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Jaclyn, she/her/hers, Executive Director, Cofounder, Doula, & Peer...Bio in progress...
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Kelani, she/her/hers, Music Program Team Lead...Bio in progress...
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Melvyn, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula, Doula Team Lead"My name is Melvyn and I use she/her/hers pronouns. I love Daisy CHAIN because everyone deserves support, and Daisy CHAIN's free services make doula and lactation support accessible to all families. I am a Full Spectrum Doula, supporting folks before/during/and after birth, no matter what the outcome, and I also communicate with new and prospective clients! I feel so lucky to be doing this work that I love! When I was a brand new parent, I needed a postpartum doula to help me with nursing, and she was such an amazing support to me and my family. I love that I am now able to pay it forward and support families in my community!"
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Julia, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula"Hello! I’m Julia. I often go by Jules and my pronouns are she/her. I was born in a hospital in Santa Clara, CA and grew up in the Sierra Foothills. My call to support people started when I was very young and enjoyed caring for my siblings by reading us to bed or packing our lunches for school. My passion for perinatal health was ignited later as I sought connection with my community after college. I began volunteering as a youth mentor and within that role also supporting adolescent parents. Throughout these relationships, I witnessed the impact pregnancy, birth and parenting, intertwined with the inequities of the health system, had on them and it propelled me into birth work. I started attending births as a midwife’s assistant and soon after started my journey to become a full spectrum doula. I love that Daisy CHAIN offers a collective of perinatal services so our clients receive a continuation of care from pregnancy to the transition into parenting. I believe everyone deserves access to perinatal support and Daisy CHAIN helps make this possible in our community. "
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Lisa, she/her/hers, HR and Operations Team Rep"Hi, my name is Lisa Zisa (she/her). I LOVE Daisy CHAIN for a lot of reasons but I think the one that stands out the most for me is the fact that we do our best to care for all our clients deeply regardless of their life situation. At DC I am the HR and Operations Team Rep, providing support in lots of ways including onboarding new staff and volunteers and doing Payroll monthly. My background includes many years of non-profit administration and early childhood education. As a single mom with two children there was really no support in my area so being able to be part of a Team that does truly support our clients is very dear to my heart. I'm passionate about loving all people and equity for all. I love hiking and nature and travel and lastly a fun fact about me... Well maybe not really fun, but possibly interesting. I have moved 35 times and lived in 6 states since I was born."
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Ariana, she/they, Certified Lactation Specialist Full Spectrum Doula, Peer Support Specialist"I wear many hats at Daisy CHAIN. But I most identify as a certified lactation specialist and a full spectrum doula. Also, I'm currently working to become an IBCLC and childbirth educator. During my Master of Social Work program, I focused on interventions tailored toward, and the unique needs of, the perinatal period, which lead me to this work. Since starting as a volunteer postpartum doula with Daisy CHAIN in 2019, I have grown my skills, interests, and capacity to serve and support my community. I now assist our lactation team and families through our lactation/feeding support text line and work to grow our program."
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Gabby, she/her/ella, Bilingual Community Engagement Specialist, Doula, Lactation Educator"My name is Gabriela Commons, she/her/ella.
I am the Bilingual Outreach Specialist at Daisy CHAIN. I am a mother of 2 amazing children. I have been married for 23 years and my husband supports me in everything. I have a passion for helping the community and supporting them. I worked for 3 years at Relief Nursery as an Outreach Specialist and realized that the community is in need of more support through pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum stages as well as support during the lactation process. Since I never had the chance to have someone who could tell me how to be able to nurse and the encouragement of a Doula, I want to spread the word about what we do at Daisy CHAIN and the benefits of having the support at no cost and in your native language. I was born in Mexico City and love spending time in the garden with my family and making earrings." |
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Johnny, they/them/theirs, Full Spectrum Doula, Peer Support Specialist/Certified Recovery Mentor, Dandelion Team"My name is Johnny, my pronouns are they/them/theirs. I am a parent, a Full Spectrum Doula & Peer Support Specialist on Daisy CHAIN’s Dandelion Street Team. I provide support and advocacy to people on any part of their reproductive health journey, no matter the outcome. I particularly support people who are houseless and/or living with addiction/substance use, with a harm-reduction approach. This is meaningful work for me, as I was houseless as a young adult, and struggled with addiction and substance abuse. I left my hometown by Lake Michigan, on Odawa land, at 22, and I hitchhiked around the country until I landed in Eugene on Kalapuya land. It was here in 2008 that I began recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. My first experience with Daisy CHAIN was attending Baby Pop Music classes with my youngest in 2013. We had so much fun and participated through toddlerhood. I love working for Daisy CHAIN because I believe with all of my heart that everyone deserves trauma-informed, culturally aware, professional, and compassionate support, and Daisy CHAIN makes that possible for many who otherwise may not be able to access these resources."
