I am licensed as a mental health counselor (LMHC) and also certified in perinatal mental health (PMH-C). I began working in the mental health field in 2005. From 2009 until 2011, I took some leave from direct care as a therapist to re-enter graduate school and work towards a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies. My doctoral studies and post-graduate work focus on childbirth, child development, parenting, and the intersectionality of these three. I am also a birth doula and childbirth educator. Over the past decade, I have worked with several local, national, and international birth and human rights advocacy organizations promoting improvement to our maternity care systems.