Brooke Prudhomme
Executive Director CPM, LM
Brooke champions equitable, accessible, and culturally attuned support for midwives across Washington State. A Certified Professional Midwife and founder of Ova Sanctum, Brooke’s leadership bridges advocacy, clinical practice, and visionary care design. She also serves on the Board of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM).
Born and raised in Memphis, Brooke’s professional journey began in the humanities before transforming through motherhood. Following the births of her sons, she pursued midwifery through a six-year apprenticeship, later, one of a team of co-pioneers of the first and only freestanding birth center in Memphis, Choices: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health alongside Dr. Nikia Grayson. She has also served as the Director of Midwifery at birth centers in Oregon and Washington.
Her background includes expertise in fostering organizational growth and positive change through her work with Southern Growth Studio (now Epic Pivot) and Choices. Brooke has proven throughout her professional life, as a midwife, her dedication to social justice, birth advocacy, strategic planning, bridge building, and creative leadership, as well as her contributions, in her pre-midwife life, to transformative campaigns for organizations such as Heifer International, Merck, and Hunter Fans which demonstrate her ability to inspire meaningful community impact.
Brooke maintains her own home birth practice in Seattle as well as a clinical presence at Global Perinatal Services and has served as adjunct faculty at Bastyr University. She volunteers with Transforming White Privilege for Midwives and helped secure CEU accreditation for their antiracism education in midwifery. Brooke’s leadership reflects her unwavering dedication to creating sustainable, equitable care models, and strengthening all forms of midwifery as a cornerstone of public health.
Executive Director CPM, LM
Brooke champions equitable, accessible, and culturally attuned support for midwives across Washington State. A Certified Professional Midwife and founder of Ova Sanctum, Brooke’s leadership bridges advocacy, clinical practice, and visionary care design. She also serves on the Board of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM).
Born and raised in Memphis, Brooke’s professional journey began in the humanities before transforming through motherhood. Following the births of her sons, she pursued midwifery through a six-year apprenticeship, later, one of a team of co-pioneers of the first and only freestanding birth center in Memphis, Choices: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health alongside Dr. Nikia Grayson. She has also served as the Director of Midwifery at birth centers in Oregon and Washington.
Her background includes expertise in fostering organizational growth and positive change through her work with Southern Growth Studio (now Epic Pivot) and Choices. Brooke has proven throughout her professional life, as a midwife, her dedication to social justice, birth advocacy, strategic planning, bridge building, and creative leadership, as well as her contributions, in her pre-midwife life, to transformative campaigns for organizations such as Heifer International, Merck, and Hunter Fans which demonstrate her ability to inspire meaningful community impact.
Brooke maintains her own home birth practice in Seattle as well as a clinical presence at Global Perinatal Services and has served as adjunct faculty at Bastyr University. She volunteers with Transforming White Privilege for Midwives and helped secure CEU accreditation for their antiracism education in midwifery. Brooke’s leadership reflects her unwavering dedication to creating sustainable, equitable care models, and strengthening all forms of midwifery as a cornerstone of public health.
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!
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!
Nisarindani Orozco,
MSM, LM - Vice-President (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.
MSM, LM - Vice-President (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.
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.
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.
Anna Humphreys, LM, CPM, MSM, MPH - Interim Secretary (she/her)
Midwife & Co-Owner, Snohomish Midwives
Born into the hands of a midwife and raised in a home where birth was revered, Anna carries a lifelong reverence for the power of maternity care. Her mother, a birth photographer, fostered a deep early interest, one that blossomed into vocation after witnessing her first birth at age 12. In 2012, she became a doula in Southern Oregon, supporting over 100 families through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. She also taught childbirth education, infant massage, and volunteered with high-risk pregnancy programs, experiences that have deepened her awareness of inequities in maternal healthcare.
With a passion for systems change, she earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in 2020, later returning to school to study midwifery at Bastyr University. Her clinical training was completed at Snohomish Midwives and Lake Washington Midwives, where she developed a strong foundation in holistic, community-based midwifery. In 2024, she joined Snohomish Midwives as a co-owner and licensed midwife.
