Proud mom of two amazing adult children and grandmother of a sweet toddler, sister, daughter, and settler on these ancestral lands, I hope to empower new parents on an affirming journey after your baby arrives. My grandmother was a strong influence in my life; I deliberately chose the image of a Nana as my "brand" for helping families to welcome a new baby and adjust to new home routines. 

 I offer experience, optimism, 1000 hours of recent training in post-partum care, a wide network of community connections and fluency in French, beginner Spanish, and empathetic English. A past prairie chicken from Winterpeg, I've made Victoria my home since 2004 and treasure each day in paradise. 

I bring an abundance and growth mindset, through my work with adult literacy students, and then from leadership roles at UVic, the Victoria Foundation, United Way and Our Place Society that exposed me to marginalized people experiencing tough times as well as caring "communitarians" who made philanthropic gifts to bring positive change. 

In 2022, after seeing how my daughter planned for a calm birth in a non-medical setting, then after three days of labour, was rushed to hospital for an emergency C-section, I hired a postpartum doula after her first month of healing when I had to return to work. And then signed up myself for the training with MotherWit, led by a 26 year veteran. Lesley Everest taught an evidence-based intense course, then required First Aid, intensive reading and research, involvement with La Leche, prenatal education, and work with parents, to achieve certification. 

Those skills add to my Master's in Adult education from St. FX, specializing in health literacy, which I studied for seven years. A patient prompt card, plain language workshops with health educators, streamlining medical communication and increasing resources for patients were legacies of those years. My B.Ed focused on second language teaching and I've loved working with BIPOC and First Nations groups in a variety of roles too. 

But fuelling families with skills and hope are the cornerstones of my doula practice now. 

I remember well how, in spite of being an experienced teacher of young children and second-language adults, I felt so overwhelmed by the massive learning curve after having my first child. She was a forceps delivery, and I got mastitis from assuming the Madonna-like pose of holding her was the right way. Thank goodness for La Leche and other mommas who became lifelong friends! 

My darling 10 pound 11 ounce son was born just nine months later while I was still nursing my daughter. Hours of labour ended in a caesarean. He looked like a three month old child! What magical months we shared at home with two under two. Every moment brought something new. A smile, a challenge, words and songs and adjustments. 

The kids are now amazing adults; my son is completing his PhD in biophysics and computer science grappling with the ethics of AI and my queer daughter is an award-winning pianist, composer and piano teacher completing her Master's in Music performance in Montreal. Little Misha, her son, brings joy and bouncing energy to the circle. 

Working with many families over the last two decades as a community leader I now am reFiring to offer my calm and reassuring doula services to local families. Please refer to the services section and contact me to share your family's pain points or needs for some Tender Loving Care!

• Grandmother and mother of two who had both a vaginal and caesarean birth experience
• Professional adult educator with an M.Ed in health literacy
• Experienced teacher with 15 years experience
• Hold Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification (2022)
• Trained under MotherWit Postpartum Doula Care (see motherwit.ca curriculum here )
• Participant in workshops with Doulas of Victoria
• Positive problem-solver with extensive community contacts
• Quadruple vaccinated for COVID, also vaccinated for HepB and TDAp, have MMR antibodies