Aki Raymer, MA is the founder of Parenting Paths, a parent coaching practice dedicated to helping families experience the joy of living and parenting authentically. At the heart of Aki’s personal and professional life are three values: lifelong growth, human connection and authenticity. Aki empowers families to to discover and implement strategies that reflect their own unique values. This model allows families to navigate life transitions, address behavioral challenges, improve communication and implement effective discipline tools without sacrificing connection and joy.

Aki is a coach, speaker, Infant Mental Health specialist, and certified Positive Discipline educator. She has created her signature Parenting Blueprints with clients in the United States and abroad, facilitated lifestyle and discipline workshops, led many a toddler in circle time, and has worked with families, schools, and children in a host of capacities over the last decade.

Along with becoming a parent, Aki counts begin donned “Aki-wan Kenobi” by a client as one of her proudest moments. Connect with Aki, find out about upcoming events and explore her blog at: www.parentingpaths.com.

Amy Griffith: After receiving a B.A. in Art History from the UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC, I found my true path was in helping others find food again. I am a certified Health Coach through the INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION, a certified Nutrition Consultant from BAUMAN COLLEGE, and am a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS. I have become an expert in therapeutic nutrition, the prevention of illness, and the promotion of optimal health, in a way that’s balanced and individualized. Since giving birth to my 15 month old son, I have chosen to focus on prenatal, postnatal health and nutrition. I also love to help parents introduce their children to the wonderful world of solid foods. You can find out more about me at embracehn.com.

Angelique Millette (PhDc, CLE, PCD/CD [DONA]) is a parent coach, pediatric sleep consultant, pediatric sleep researcher, and lactation educator who works with families across the Bay Area, the United States and Europe for the past 18 years. She specializes in infant/child sleep development and how parents can meet their own sleep needs while helping their young ones meet theirs. Angelique developed The Millette Method© a multi-disciplinary approach to family sleep. The Millette Method© does not follow one specific sleep method, but rather uses a “tool-box” of many different methods to help families. The Millette Method© takes into account family schedule, infant/toddler/child development, temperament, and parenting philosophy, all while keeping an eye on sleep deprivation, parental overwhelm, depression and anxiety. Angelique’s research addresses how infant sleep locations/methods are related to maternal postpartum depression/anxiety, maternal/infant sleep quality, and attachment.

Angelique teaches sleep workshops to parents and parents groups across the country, and works with families in their homes, on the phone, and also via Skype © to provide individual and unique sleep methods and solutions for parents and their infants and young children. Angelique presents nationally to practitioners showing them the benefits of using a multi-disciplinary approach to solving infant and toddler sleep issues. To find out more about Angelique Millette, The Millette Method©, upcoming workshops, or press/media, please check out www.angeliquemillette.com. To find out more about Angelique’s new sleep swaddle, The Hands to Heart Sleep Swaddle™ the only hands up swaddle that becomes a sleep bag: www.heartswaddle.com.

I’m Beth Rees and I’m a perinatal (birth & postpartum) doula living in the San Francisco, Bay Area. I’ve been doing birth work since 2006 and have been working with women and families for over 20 years. I became a certified doula through the Natural Resources Doula Training program under the guidance & instruction of home-birth midwife, Abigail Reagan, CPM CD. I worked and studied at UC Santa Cruz – first as a student of Feminist Studies and Anthropology; then later as a program coordinator of the UC Santa Cruz Women’s Center. I began doing advocacy work promoting healthful communities with an emphasis on sexual and women’s health. When a dear friend of mine became pregnant that I found the “doula path.” I studied with the American School of Herbalism in Western and Traditional Chinese herbal medicine. With Five Flavors Herbs, I helped craft herbal remedies and teach perinatal herbal medicine classes with the Sylvan Institute of Botanical Medicine. As of March 2012, I am a Certified Lactation Educator and Counselor (CLEC) via UC San Diego Extension. In January 2013, I participated in “Heart & Hands” midwifery intensive under the tutelage of the divine and wise Elizabeth Davis, CPM.

I create home in San Francisco with my husband and 13 year old “bonus” son. Beyond being a birth enthusiast, I enjoy cooking, crafting fiber arts, hiking, swimming, tea, coordinating life celebrations and parties, auto restoration, traveling and spending time with my loved ones – in and out of the City.