Originally from Colorado, she has called Washington home since 2016. Outside of midwifery, she enjoys gardening, knitting, biking, hiking, and fermenting vegetables. She shares a multigenerational household with her husband, mother, brother, and two beloved dogs.
Midwife & Co-Owner, Snohomish Midwives
Born into the hands of a midwife and raised in a home where birth was revered, Anna carries a lifelong reverence for the power of maternity care. Her mother, a birth photographer, fostered a deep early interest, one that blossomed into vocation after witnessing her first birth at age 12. In 2012, she became a doula in Southern Oregon, supporting over 100 families through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. She also taught childbirth education, infant massage, and volunteered with high-risk pregnancy programs, experiences that have deepened her awareness of inequities in maternal healthcare.
With a passion for systems change, she earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in 2020, later returning to school to study midwifery at Bastyr University. Her clinical training was completed at Snohomish Midwives and Lake Washington Midwives, where she developed a strong foundation in holistic, community-based midwifery. In 2024, she joined Snohomish Midwives as a co-owner and licensed midwife.
Originally from Colorado, she has called Washington home since 2016. Outside of midwifery, she enjoys gardening, knitting, biking, hiking, and fermenting vegetables. She shares a multigenerational household with her husband, mother, brother, and two beloved dogs.
Dr. Sara Alvarado
Naturopathic Doctor and Licensed Midwife
Dr. Sara Alvarado, originally from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, has long been committed to grassroots health justice. During college, she worked as a health educator and labor organizer for a healthcare workers union, driven by a passion for community empowerment. After graduating, she served with AmeriCorps in Austin, supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and exploring how to expand access to quality care. This path led her to pursue Naturopathic Medicine and Midwifery at Bastyr University, where she deepened her commitment to integrative, accessible, and dignity-centered care. She's the owner or Rainy City Midwifery and Center for Birth
Naturopathic Doctor and Licensed Midwife
Dr. Sara Alvarado, originally from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, has long been committed to grassroots health justice. During college, she worked as a health educator and labor organizer for a healthcare workers union, driven by a passion for community empowerment. After graduating, she served with AmeriCorps in Austin, supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and exploring how to expand access to quality care. This path led her to pursue Naturopathic Medicine and Midwifery at Bastyr University, where she deepened her commitment to integrative, accessible, and dignity-centered care. She's the owner or Rainy City Midwifery and Center for Birth
Faisa Farole, CPM, LM, CLC
Licensed Midwife & Maternal Health Advocate
From an early age, Faisa knew she was destined to work in the medical field. After completing her registered nursing prerequisites in college, she served as a medical interpreter, gaining firsthand exposure to a wide range of healthcare settings. It was through this role that she discovered midwifery, a calling that immediately resonated with her values and vision for compassionate, culturally attuned care.
Motivated by the birth injustices she witnessed among low-income and minority women while working as a doula and interpreter, she chose to pursue the Licensed Midwife path to be an active force for change in maternal health outcomes. Her midwifery education began at Seattle Midwifery School (now Bastyr University), and she later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Midwifery from the Utah College of Midwives in 2015. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and is licensed to practice in Washington State. In 2022, she completed a Master’s in Maternal Child Health Systems from Bastyr University.
Deeply committed to informed choice, she believes that birth is a natural process and that all birthing people should feel empowered—not pressured—in their care decisions.
She is the proud mother of two boys and wife to what she lovingly describes as a humble and patient partner.
Licensed Midwife & Maternal Health Advocate
From an early age, Faisa knew she was destined to work in the medical field. After completing her registered nursing prerequisites in college, she served as a medical interpreter, gaining firsthand exposure to a wide range of healthcare settings. It was through this role that she discovered midwifery, a calling that immediately resonated with her values and vision for compassionate, culturally attuned care.
Motivated by the birth injustices she witnessed among low-income and minority women while working as a doula and interpreter, she chose to pursue the Licensed Midwife path to be an active force for change in maternal health outcomes. Her midwifery education began at Seattle Midwifery School (now Bastyr University), and she later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Midwifery from the Utah College of Midwives in 2015. She is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and is licensed to practice in Washington State. In 2022, she completed a Master’s in Maternal Child Health Systems from Bastyr University.
