I live in southern New Hampshire with my husband of 24 years and my three children, ages 23, 21, and 14. I also have an adopted 23 year old son and daughter-in-law, who currently serve in the Army and live in California. I have developed two free standing birth centers with integrated home birth practices here, the second of which currently serves well over 100 families each year and is growing at an unprecedented rate. The Birth Cottage is also an active teaching facility, which helps graduate two or more midwifery students each year in conjunction with a MEAC program or the NARM PEP process. Currently, I am serving my last year as the Chairperson of the State of NH's Midwifery Council, our licensing and regulatory board. In my spare time, I am a firefighter and AEMT, National Ski Patrol, and board member of Guardians of the Ribbon, Southern NH, a group dedicated to raising money and awareness around women's cancers. In other words, I drive a pink fire truck all summer.

My initial plan for life was entirely different. I have a degree in architecture and interior design, and a vast background in business management. The birth of my first two babies, one in 1992 in a hospital and one in 1993 at home, changed my life forever. I have been attending births since 1992 as a doula, childbirth educator, and midwife. I returned to college and completed a degree in Community and Human Services with a concentration in Maternal and Perinatal Health through the State University of New York. My introduction to midwifery political work began with the prosecution of my own midwife just after my daughter was born at home. Being involved in legislative work became a part of my heart and soul early into my career; it certainly wasn't something I sought out. In fact, the first nine years of my midwifery practice I spent looking over my shoulder while living in a state where licensure was unavailable but I was certainly vulnerable, and often crossed into a state where midwifery was completely illegal. Moving to New Hampshire and becoming a part of an amazing group of midwives, who had developed a self-governing and independent board, was an incredible and life changing experience that has fueled my desire to see it replicated for all midwives in all states.

As the Director of Organizational Development, I am tasked with creating a robust business framework to support the operations of the Midwives Alliance. This framework includes financial resources and income, business practice development, marketing strategies, and most importantly, a strong and growing membership. These things are the foundation of a good business model which will sustain itself for the future. My goals include seeing midwifery become a sustainable profession with outstanding revenue sources for midwifery providers, integrated systems in place for both midwives and consumers within a larger healthcare model, and independent practice free from prosecution and restrictive oversight. Supporting the development of our professional organization is vital in obtaining these.

Membership has been my focus for the last several months. Membership and student membership drives have shown wonderful potential for growth this year, and we are now focusing on member retention.

We are planning many new ways for members to stay connected to MANA's work in 2015!

• Online workshops and webinars with CEUs;
• More Virtual Town Hall meetings to talk about issues of concern to midwives and to hear the voices of our members;
• Division of Research updates to share the exciting work of the DOR and to encourage everyone to learn about and contribute to data collection;
• Ongoing improvements in our website to better reflect your interest in technology and social media as a tool for sharing information;
• Updating our essential documents and preparing more position papers on topics and issues of interest to midwives and clients;
• Participation in the global dialogue on midwifery and maternal child health issues, representing YOUR voice at the national and international level.

Is there anything that I can do for you? Would you like to see a membership benefit developed, or a special promotion launched? Please contact me, as I'll happily welcome your suggestions and input. Without you, the members, the Midwives Alliance could not thrive.