Meet our Team
ABC Doula Service is a team of highly experienced postpartum doulas trained in breastfeeding support and instruction, postpartum recovery and infant care. All of our doulas are CPR and First Aid certified and carry professional liability insurance. To learn more about one of our doulas click on her name to see her personal bio page.
ABC Doula Team (left to right): Suzy – Camille – Jonelle – Terrie – Cristie – Kimberly – Jennifer – Amy – Donna - Carrie – Megan
(Also part of the ABC team but not Pictured: Susan - Amanda – Jill)
Suzy offers the wealth of knowledge that comes from raising three children and, just recently, becoming a grandma! Her first grandchild (a preemie) arrived last year, two more followed soon after, and another is on the way–she is surrounded by babies both in her work and personal life! Suzy’s experience includes work as a homecare provider in addition to her homemaking skills. Suzy brings a quiet warmth to the new family as she eases their adjustment both day and night.
Her delight in working with siblings makes her a natural fit for families adding baby number two (or three or four) In addition to her many talents nurturing a new mom, Suzy is a dog lover, and also wonderful with cats and other furry friends. She is certified through Birthingway Midwifery College. Suzy truly has the heart for the original doula mission to “mother the mother” and it can be seen in everything she does.
Camille is a long time friend to ABC, and has had a desire to become a doula for as long as she has had children herself. After experiencing a rough recovery after her first child 8 years ago, she has since experienced doula care with her second child and raves about the difference. (She is our only doula who is an actual client of our service!) Camille is a well known and beloved yoga teacher, childbirth educator, and labor doula in the Portland area, and has added postpartum care to her wide offerings for childbearing families (her background is in social work).
Since her schedule is so packed with wonderful things, she is only available for occasional doula work, so we value any time she has to share with us. Camille prefers to support families during the day, has extensive experience supporting families compassionately through postpartum mood disorders (including PTSD), as well as connecting families with resources that meet a variety of needs (she is a warehouse of information!). We are so glad she finally joined our team!
Jonelle is one hard working new mama. Since baby Talula arrived (pictured here with her), Jonelle has discovered the role of postpartum doulas to be a shared calling in her life (along with motherhood!) Jonelle got her AA degree in Elementary education and then went on to add Licensed Massage Therapist to her list of skills and talents. After years of work serving families through massage (and some time as a fun Gymboree teacher!) Jonelle decided to jump into the world of postpartum doula work. Passionate about breastfeeding education and empowerment, Jonelle experienced many hurdles to success with her daughter which has led her to become an advocate for mothers experiencing challenges with breastfeeding. Jonelle brings a positive and warm approach to serving families and nurturing new babies and new mamas alike.
Terrie, One of our resident ‘Grandma Doulas,’ came to us as a retired Art Therapist, Red Cross Volunteer, and aspiring Lactation Consultant. Having raised her three children and enjoyed visiting her several grandchildren, Terrie was ready for a new role as postpartum doula and overnight doula extraordinaire. Terrie has cared for twins and singletons, single moms, moms with postpartum mood disorders, and had made many a tasty meal for some of our most tired and hungry families.
A chef and cooking instructor, Terrie specializes in cooking for special dietary needs (which many of our families have) and nurturing through both newborn care and meal prep. Her calm and attentive nature allows her to quietly listen to new families, anticipate their needs, and meet them while new parents rest and recuperate. We are thankful to have her bringing together her years of experience in many fields to serve our families.
Cristie brings her years of experience with newborns as well as the professionalism of working in the corporate world into her doula career. She specializes in multiples and overnights, and has worked with dozens of our very thankful families of twins and triplets. Cristie has applied herself to education surrounding birth, postpartum, baby care, and breastfeeding, and continues to invest in ongoing education often. She is certified with CAPPA as a postpartum doula, and has been trained with DONA as a birth doula.
Clients speak of her wonderful talents at managing multiples, her hardworking attitude, and her informative care. Cristie brings her positive energy, well-researched information, and many “tiny baby” talents to her clients every week. She has been requested so frequently to come solve sleep problems that she is now offering sleep consults for older babies as well (see Our Services for more details). Cristie was our first “non-mommy” doula but she has officially opened the door for others if they have as much talent and experience as she has!
Kimberly is the owner of ABC Doula Service and also works extensively with families doing doula and lactation support. She is a Certified Postpartum Doula (with CAPPA & DONA), a Certified Postpartum Doula Trainer (CAPPA), a Certified Postnatal Educator (ICEA) and a Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Kimberly has been working with postpartum families for over 11 years, and has a passion for newborns and their families. Since founding ABC Doula in 2001 she has seen the company grow to serving over 700 families.
Kimberly is a member of LLLI, OWLA, BSN, and NACEF and has been quoted in several publications on topics covering the postpartum period. She also teaches breastfeeding, newborn care, and twin/triplet classes as well as facilitation new moms groups within the Providence Health System, and offers Doula Trainings through CAPPA and Birthingway College of Midwifery. Her joy is in helping new parents and new doulas, so this is truly her dream profession!
