting are my love languages. She and her wife live in Kingston Washington where they raise their hilariously massive blended family and plot revolution!
Susan Haufe - Vice President (she/her)
Susan the mom of two (gulp) teenage boys that were brought into this world with the loving care of midwives. Sixteen years ago she and her husband made a very deliberate decision about the kind of birth they wanted and in making that decision - they chose a practice on the Eastside whom we trusted to take care of us and our baby (ultimately 2 babies!). Their care was phenomenal - loving and competent, complete. They were passionate in sharing their story with their circle of friends who were also making decisions for their families, wanting others to have access to the level of amazing care they received. When they got the bill, Susan was enraged that the practice who took such beautiful care of her family received so little for their care.
Susan has always wanted to do something to elevate the practice and advocate for midwifery being recognized as a legitimate (safe, effective, high quality) and compassionate choice for obstetrics care. Professionally, Susan has spent two decades in healthcare administration, focused on the experience of healthcare for patients, families and caregivers. She cannot think of a better way to improve the experience of care than supporting the practice of midwifery and creating options for families to choose this care in their journey to expand their families and is honored to serve on the MAWS board of directors to do just that.
Susan the mom of two (gulp) teenage boys that were brought into this world with the loving care of midwives. Sixteen years ago she and her husband made a very deliberate decision about the kind of birth they wanted and in making that decision - they chose a practice on the Eastside whom we trusted to take care of us and our baby (ultimately 2 babies!). Their care was phenomenal - loving and competent, complete. They were passionate in sharing their story with their circle of friends who were also making decisions for their families, wanting others to have access to the level of amazing care they received. When they got the bill, Susan was enraged that the practice who took such beautiful care of her family received so little for their care.
Susan has always wanted to do something to elevate the practice and advocate for midwifery being recognized as a legitimate (safe, effective, high quality) and compassionate choice for obstetrics care. Professionally, Susan has spent two decades in healthcare administration, focused on the experience of healthcare for patients, families and caregivers. She cannot think of a better way to improve the experience of care than supporting the practice of midwifery and creating options for families to choose this care in their journey to expand their families and is honored to serve on the MAWS board of directors to do just that.
Amanda Garrity - Treasurer (she/her)
Amanda can bring a lot to the table in regards to educating the state for price adjustments. She has experience working with the Utility Trade Commission state regulators that grant CPI (price increases) for utility services. This is an extremely rigorous exercise and we were typically challenged by the state to validate our increases. High level cost analysis, budgeting and detailed/solid accounting is required to be granted any price increase for the following year.
Amanda has 11.5 years of accounting experience, specializing in budgeting, forecasting, cash management, and cost analysis. She is a state, local, property tax expert that can provide clean books ready for annual tax return, assist CPA with annual tax return support, full cycle accounting (mostly accrual but cash basis when requested by the client), and GAAP compliance/ASC606 Revenue Recognition.
Amanda is also well versed in management/mentorship for senior accounting level team members, equity accounting for venture capital backed/privately funded start ups where private stock issuance and Employee stock (company share compensation) is present including stock compensation calculation for year end, and has experience in construction, engineering & survey, health care, debt collection, software engineering, robotic manufacturing, and waste management fields.
Amanda can bring a lot to the table in regards to educating the state for price adjustments. She has experience working with the Utility Trade Commission state regulators that grant CPI (price increases) for utility services. This is an extremely rigorous exercise and we were typically challenged by the state to validate our increases. High level cost analysis, budgeting and detailed/solid accounting is required to be granted any price increase for the following year.
Amanda has 11.5 years of accounting experience, specializing in budgeting, forecasting, cash management, and cost analysis. She is a state, local, property tax expert that can provide clean books ready for annual tax return, assist CPA with annual tax return support, full cycle accounting (mostly accrual but cash basis when requested by the client), and GAAP compliance/ASC606 Revenue Recognition.
Amanda is also well versed in management/mentorship for senior accounting level team members, equity accounting for venture capital backed/privately funded start ups where private stock issuance and Employee stock (company share compensation) is present including stock compensation calculation for year end, and has experience in construction, engineering & survey, health care, debt collection, software engineering, robotic manufacturing, and waste management fields.
Ashley Marasigan Castillote, MSM - Secretary (she/her)
Ashley moved to Washington from LA with her family in 2006. She spent a few years pursuing a nursing degree but it never felt like the right fit. Her journey into midwifery started when she became pregnant with her daughter. Her midwives advocated for her during her birth and held her hand throughout her pregnancy journey that it inspired Ashley to want to be a midwife herself; she also wanted to help others have an empowered, autonomous, and memorable birth like she did. About a year after her daughter was born, Ashley started Bastyr University’s Master of Science in Midwifery program and recently graduated in June 2023. She also has experience working as a birth doula, birth assistant, childbirth and lactation educator, and placenta encapsulator.