Deeply committed to informed choice, she believes that birth is a natural process and that all birthing people should feel empowered—not pressured—in their care decisions.
She is the proud mother of two boys and wife to what she lovingly describes as a humble and patient partner.
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.
Terah Lara
Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife
Terah's path to midwifery began with the transformative experience of giving birth to her first daughter at age 16, an experience marked by dignity and respect that shaped her life’s calling. As a single teen parent, she worked as a medical assistant while attending midwifery school, eventually becoming a licensed and certified professional midwife.
Over the past 20 years in healthcare and 15 years in midwifery, she has attended over 1,000 births and completed extensive training including multiple preceptorships, over 100 births during her clinical education, thousands of hours of care, and both state and national licensing exams. A proud Latina and Diné (Navajo) mother of five, each born with midwives, Terah is also a board-certified lactation consultant, professor at the Center for Indigenous Midwifery, and current Physician Assistant student at the University of Washington, working to provide continuity of care for the communities she serves.
Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife
Terah's path to midwifery began with the transformative experience of giving birth to her first daughter at age 16, an experience marked by dignity and respect that shaped her life’s calling. As a single teen parent, she worked as a medical assistant while attending midwifery school, eventually becoming a licensed and certified professional midwife.
Over the past 20 years in healthcare and 15 years in midwifery, she has attended over 1,000 births and completed extensive training including multiple preceptorships, over 100 births during her clinical education, thousands of hours of care, and both state and national licensing exams. A proud Latina and Diné (Navajo) mother of five, each born with midwives, Terah is also a board-certified lactation consultant, professor at the Center for Indigenous Midwifery, and current Physician Assistant student at the University of Washington, working to provide continuity of care for the communities she serves.
Lynette Pettibone
MSM, LM, LDM, CPM
Lynette spent over 20 years supporting families as a doula and childbirth educator in King/Snohomish county before moving to Portland, OR in 2013. Once her kids were off to school she wanted to expand her ability to support growing families and she graduated from Bastyr University with her Masters in Midwifery in 2016 and became a licensed midwife in both Washington and Oregon. In 2018 she started a home birth practice spanning the border of the two states and became an active member in both MAWS and the Oregon professional association, OMC.
She purchased property in 2020 and began work on The Bridge Birth Center in Vancouver, WA which opened in 2022. Lynette has extensive board and committee experience. She has been a member of the MAWS Legislative and Policy Committee for several years and is currently on the Board of Direct Entry Midwifery in Oregon State (licensing and disciplinary board). Lynette extensively supports midwifery and birth centers and is a founding board member of the Washington Association of Birth Centers as well as board member of the Oregon Association of Birth Centers.
She has actively participated in the American Association of Birth Centers DEI committee, membership committee and Government Affairs committee. Lynette is currently a midwife in active practice at The Bridge. She is deeply passionate about supporting midwifery and midwifery clients and is committed to continuing to be a bridge connecting pregnant people, healthcare professionals and advocacy organizations.
MSM, LM, LDM, CPM
Lynette spent over 20 years supporting families as a doula and childbirth educator in King/Snohomish county before moving to Portland, OR in 2013. Once her kids were off to school she wanted to expand her ability to support growing families and she graduated from Bastyr University with her Masters in Midwifery in 2016 and became a licensed midwife in both Washington and Oregon. In 2018 she started a home birth practice spanning the border of the two states and became an active member in both MAWS and the Oregon professional association, OMC.
She purchased property in 2020 and began work on The Bridge Birth Center in Vancouver, WA which opened in 2022. Lynette has extensive board and committee experience. She has been a member of the MAWS Legislative and Policy Committee for several years and is currently on the Board of Direct Entry Midwifery in Oregon State (licensing and disciplinary board). Lynette extensively supports midwifery and birth centers and is a founding board member of the Washington Association of Birth Centers as well as board member of the Oregon Association of Birth Centers.
She has actively participated in the American Association of Birth Centers DEI committee, membership committee and Government Affairs committee. Lynette is currently a midwife in active practice at The Bridge. She is deeply passionate about supporting midwifery and midwifery clients and is committed to continuing to be a bridge connecting pregnant people, healthcare professionals and advocacy organizations.
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 became 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 became 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.