Bill White, director of Happy Baby Signs baby sign language program, received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychobiology from University of California, Santa Cruz. He facilitates baby sign language programs at Carmel Blue in North Beach, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Dignity Health Hospitals, Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County, DayOne Centers, Babies And Moms, Blossom Birth Services, Stanford University child care centers, Creative Child Learning Centers, Harmony Birth and Family in Campbell, and multiple city recreation departments. Bill is passionate about the benefits of signing with children and is the proud father of two hearing sons who both sign. In addition to teaching sign language courses, Bill works as a commercial print model and hand model in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has had 25 years of dance training and has taught dance classes locally to children and adults. He was also Director of Operations for Kidsfaire for five years and has been the Fashion Show Director for Modern Bridal Productions.

Catherine Pierce, RYT, CPES is a childbirth educator exclusively trained by Kelly Grey in the Holistic Childbirth Preparation Method. She combines her experiences as a doula, infant massage educator, pre/postnatal yoga instructor, placenta preparation specialist, and workshop facilitator to provide continuously up to date and evocative education to her students.
Clarity, consent, and compassion are of the utmost importance in her daily life, in the classes she teaches and the services she provides.
Her certifications and training include Heart & Hands Midwifery Intensives, DONA Birth Doula, International Association of Infant Massage, IPPA Placenta Preparation, Cottonroot Bark Collective Full Spectrum Doula, Return to Zero , HA BLS (CPR and AED) Healthcare Provider, Yoga blend 200hr YTT, Goldenbridge Pre/Postnatal YTT
Her philosophy on birth is nature is wise. Whether nature takes shape in an un-medicated home birth, a planned cesarean or anything and everything in between. She currently sits on the board of the Coalition to Increase Education and Access to Out-Of-Hospital Birth, and is the graphic designer behind the wildly celebrated zine at Thrive Center for Birth and Family Wellness.

Dana started her nursing career as a school nurse in Oakland and for the last 5 years has been working for the City and County of San Francisco in a specialized home-visiting program with first-time moms, from pregnancy through baby's second birthday. Dana's passion is working with women and families, helping to empower them to be the best they can be, through education, support and encouragement. Dana is particularly passionate about teaching CPR and believes strongly in the value of knowing how to prevent accidents and respond to emergencies. The CPR class covers infant/pediatric/adult CPR, choking rescue, use of an AED and includes certification good for 2 years through ASHI (American Safety and Health Institute). When Dana is not working, she is busy at home with her 2 and 4 year old daughters. Dana is also an IBCLC and always excited to share her breastfeeding experiences.

Emily Bonn, a native of the SF Bay Area, has been working with children for nearly 10 years as a music educator from toddlers to teens. Emily brings a wide range of musical styles to her classes from bluegrass, old-time and rock, and mixes her repertoire between ukulele, guitar and banjo. She is excited to be working with the mothers and infants of the Carmel Blue community and looks forward to sharing her love of singing and the power of modeling music. In her spare time, Emily performs as a vocalist and guitarist with the 8-piece Western Swing band, The Lonestar Retrobates and recently completed an album of bluegrass with her country swing band, The Vivants.

Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Sign Language from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. In high school, Erin had learned to interpret church songs which sparked her lifelong interest in ASL. She was fortunate to be immersed in the Deaf community and culture while on the East Coast.

Erin loves to interpret for Deaf guests who visit the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, where Erin works as an Animal Health Biologist and Registrar. Outside of work, Erin competitively races on an outrigger canoe team.

Erin witnessed first-hand the bridge of communication that ASL builds while using sign language with her young niece. Erin is passionate about teaching ASL and is thrilled to share ASL with parents who want to communicate more effectively with their babies.

Kari Marble has joyfully taught infant massage and communication to hundreds of families since receiving her certification with Kalena Babeshoff at the Foundation for Healthy Family Living in 2004. Her classes are highly regarded for their warmth, inspirational and educational content, and sense of nurturing community. Kari is the mother of two happily massaged children as well as a certified yoga teacher, massage therapist, and birth educator with a passionate and extensive specialization in the childbearing year and healthy family living. See www.WelcomeOm.com for more about Kari’s offerings.