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Jamani, they/she, Full Spectrum Doula, Dandelion Team Co-Lead
...Bio in progress...
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Kate, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula, IBCLCI became a doula by first being cared for and supported by another doula in my own postpartum season. Having a person with evidence based, trauma informed training, as well as providing physical and emotional support during all reproductive individuals' experience is of deep value to me. Daisy CHAIN provides these services free of charge for all persons in Lane county. Forever grateful to be a small part alongside an amazing team of individuals who seek to support, observe client autonomy, and improve quality of medical care for all!
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Sarah, she/her/hers, RN, IBCLC, Lactation Team Lead"I love DC because it offers the kind of support families need and deserve no matter what their situation!
I'm a board-certified Lactation Consultant and I see people for visits to help with feeding and lactation. I'm also the team lead and have the awesome opportunity to mentor and build the program. I have been in this work since 2006 in various roles, as a doula, birth assistant, support group leader, labor and delivery nurse, and a birth and postpartum nurse at a birth center. I feel so blessed to do work that means so much to me, and to have a loving family that has been my support and inspiration every step of the way." |
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Sarah, she/her/hers, Peer Support Lactation Specialist
"Hi! I'm Sarah and my pronouns are she/her. I grew up near the Bitterroot River in Montana on the unceded lands of the Salish and Kootenai people, and a lot of the best parts of who I am today were shaped by that land & river system. I am so grateful that my path has brought me here to the meaningful work of offering lactation and peer support to folks on their parenting journeys. It is an honor to get to meet clients where they are at as parents and as people, and a gift to get to learn and grow alongside all of the amazing people on the Daisy CHAIN team as I work towards IBCLC licensure.
Becoming a parent in 2020 and experiencing a lot of isolation and instability during such a vulnerable time in my own life kindled a passion in my heart to show up in support of other folks in their times of postpartum and baby feeding. We all deserve to feel safe and seen and supported, especially as we navigate the deep waters of the pregnancy, postpartum, and baby feeding periods of our lives. From my own experience with lactation challenges early on, I know how vulnerable and overwhelming it can feel to navigate lactation and baby feeding, how much our circumstances can affect our experiences, and how crucial it can be to receive support during those times. I strongly believe in the necessity of trauma-informed and culturally relevant care, reproductive autonomy, and the accessibility of perinatal and lactation services and information for all, and I am so glad to be a part of an organization that embodies those values." |
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Stephanie, she/her/hers, Grants Manager"Hi! I'm Stephanie (she/her), DC's Grants Manager. I research, write, and manage grants to support DC's programs. I love Daisy C.H.A.I.N. because Daisy C.H.A.I.N. showed me love when I was a client. DC's services had an impact on my early parenting experience, and I wanted to give back so others could experience this too. I like to think of grant writing as a form of storytelling, and I'm proud to share Daisy C.H.A.I.N.'s stories. Outside of my job, I try to get outside as much as possible, and one of my favorite things is going on meandering neighborhood walks. Fun fact: I want to be a doula someday!"
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Tati, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula, Peer Support SpecialistHi there! I’m Tati. My pronouns are she/her and I am a Full Spectrum Doula on the Dandelion Street Team. I’ve always had a passion for the birthing world and outreach work, and being able to combine those two is so special to me! I am a parent myself to my beautiful Opal Bleu and would have loved the services we are able to provide. Working at Daisy C.H.A.I.N. makes my heart happy and I am forever grateful for what we do!
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Audrey, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula, Peer Support Specialist...Bio in progress...
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Heather, she/her/hers, Full Spectrum Doula"I feel very strongly that people who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or don’t want to be pregnant should not be confined to choices given by the medical industrial complex. People know their own bodies so they should be the one driving the birth; the center of attention for any of their birth team. My career as a Full Spectrum Doula came to me when my daughter was pregnant with her second child. Her first birth was very traumatic, with hemorrhaging and a bad reaction to one of the meds she was given. She passed out and I watched at least 6 doctors stand around and argue about what medication was given and when. The helpless feeling of watching my daughter slip away from us was too much. She made it through, but she doesn’t remember it as a good birth. As a result I have certificates as a Full Spectrum Doula, a StillBirthDay Doula, a Fertility and Reproductive Health Doula, a Perinatal Loss Doula, and an End of Life Doula. I was there to assist with her second birth, and with the help of an amazing midwife, she experienced a calm, happy birth."
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Drea, she/her/hers, Board Vice President...Bio in progress...
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Carolina, she/her/hers, Board Member
...Bio in progress...
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Megan, she/her/hers, Board Member...Bio in progress...
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Jonathan, he/him/his, Board President....Bio in progress....
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More photos and titles are on the way... in the meantime, see the rest of the team by name and title below <3
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