MANA Treasurer Vicki Hedley shares her background and her passion for The Midwives Alliance, our mission, health and growth

I live in Montvale, NJ and have a busy homebirth practice. I have five children ranging in age from 32 down to 13. I also have two grandchildren, whom I had the privilege to receive into my hands in October of 2012 and October of 2014. I have been attending births since 1996, first as a doula, doula trainer, and childbirth educator, and since 2008 as a CPM when I graduated from the National College of Midwifery. In 2010 I also became a CM. My learning occurred through the apprenticeship model in many different settings with beautiful and wise midwives who taught the art of midwifery through their example. I continue the tradition of mentoring others through study groups and apprenticeship. Midwifery is the most difficult and the most rewarding work I have ever done, and I am honored to have the title "midwife".

Before becoming a midwife I had a private accounting practice for sixteen years. I feel as if I midwifed my clients through the stresses of finances and taxes. I have been a member of MANA since 1999, many years before becoming a midwife. MANA has been the home for all midwives for over 30 years, the mother of the CPM and NARM, and an organization with integrity that I have great respect for. I have served on the Board of Directors as treasurer for nearly two years. I have a feeling there aren't too many midwife/accountants out there, so it seems that I am a good fit for the job. It is a challenge working with a small budget, but we spend our money wisely, always thinking of our membership and how you would benefit most from the available dollars.

I see my role as treasurer as more than just a number cruncher. There is certainly importance in the day-to-day bookkeeping that is required to run our operation; but the treasurer is involved in virtually every aspect of the organization. I oversee conference finances, create budgets, work closely with the Division of Research helping them with their finances, assist in writing grants, and work very hard to strategize ways of increasing our income. Our membership is our most valuable asset. It is you, the members of MANA who keep the operation going. Grants are not used for operations, so we count on your membership dollars to pay for all things operations such as upkeep on our websites, our wonderful conference coordinator, our amazing membership support staff, communications, and more. Without you we could not do the important work that we do.

With your help we can achieve our goals:

• To engage midwives in dialog and to encourage solidarity across North America
• To recognize the diversity among midwives and to foster inclusive community building
• To build an identity as a cohesive organization representing the profession as well as the tradition of midwifery at regional, national and international levels
• To position midwives as acknowledged authorities, working to improve perinatal health in collaboration with other professionals
• To collect and disseminate high quality research about midwifery care
• To promote excellence in midwifery practice
• To sponsor continuing education opportunities for midwives
• To increase access to midwives in all settings
• To endorse the Midwives Model of Care™ as the gold standard for childbirth
• To affirm the rights of pregnant women to give birth where and with whom they choose

The Midwives Alliance promotes professional development and continuing education of midwives so all women and babies will have access to practitioners who can provide excellent prenatal care, safe and empowering births, comprehensive postpartum care, and privacy during the critically important bonding period of mother-infant attachment.

Thank you for the privilege of serving on your Board of Directors. I look forward to seeing you in Albuquerque in October for our annual conference. Contact me at treasurer@mana.org.