Kelly Gray, Manager of Education at Carmel Blue, CMT, CD (DONA), CBE, is a Lamaze trained childbirth educator, a mother, a massage therapist, placenta encapsulator and a Birth Doula. Kelly grew up splitting her time between the urban landscapes of California and the rolling hills of West Marin, and at an early age found herself inspired by bodywork and activism. After finishing massage school in Sonoma County, she established a massage therapy practice that focused primarily on pregnancy and postpartum massage. However, her hunger for healthcare justice could not be ignored so she spent ten years as an Area Director for a local healthcare union working with the hospitals of the Bay Area.

The birth of her own daughter was a pivotal moment and inspired her to dive into the world of reproductive health; attending births and teaching families about the inherent power of motherhood. Knowing full well that when a baby is born a mother is also born, Kelly has designed a class that demystifies birth while guiding class participants to discover personal beliefs around pregnancy, partnership, birth, and parenthood. As a birth doula, she is equipped to objectively discuss Bay Area hospital’s individual cultures and protocols and has many birth stories to tell. In addition, Kelly provides up-to-date information and insights into birth research, support measures, community resources, communicating collaboratively with your providers, and all the powerful dynamics parents face as their children enter this world.

When not attending births or teaching at Carmel Blue, Kelly is volunteering with the Birth Justice Project (teaching childbirth prep for incarcerated women), hiking and making art with her family, and eating good food cooked by someone else. Kelly sees the work that she does in helping women and families have empowered births as one part of a life long love letter she is writing to her daughter. www.ninemoonsdoula.com

Lauren’s interest in language was ignited during her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics which led to her key interest: how language develops in the brain among neuro-typical and neuro-atypical children. Lauren’s graduate-level final focused on baby signing and its effects on the acquisition of a child’s first language.

Lauren received her Masters of Arts in linguistics at the University of South Carolina, where her research and teaching fellowships developed her skills in helping others learn to communicate better and introduced a love of teaching. Lauren is on track to complete her PhD in linguistics in 2019. As she completes her dissertation, Lauren is working as an au pair for her nephew, who started signing at eight months.

Teaching with Happy Baby Signs gives Lauren a chance to share her knowledge and expertise while she teaches new parents how signing greatly increases the ability to communicate and bond with their babies. Lauren's warm and lighthearted spirit make her classes fun and memorable.

Leah is a certified personal trainer and the creator of The Dia Method®, a prenatal and postnatal fitness system endorsed by medical and birth professionals worldwide. She empowers and equips women to exercise safely during pregnancy, labor with confidence, and restore core strength and total body fitness after birth – no matter how long it’s been! With over a decade of experience, she coaches clients to achieve their individual fitness goals through customized workouts and nutritional guidance.
The Dia Method grew out of her private training practice in New York City, and it earned unparalleled medical validation when researchers at Weill Cornell Medical School published their findings that her approach resolves diastasis recti, a common yet under diagnosed condition that compromises core strength and function. She recently moved to San Francisco, where she lives with my husband and young daughter.

It took only one yoga class for Raquel Scalon to feel deeply moved and curious about the benefits of this practice. With over 800 hours of training, she has become skilled at modifying yoga to the needs of pregnant women. She strongly believes yoga is for everyone and feels fortunate to help women in such a special time of their lives.

Rebecca Walsh, Director of Early Childhood Matters, has over sixteen years experience working with parents and young children in Early Childhood Education. Rebecca holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development (2002) and a Master’s of Arts degree in Religion and Psychology (2006). Rebecca has spent years working with diverse student populations in roles from co-founding an ESL preschool in Prague, Czech Republic; directing a preschool in a homeless shelter in San Mateo, CA, to her current position as supervisor and teacher mentor at Pacific Primary School, one of San Francisco’s finest Preschool For All models of emergent curriculum with a strong commitment to racial, family, and socio-economic diversity.

Since founding Early Childhood Matters in 2010, Rebecca has traveled around the United States and beyond, delivering workshops to teachers nationally and internationally, and to many local Bay Area parents. She is a two time presenter at the California Association for the Education of Young Children, the largest ECE conference on the West Coast, on helping teachers understand the challenging behaviors of students through a brain development and sensory integration lens. Her interactive workshops and participatory playgroups focus on the importance of emotional connection and consistent, developmentally-appropriate expectations, in order to grow and nourish the minds and hearts of our children, especially during the critical brain development window that happens in the first five years of life. Rebecca has two children who have challenged her, humbled her, and every day deepen her understanding of young children and the importance of the parent-child relationship. She is passionate about bringing parents together to support one another and gain perspective and compassion for ourselves as we walk this journey to more connected and effective parenting.
To learn more about Rebecca and her work, please visit the website at www.earlychildhoodmatters.org.

