Meet Our Doulas
We have four doula teams ready to support you, depending on where you live and where you are giving birth. All of our doulas have foundational instruction as professional birth doulas in addition to advanced birth-related skills training. All team members also continue to attend monthly company wide in-service educational workshops. It is our privilege to provide you with the highest quality support in the DMV area. See service areas →
Sarah Paksima
Owner and Executive Senior Doula
Sarah (she/her) has been supporting families for 20 years in the United States, Kuwait, Oman, India, and Jordan as a doula, childbirth educator, and maternal health advocate. Sarah and her husband work hard to keep up with their five kids. She maintains her sanity by raising their children in a town with no stoplights, eating copious amounts of dark chocolate, and stocking their pantry with food kids will eat. When she’s not attending births, she enjoys reading, watching movies while folding endless piles of laundry, and letting kids bury her in the sand at the beach.
MPH, MBA, CD (DONA), LCCE
DCBD Senior Team
Jen Finnegan
Senior Doula
Jen (she/her) has been lucky enough to be on a life journey that has led her to truly appreciate and understand…
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Lindsay Wolff
Senior Doula
Lindsay (she/her) has always been interested in the “whys” and the “hows” of different systems. The same inquisitive pieces of herself that led her…
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Rena Geibel
Senior Doula
Rena’s (she/her) birth of two girls in Kenya in 2004 and 2005 influenced her to shift her professional focus …
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Elizabeth Parish
Senior Doula
Elizabeth (she/her) felt the first tugs in the direction of childbirth when she was in college and spent time with a midwife…
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Emily Workman
Senior Doula
Emily (she/her) loves to help families begin parenthood from a place of strength and self-trust and to play a small role in…
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Kelsey Ogenia
Senior Doula
Kelsey (she/her) has always felt called to birth work and reproductive health issues. While studying at the University of…
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DCBD Central Team
Marcela Bastos
DC Central Doula
Marcela (she/her) first came to appreciate the work of doulas by watching them as a pediatrician in her home country of Brazil.
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Amy Battjer
DC Central Doula
Amy (she/her) made the transition to birth work after her own experiences becoming a mother to her two sons.
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Sara Fatell
DC Central Doula
Sara (she/her, they/them) has been in awe of birth from a young age. Sara is amazed by the power of our bodies…
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Rebecca Gitter
DC Central Doula
Rebecca (she/her) has been working as a certified prenatal yoga teacher in the DC area for more than a dozen years…
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Mary Helen Sullivan
DC Central Doula
Molly Shephard
DC Central Doula
DCBD East Team: Maryland
Jackie Czyzia
DCBD East Doula
Jackie (she/her) became passionate about birth work and reproductive rights after witnessing her sisters’ births at a young…
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Alicia Glover-Johnson
DCBD East Doula
Alicia (she/her) began her lifelong passion of health and wellness after a 16 year career working for the government…
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Taneka Purnell-Tingle
DCBD East Doula
Taneka (she/her) has served as a doula for her friends and family all her adult life. Caring for loved ones and supporting …
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DCBD South Team: Virginia
Amber Wright
DCBD South Doula
Amber (she/her) is a mother of 2 young daughters who felt drawn to become a doula after the birth of her children…
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Carrie Tyson
DCBD South Doula
Carrie (she/her) is a proud wife and mother of 3 children (2 earthside angels, 1 heavenly angel). She was born at the famous…
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Shonne Williams
DCBD South Doula
Shonne Williams (she/her) has spent over 20 years in healthcare as an office manager. She is a master at navigating the sometimes…
Katie Hicks
DCBD South Doula
Katie (she/her) fell in love with birth during her six year career as a birth photographer. While her work as a Medical Assistant at …
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