She founded Metamorphosis Birth Services which aims to provide affordable and accessible birth services and rentals for all with the promise to always make something work with clients who have financial hardships. She is currently working toward midwifery state licensure and will be practicing as a midwife in January 2024. Ashley is also passionate about breast/chestfeeding and became a Certified Lactation Educator through the Simkin Center in 2022. She is currently interning with a lactation consultant as she works on becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) herself.
Apart from birth work, Ashley enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband Devin and daughter Niyomi. While her hands have caught lots of babies, they’ve also spent a lot time drawing, crocheting, and baking! She also enjoys learning new languages, reading books, and teaching. She is Filipino and Chinese and is proud to join the small collective of Asian and Pacific Islander birth workers in Washington state!
Ashley moved to Washington from LA with her family in 2006. She spent a few years pursuing a nursing degree but it never felt like the right fit. Her journey into midwifery started when she became pregnant with her daughter. Her midwives advocated for her during her birth and held her hand throughout her pregnancy journey that it inspired Ashley to want to be a midwife herself; she also wanted to help others have an empowered, autonomous, and memorable birth like she did. About a year after her daughter was born, Ashley started Bastyr University’s Master of Science in Midwifery program and recently graduated in June 2023. She also has experience working as a birth doula, birth assistant, childbirth and lactation educator, and placenta encapsulator.
She founded Metamorphosis Birth Services which aims to provide affordable and accessible birth services and rentals for all with the promise to always make something work with clients who have financial hardships. She is currently working toward midwifery state licensure and will be practicing as a midwife in January 2024. Ashley is also passionate about breast/chestfeeding and became a Certified Lactation Educator through the Simkin Center in 2022. She is currently interning with a lactation consultant as she works on becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) herself.
Apart from birth work, Ashley enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband Devin and daughter Niyomi. While her hands have caught lots of babies, they’ve also spent a lot time drawing, crocheting, and baking! She also enjoys learning new languages, reading books, and teaching. She is Filipino and Chinese and is proud to join the small collective of Asian and Pacific Islander birth workers in Washington state!
Brook Prudhomme (she/her)
Brooke is a mother of 3 who moved to Washington from Memphis, TN. She is a community midwife, maternal health specialist, and reproductive justice advocate who possesses wisdom, ingenuity, passion, and vision. A motivated nurturer and leader who is driven and committed to uplifting the most susceptible using the model of midwifery care.
Brooke is devoted to the work of antiracism and is a volunteer facilitator with the Bay Area organization, Transforming White Privilege for Midwives.
Brooke is a mother of 3 who moved to Washington from Memphis, TN. She is a community midwife, maternal health specialist, and reproductive justice advocate who possesses wisdom, ingenuity, passion, and vision. A motivated nurturer and leader who is driven and committed to uplifting the most susceptible using the model of midwifery care.
Brooke is devoted to the work of antiracism and is a volunteer facilitator with the Bay Area organization, Transforming White Privilege for Midwives.
Dr. Lauren Potts (she/her)
Dr. Potts is a first-year resident physician at Fern Valley Natural Medicine. She graduated from Bastyr University with her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and Master of Science in midwifery. Prior to her studies at Bastyr, she earned her Master of Public Health in epidemiology from Georgia State University. Dr. Potts has had additional training in pediatrics, and women’s health, and is continuing to work towards her Washington state midwifery license.
Dr. Potts was originally drawn to naturopathic primary care and birth work after studying and experiencing the healthcare disparities present in her community, and become passionate about caring for families, birthing people, and children from all marginalized communities. In alignment with naturopathic principles and the midwifery model of care, her style of practice involves developing trusting relationships with clients and working alongside them to develop individualized treatment plans that address the whole person.
Dr. Potts is passionate about providing quality primary care and enjoys using nutrition, herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals when indicated to help support the health and wellness of clients in her care.
Dr. Potts is originally from Oakland, California and has also lived in New Orleans and Atlanta before moving to the Seattle area to study at Bastyr. When she’s not seeing patients at Fern Valley or birth assisting her way to her midwifery license, she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Dr. Potts is a first-year resident physician at Fern Valley Natural Medicine. She graduated from Bastyr University with her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and Master of Science in midwifery. Prior to her studies at Bastyr, she earned her Master of Public Health in epidemiology from Georgia State University. Dr. Potts has had additional training in pediatrics, and women’s health, and is continuing to work towards her Washington state midwifery license.
Dr. Potts was originally drawn to naturopathic primary care and birth work after studying and experiencing the healthcare disparities present in her community, and become passionate about caring for families, birthing people, and children from all marginalized communities. In alignment with naturopathic principles and the midwifery model of care, her style of practice involves developing trusting relationships with clients and working alongside them to develop individualized treatment plans that address the whole person.
Dr. Potts is passionate about providing quality primary care and enjoys using nutrition, herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals when indicated to help support the health and wellness of clients in her care.