Jennifer is a mother of 3, the youngest being a daughter born with cerebral palsy. She is one organized and qualified doula. While taking a break from her fist career as a teacher, Jennifer now manages overnight doula work with the day to day life and care of her kids, including managing all the appointments needed for a child with special needs. She also has experience as a mother in the NICU managing feeding challenges (including pumping milk and using some unique feeding techniques) as well as successfully breastfeeding her first two sons.
Jennifer has worked extensively with twins, and knows the value of keeping the schedule streamlined enough to meet everyone’s needs (including helping to get the babies on a good eating and sleeping schedule–a valuable skill for our twin families). Jennifer’s heart is to serve mothers, fathers and partners so they can be the best parents to their children, and she adapts this care to each family she serves.
Amy is the mother of five children ranging in ages from 8 to 19 so needless to say she came to us with lots of experience! She has added doula work in the past couple years to her many years of being a stay at home mom. Amy loves babies, and enjoys helping new moms adjust to their new roles while they rest and recuperate after birth. She has an easygoing nature, lots of energy, and is a positive encouragement for moms who are struggling.
Amy provides primarily overnight care and has worked extensively with twins and singletons, as well as families adding a sibling. Families treasure her hardworking nature, reliability, and her nurturing of the whole family. We at ABC treasure the time she is able to devote to supporting new families even as she juggles the needs of her own family.
Donna a mother of two boys, is passionate about breastfeeding. As a volunteer for Nursing Mother’s Counsel for many years, Donna has vast experience supporting new moms as they journey towards breastfeeding success. Donna was originally trained with CAPPA, and has since traveled to Seattle to be trained with DONA and is now certified. She has been working as a postpartum doula for many years, and is widely requested by breastfeeding and bottle-feeding moms alike all over Portland.
Clients are impressed with Donna’s reassuring nature, and her knowledge about infants and adjustment to parenting life. She works with families of all types, and has specific experience with twins, families adding a sibling, moms with postpartum depression, and families with thousands of questions about their baby! Donna has been described as a life-saver, and we are so glad she chooses to share some of her time with ABC clients.
Carrie came to ABC by way of undergoing a career awakening. After years of work as a CMA and being a stay at home mama to her two girls she decided to follow her long time passion for serving families and become a postpartum doula. A winner of the Mama Makeover here in Portland, Carrie has been the dream friend to many new mamas after welcoming their new arrivals while bringing food, caring for older children, and getting new moms set up for life with baby. Now that she is living her passion to care for new families, Carrie has gone on to become a Nursing Mother’s Counselor volunteer serving breastfeeding families and has seen many successes with her breastfeeding support. Carrie brings her wit and good humor to brighten up the day for the postpartum families she serves, especially families dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety. Carrie will be offering day and evening care (often a stressful time for new parents) for families adjusting to the addition of a new baby.
Megan comes to us with 14 years of experience in childcare and infant development. After learning about postpartum doulas six years ago, Megan has held onto the idea through two children and a lot of twists and turns. She has finally been able to make the switch to full time doula work, and she is loving every minute. Both of Megan’s boys were born prematurely (at 28 and 34 weeks respectively) so she has lots of experience and education regarding care for premature babies, including kangaroo care, exclusive pumping, and the special needs of our tiniest babies.
Megan has extensive experience with multiples and has been enjoying the special role of overnight care for families all over Portland. She has a BA in Child and Family Studies and has further training in the RIE and Reggio philosophies. She brings her calm and nurturing approach to doula care with her easy-going nature, strong professionalism, and warm welcoming of all types of parenting styles.
Susan is a transplant from the windy city who came to us with seven years of experience as a postpartum doula specializing in overnight care. Relocating with her 3 kids to this wonderful new “green” city, Susan works with families primarily doing overnight care, often with twins and triplets. Her tender care of babies, soft way with new mothers, and attentiveness to the little details around her show the years she has given to this work and her compassion for those making the adjustment to new parenthood. Susan is trained by DONA, and also certified in infant massage as well as Baby Sign Language. Susan is also one of our dog-loving doulas, so she fits in great in homes that have furry ‘first babies’ too! We are so thankful the windy city blew her our direction to give us this talented and hardworking doula.
Amanda has been a ‘friend’ of ABC for some time now. We met her initially as a daytime nanny of a set of triplets we did overnight care for, and she has now provided nanny service for several ABC clients when they were ready to ‘graduate’ from our care and needed something more permanent. Since that time Amanda has become a CAPPA trained and certified doula and provides overnight care, often for twins and triplets. Amanda also offers some follow up care to families who are transitioning away from doula care, but don’t have something permanent in place yet. Amanda brings her sweet, soft spoken way of caring for babies and families to our team, and she fits in well with families who need a reliable and compassionate doula to support them.
Jill worked in the creative corporate world for years before becoming a mother of two. She understands well the needs of families adding children to an already busy life as she balances her doula work with raising her now school-aged children and and some design work as well. She is trained and certified through DONA, and has provided care to many families in the greater Portland area. Her desire to step into the lives of new families is shown in her attentive care to their specific needs.
Jill works both days and nights, providing care to singletons and twins, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding families, and also moms with Perinatal Mood Disorders. She has worked extensively with families adding a sibling, and enjoys helping each family through that process of transition. She is also one heck of a cook, an aspiring lactation consultant, and brings all this talent with good humor and an easy going manner.
