 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
SMS Staff and Board of Directors
Staff
Mary Yglesia, Interim Executive Director/Midwifery Education Program (MEP) Director
Suzy Myers, Midwifery Education Chair
Annie Kennedy, Simkin School Director
Stephanie Safholm, Admissions Specialist
Marissa Ridgway, MEP Coordinator/Financial Aid Officer
Jennifer Beardsley, Librarian
Laura Brickner, Office Manager
Sarah Hainley, MEP Clinical Coordinator
Board Of Directors
Christine Riedy, PhD (Chair) is a faculty member in the Department of Dental Public Health Sciences at the University of Washington's School of Dentistry. Her research interests include public health issues related to childhood illness and diseases, such as early childhood caries and nutritional issues, understanding cultural diversity in disease states, and qualitative methodology. Christine holds a PhD in psychology and an MPH in health services (maternal child track), both from the University of Washington. She and her husband have one daughter.
Jen Costigan (Secretary) is a certified birth doula and a Montessori teacher working with children under three years old. She holds Association Montessori Internationale certification at the 0-3 and 6-12 year old levels and an MEd from Loyola College. After completing her BA in Art and Women’s Studies at St. Olaf College she and her husband volunteered with the Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea. A far cry from their tiny house on stilts in the rainforest, she now lives in Fremont with husband, Paul and son, Will (born at home in 2004).
Bre Holt, MPH is a program assistant for the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington. She holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an MPH with a focus in International Health from Boston University. She has volunteered with the Greater Philadelphia Women's Medical Fund, San Francisco Women Against Rape, and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies of Washington. Her first daughter was born at home in May 2005.
Cheryl Murfin CD, is a former Executive Director of Seattle Midwifery School. She has dedicated much of the past decade to protecting the rights of women to enjoy a safe and empowering birth. She is a certified doula and donates the majority of her services free of charge to low-income clients. As a volunteer she has served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Open Arms Perinatal Services, Association for Midwifery Educators, the Church Council of Greater Seattle and AMOS. Currently she is the director of communications for Fuse, a nonprofit advocacy group promoting progressive politics in Washington and is also the vice president of communications for The Warren Report based in Seattle.
Cristen Pennington is the marketing and communications coordinator for a non-profit organization that provides services for individuals with autism. She holds a BFRA from the University of San Francisco and an MS in Print Journalism from Boston University. She is a midwifery consumer and is the mother of a son.
Midwifery Education Program Faculty