About Jo

I am a DONA-trained doula and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) in southwest Chicagoland. I began my career as a birth professional in 2010 and since then have actively worked as a birth doula, educator, and midwife's assistant. I am also founder and Director of the South Chicagoland Birth Network.

I believe in a woman’s right to choose where, how, and with whom to give birth. As a doula and educator, I do my best to support women through their births and help them have positive, healthy, and empowering experiences. This means different things to different women, however, and I do not place judgment on my clients, nor advocate for care options based on personal opinion. As a member of your birth team, my goal is to help you sort through the research, discover your options, and make the decisions that are right for you.

I teach group Lamaze classes in Orland Park and am available for private classes in the comfort of your home. I also offer private or group consultations on babywearing and cloth diapering. As a doula, I am wiling to travel throughout most of Chicagoland to meet and serve new clients.

A native of Peotone, IL, I returned to the area in 2012 after 9 years away, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania and then later in NYC, where I earned a graduate degree in health policy, worked at a think tank, and began my birth career. While there, I served as the Archivist on the Board of Directors for the NYC Doula Collective and worked as office manager and birth assistant at Community Midwifery, a thriving homebirth practice in Brooklyn.

In my spare time, I am a freelance writer, at-home mom to my kiddos, a novice crocheter, and avid baker (and cookie-eater). My daughters were born in 2009 and 2012 and I am the proud aunt of more than a dozen little ones.

Kind Words

Meeting Ina May Gaskin in 2008If you'd like to read kind words about my work from friends & former clients, please visit the testimonials page.

If you are a former client, please consider sharing your thoughts about our experience together. You can either email me directly or submit them to my profile at DoulaMatch.net. As a doula, I am always interested in feedback so that I can continue to strengthen my practice and provide the best service possible to every family that hires me. Thanks! <3