Rebecca (Plum) Elowen, LM, CPM, IBCLC is a Midwife and Lactation Consultant who offers prenatal, postpartum and lactation consultation, support groups, fertility support and prenatal classes in SF, Marin, Sonoma and the East Bay. She has taught classes in newborn care, postpartum preparation, breastfeeding, and sibling preparation at Carmel Blue, CPMC, Kaiser, Natural Resources, Thrive Birth Center, The Luma Center, and privately since 2003, and has been facilitating various support groups for aspiring, expecting and new parents since 2007. Rebecca received a B.A. in Psychology (with a emphasis on parent-infant attachment and bonding) from Mills College in 1999, became a Birth and Postpartum Doula a couple of years later, received her license and certification as a Midwife in 2010, and in 2013 she became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She strives always to uphold the midwifery model of care, offering information and empowerment, so that her clients can look back on their accomplishments with pride and a deeper sense of their own true power and wisdom.

Sarah Middelton, MA, CD (DONA), CMT comes to this work with 12 years of experience in infant and child development and family support. She is a DONA-certified birth and postpartum doula, overnight doula, licensed pregnancy massage therapist, and private childbirth educator. In 2006, Sarah completed her Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute where much of her studies revolved around family systems and early childhood development.

In 2007, Sarah became a mother herself and experienced firsthand the confusion and anxiety that can come with trying to understand the sleep needs of a newborn, infant or toddler. She discovered how complex and essential the simple act of sleeping is for both the child and the parents.

In her classes and in work with families Sarah offers a reassuring and gentle approach to infant and child sleep that is both flexible yet consistent, research based, and most importantly nurturing and connected.

Prenatal / Postnatal Doula, Yoga teacher, and mom/baby group facilitator Sharone draws from her personal and communal experiences of starting a family in San Francisco, where she organized the first neighborhood Mommy group 10 years ago. As a Volunteer Doula at SF general hospital Sharone identified the importance of early education, support and community for moms to experience a healthier postpartum period and a smoother transition into parenting. Sharone combined the education piece with the community experience and Carmel Blue baby education center was born.

Prior to diving into mommy hood, Sharone worked as a member of the Design and Product development teams at Levi Strauss & Co and at Pottery Barn. The 15 years spent working with product design and development, have earned her extensive knowledge and appreciation of product quality, design and function and a deep awareness of the customer needs which she enjoys sharing with her customers at the Carmel Blue shop.

Stefanie has always been enthralled with language. Introduced as a child, she grew up listening to her father speaking German and mother speaking English. Stef started learning Spanish in junior high and ended up majoring in Spanish at Indiana University. While receiving her Master's Degree in Mexico, Stefanie chose her final Capstone project on bilingual babies. She did research around the cognitive capabilities of infants to pick up languages. Upon meeting Bill White, founder of Happy Baby Signs, she was immediately intrigued with the concept of baby sign language. Passionate about babies and language, it was a natural fit. Stefanie looks forward to helping parents and babies find a deeper connection through language.

Susan Bell has been working with infants and young children for more than 15 years, as a nanny, mother, and postpartum doula. Since 2004, when she worked as a mentor to teen mothers in Seattle, Susan has been helping mothers with breastfeeding. She is a certified postpartum doula, a member of DONA, and a Lactation Educator/Counselor (CLEC) through the prestigious UCSD Lactation program.

Teri Voorhes, an an associate with Happy Baby Signs baby sign language program, began using American Sign Language after her son Robert was born with Down Syndrome. She was advised to use this with Robert as a baby as his verbal speech would be delayed. The first time Robert signed “more” “music”at his Early Intervention class she was hooked. Robert is a High School graduate now and still uses ASL to finger spell words he can’t enunciate.

Teri has continued her education in American Sign Language and has been teaching in her sons school since 2005. She has had great success with spreading the magic of Sign Language through presentations at Ability Awareness Day, teaching songs to classes to perform at assemblies and general classroom instruction. In 2011 Teri became an Advanced Signing Time Instructor and began teaching in an After School Program and Baby Sign classes throughout the community. She has presented at many Special Needs conferences throughout the Bay Area.