Born and raised in the South of England, I came to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 70's, a wonderful time to be a part of the Women's Movement. During those years I became involved with the Feminist Women's Health Center in Oakland and eventually met some dedicated women in 1976 with whom I started Birthways, a non-profit Information and Referral service for pregnant women and their families.
In 1977, I became a Certified Childbirth Educator through ICEA (International Childbirth Education Association) and started teaching classes and providing labor support for women and their partners. At that time, there was a flourishing home birth movement but few opportunities for families to make their own decisions regarding their hospital birthing experience. It was an exciting time and I loved being involved with the many changes starting to happen in the community. Birth Educator/Activists /Authors such as Michel Odent from France, Sheila Kitzinger from England and Suzanne Arms were frequent visitors to the Bay Area and greatly influenced my thinking and teaching.
In 1983 I gave birth to my daughter, Mzima, at home. This was easily the most joyous, empowering experience of my life. The ensuing 20 years of parenting have been a wondrous challenge and have deeply affected my life work.
In 1986, I trained as a Massage Therapist at the McKinnon Institute in Oakland and currently maintain a massage practice in a warm and peaceful healing center in a historic house in central Berkeley. More recently I have been studying Reiki energy work with Reiki Master Linda-Jean Cranmer.
In 1991 I earned a certification in Pre - and Perinatal Massage and Carole Osborne-Sheets continues to be my teacher and mentor even as I assist her in her nation wide trainings.
By 1994 I was ready to combine my two loves - teaching and massage. I have developed pre and postpartum massage trainings for massage therapists and labor and postpartum massage classes for doulas at various massage schools and centers around the Bay Area. I continue teaching childbirth preparation classes at Summit Medical Center and Maia Midwifery in addition to private classes. Every class brings new challenges and inspiration.
My volunteer work is primarily with the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic for low-income women with cancer where I currently offer Reiki sessions with wonderful results.
I am one of the fortunate people who love their work!
My professional affiliations include membership in:
- The Association of Bodywork and Massage Practitioners
- The National Association of Pregnancy Massage Therapists
- The International Childbirth Education Association
