Kim Amsley-Camp practices full scope midwifery in a physician/midwife collaborative practice at Keystone Women's Care, a Federally Qualified Health Center, in Chambersburg, PA. Midwifery is a career change for her, as she has 12 years of experience as a hospital administrator. In that capacity, she was involved in various management projects, including the development of an ambulatory care center, opening a freestanding birth center, physician recruitment, and bringing midwifery services to Woodbridge, Virginia. It was this final experience that led her to becoming a midwife. After living in Northern Virginia for several years, she came back to her hometown as a U.S. Public Health scholar for a two-year commitment. That was over 16 years ago. She has attended well over 1800 births in PA, VA and the District of Columbia, and continues to grow and learn from the families she cares for, and remain passionate about midwifery. She serves as a preceptor to midwife, PA, and NP students, is active with the American College of Nurse Midwives, and is a member of the PA Affiliate of ACNM in Pennsylvania serving on the Midwifery Forward committee. Currently, she is a Doctor of Midwifery student at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She is an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Nursing at Wilson College, teaching Research Methods.
Aya Eliza-Christie (she/her) has worked as a staff midwife at The Midwife Center in Pittsburgh since 2018 after completing her fellowship that same year. She first earned degrees in Social Work and Latin American Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. From 1999 through 2006 she was a counselor in abortion care and a community organizer for national and local Reproductive Justice organizations. She trained to be a community-based doula and worked as a part of The Birth Circle, focused on making care accessible for Spanish-speaking families. Aya went to nursing school at the University of Pittsburgh and then became a Labor and Delivery nurse in a hospital setting in 2013 and an abortion clinic nurse in 2016. She graduated from the CNEP program at Frontier Nursing University in 2017. Aya's goals as a midwife are to collectively work for equity, inclusion and leadership by, of, and for BIPOC and LGBTQ communities, to expand understanding of and the practice of consent and person-centered care, and to make abortion access an integral part of midwifery care.
Mari-Carmen Farmer: A first-generation Afro-Latina midwife and educator, Mari-Carmen has been engaged in social justice work and reproductive health for over 20 years. Prior to midwifery, Mari-Carmen completed a degree in sociology and became engaged in social justice and community organizing in Philadelphia. She is an Americorps alum, a seasoned doula and childbirth educator, and an experienced facilitator. Since 2017, Mari-Carmen has been providing full-scope midwifery care for families from a wide range of cultures. As a vocal advocate for health equity, Mari-Carmen is committed to centering the narratives of the people she serves, as she believes that stories create connections that can catalyze powerful social change.
Kelly Gallagher is an Assistant Research Professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. She received her PhD in Nursing in 2017 from the University of North Dakota. Her research interests include the placenta, maternal nutrition and weight and pregnancy outcomes. Kelly received her midwifery training from the University of California-San Francisco, graduating in 2000. She practiced in Denver, CO for two years before moving to the University of New Mexico where she practiced for approximately seventeen years. While at New Mexico, Kelly served as Associate Chief (2015-2016), then Chief of the Midwifery Division (2016-2019).
Jessi Schwarz holds a Master’s in Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Business Administration from Yale University. She has practiced as a midwife for 18 years in a variety of settings and has published and presented on the topics of group prenatal care, interdisciplinary practice, communication, and engagement and resilience for midwives. She is currently a midwife at the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and Special Delivery Unit at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a consultant with Primary Maternity Care, LLC.. Jessi is the founder and current vice-president of the Philly Metro Midwives, the Philadelphia chapter of the Pennsylvania affiliate of the ACNM and a board member of PA-ACNM. She lives in Philadelphia with her four children, two cats and a very fuzzy poodle.
Rachel Poerschke is a CNM in Pittsburgh, PA. She received her BSN at Penn State University in 2012. After graduation she began working as a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Magee women’s hospital in Pittsburgh PA. Working there, she discovered her passion for women’s health. She returned to school for midwifery at Frontier Nursing University. In 2017 she graduated and began working as a full scope midwife for Womancare Associates, a large collaborative physician/midwife practice at Magee. She continues to work in this group and in January of 2022 became the lead midwife for the practice. She lives in the city with her husband and two children (ages 5 and 2 1/2).