Coordinating Committee
Senior Advisor for the MANA Division of Research
Saraswathi Vedam, RM, CNM, MSN, Sci D (h.c.) is the Director of the Division of Midwifery at the University of British Columbia, the Senior Advisor to the MANA Division of Research, Chair of the Home Birth Section of ACNM, member of the ACNM/ MANA Liaison Council and the author of numerous articles on homebirth, including the recent “Science and sensibility: choice of birth place in the United States,” published with P. Janssen and R. Lichtman on Medscape. She focuses her research on evidence-based home birth practice and attitude development of maternity professionals.
Curriculum Vitae
Chair of the MANA Division of Research
Melissa Cheyney, PhD, CPM, LDM, is the Chair of the MANA Division of Research, and an Assistant Professor of Medical Anthropology and Reproductive Biology in the Department of Anthropology at Oregon State University (OSU). She received her doctorate from the University of Oregon in 2005, where her research examined the U.S. Homebirth Movement and Midwifery Models of Care. Dr. Cheyney is a Certified Professional Midwife, Director of the Reproductive Health Laboratory at OSU, and Chair of the Board of Direct-entry Midwifery for the State of Oregon. She is also the author of the recently published ethnography, Born at Home by Wadsworth Press.
Curriculum Vitae
Director of Data Collection
Bruce Ackerman is the Data Collection Director of the MANA Division of Research, where he continues with design and improvement of the web data collection system, supports users of this system, and participates in DOR coordination. His interest in birth comes through his marriage to a midwife, and long-time involvement with the organization, but also through a lifelong interest in the ways that our future and our relationship with technology are envisioned. Bruce also works in the energy and conservation field as well as in embedded software and instrumentation design, and is active in his town planning process.
Data Quality Coordinator
Courtney Everson, BA, MA, PhD Student, is the Data Quality Coordinator for the MANA Division of Research. Courtney is a biocultural medical anthropology doctoral student at Oregon State University (OSU) with research foci in maternal-infant health and adolescent pregnancy. She is also the Graduate Coordinator of the Reproductive Health Laboratory at OSU, Faculty for the Graduate Program at the Midwives College of Utah (MCU), Chair of the MCU Ethical Review Board, and the Outreach & Referral Coordinator for Doulas Supporting Teens. Courtney is also an apprentice homebirth midwife and a practicing DONA International birth doula.
Contributor Support Coordinator
Trinlie Wood, CPM, is the Contributor Support Coordinator for the MANA Division of Research. She has practiced midwifery in rural settings for 25 years. She is licensed by the state of Virginia. Trinlie assists the MANA-DOR with contributor support.
Database Development Coordinator
Ellen Harris-Braun, CPM, is the Database Development Coordinator for the MANA Division of Research, and is half of Harris-Braun Enterprises, an experienced Web-development team that wrote the software for the MANA Statistics web site. Ellen is also a midwife, certified doula, and childbirth teacher involved with birth since 1999 and with MANA since 2002.
Research Fluency & Education Coordinator
Wendy Gordon, CPM, LDM, LM, is a practicing midwife in Portland, Oregon. She comes from a background in chemical engineering and satisfies her craving for numbers through her participation in the MANA Division of Research where she serves as the Research Education & Fluency Coordinator. Wendy is also a Faculty member in the Department of Midwifery at Bastyr University and is completing a Masters in Public Health.
Midwives Alliance Board Liaison to the DOR Coordinating Committee
Geradine Simkins, DEM, CNM, MSN, is President and Interim Executive Director of Midwives Alliance of North America where she concentrates on sustaining the midwifery profession, advocating for healthcare reform, mentoring the next generation of midwives, and collaborating with key partners and stakeholders. Geradine is an author and editor of a recently published anthology, Into These Hands, Wisdom From Midwives, and has been involved with Community-Based Participatory Research with Indian tribes in the Upper Midwest.