Dr. Potts is originally from Oakland, California and has also lived in New Orleans and Atlanta before moving to the Seattle area to study at Bastyr. When she’s not seeing patients at Fern Valley or birth assisting her way to her midwifery license, she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Nisarindani Orozco (she/her)
Nisa Orozco is a 2023 graduate from Bastyr University, where she earned her Masters in Midwifery with a concentration in Botanical Medicine. Her calling to birthwork and reproductive justice began 7 years ago, when she became a doula. She has worked as a doula, student midwife, and birth assistant in CA, TX and most recently in WA. Her approach to maternal healthcare comes from the perspective and experiences of direct patient care, education, and advocacy. As a birthworker, she has seen firsthand both the need for bilingual staff of color, and for healthcare providers with cultural awareness. It is clear that to effectively meet the standards of "best practices" in the maternal healthcare field, we must engage in difficult dialogue regarding racial disparities.
As a midwife, she sees herself contributing to the maternal health field by increasing both the inroads and access to maternal healthcare in the communities of color we serve. Her experience as an educator grounded in empowerment and advocacy, strongly guides how she plans to approach and implement changes in maternal healthcare as a future midwife. She strives to help create a healthcare system that reflects the communities that she will be serving.
Ultimately, her dream is to aid practitioners and legislation in adopting a maternal healthcare culture guided by principles of accessibility, prevention, quality care, appropriate intervention and culturally appropriate education. She currently sits on the board of trustees for Seattle Girls' School, of which she is an alum.
Nisa Orozco is a 2023 graduate from Bastyr University, where she earned her Masters in Midwifery with a concentration in Botanical Medicine. Her calling to birthwork and reproductive justice began 7 years ago, when she became a doula. She has worked as a doula, student midwife, and birth assistant in CA, TX and most recently in WA. Her approach to maternal healthcare comes from the perspective and experiences of direct patient care, education, and advocacy. As a birthworker, she has seen firsthand both the need for bilingual staff of color, and for healthcare providers with cultural awareness. It is clear that to effectively meet the standards of "best practices" in the maternal healthcare field, we must engage in difficult dialogue regarding racial disparities.
As a midwife, she sees herself contributing to the maternal health field by increasing both the inroads and access to maternal healthcare in the communities of color we serve. Her experience as an educator grounded in empowerment and advocacy, strongly guides how she plans to approach and implement changes in maternal healthcare as a future midwife. She strives to help create a healthcare system that reflects the communities that she will be serving.
Ultimately, her dream is to aid practitioners and legislation in adopting a maternal healthcare culture guided by principles of accessibility, prevention, quality care, appropriate intervention and culturally appropriate education. She currently sits on the board of trustees for Seattle Girls' School, of which she is an alum.
Brandy Ross-Bell, ND, LM (she/her)
Brandy is a 2004 graduate of the Naturopathic Medicine and Naturopathic Midwifery programs at Bastyr University. After graduation, she spent her first two years of practice in Minnesota. Brandy returned to Seattle in 2006 where she opened her practice in Lynnwood, WA doing both Naturopathic Medicine and Midwifery with a focus on pediatrics and midwifery. While homebirth was always my great love, Brandy decided to open a birth center in 2019/2020 to offer greater options to birthing people in Mountlake Terrace and surrounding areas. Brandy is fortunate enough to have a loving wife and 3 kids that support her on this journey of life.
Brandy is a 2004 graduate of the Naturopathic Medicine and Naturopathic Midwifery programs at Bastyr University. After graduation, she spent her first two years of practice in Minnesota. Brandy returned to Seattle in 2006 where she opened her practice in Lynnwood, WA doing both Naturopathic Medicine and Midwifery with a focus on pediatrics and midwifery. While homebirth was always my great love, Brandy decided to open a birth center in 2019/2020 to offer greater options to birthing people in Mountlake Terrace and surrounding areas. Brandy is fortunate enough to have a loving wife and 3 kids that support her on this journey of life.
Carolee Hall (she/her)
Carolee is a 2005 graduate of the Seattle Midwifery School. She founded a free-standing birth center, The Birth House, in Olympia, WA and has worked in group practice her entire career. She returned to Bastyr in 2017 for her Master's degree as part of the first MCHS cohort. Since then, she has served on the state's Maternal Mortality Review Panel and the Smooth Transitions Committee alongside her local midwifery colleagues and consulting providers. In her spare time, Carolee enjoys traveling and spending time with her adult children and grandbabies.
Carolee is a 2005 graduate of the Seattle Midwifery School. She founded a free-standing birth center, The Birth House, in Olympia, WA and has worked in group practice her entire career. She returned to Bastyr in 2017 for her Master's degree as part of the first MCHS cohort. Since then, she has served on the state's Maternal Mortality Review Panel and the Smooth Transitions Committee alongside her local midwifery colleagues and consulting providers. In her spare time, Carolee enjoys traveling and spending time with her adult children and grandbabies.