Support Staff Micki Persons Support Staff Micki Persons

Ellena Karpenko MSM, LM, CPM~ Clinic Midwife

Ella is our Clinical Midwife and is not currently on-call.

Ella’s experience in Midwifery has shaped the values she upholds today in her own practice. She believes in compassionate, client-centered, and evidence-based care. She believes in providing parents with options in their care and helping families make an educated choice. Ella is fluent in Russian and English.

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Support Staff Sara LeHoullier Support Staff Sara LeHoullier

Micki Persons, Director

I am at home here.  Right where I am supposed to be….serving midwives, student midwives and many, many families.  I am honored to have witnessed more than 350 babies enter this world, hundreds of beautiful families grow.

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Eastside Midwives Micki Persons Eastside Midwives Micki Persons

Courtney Smith MSM, LM, CPM

On my road to a midwifery career I was struck by the need for patient advocacy in a system that struggles for power. I have found that giving the evidence-based information to families and empowering them to choose what is best for them results in better outcomes.

My medical experience started in 2008 when I began working as a medical assistant with the University of Washington’s Department of Family Medicine. This work exposed me to a wide variety of people and their needs. I wanted to expand my scope of practice and was drawn to midwifery after attending my neighbor’s birth and the birth of my nephew. I was lucky enough to find obstetric training in my own backyard and completed my Master of Science in Midwifery with a Botanical Medicine focus at Bastyr University in 2019.

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Eastside Midwives Micki Persons Eastside Midwives Micki Persons

Aubrei Ackerman, MSM, LM CPM

Interested in birth work, I joined the Volunteer Doula program at the University of Washington Medical Center back in 2012 and attended my first birth there. I hadn’t met the person in labor before, but I trusted my intuition and the body’s innate wisdom. This experience became my foundation for birth work, and eventually, I ran the program. Supporting people I’d just met during such a transformative time was a profound privilege. 

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Support Staff Micki Persons Support Staff Micki Persons

Rowena Simpliciano, Receptionist

My story with PSBC began when I was pregnant with my second daughter. The wonderful PSBC midwives were my birth team and I immediately felt at home here. Fast forward 6 years later, after being a stay at home mom for 11 years, I found my way back to the birth center.

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Lake Washington Midwives Micki Persons Lake Washington Midwives Micki Persons

Blake Stewart MSM, LM, CPM

My lightbulb moment felt more like a giant, flashing, neon sign. My journey led me to doula work and then to Bastyr University for my Masters in Midwifery, which I graduated with in 2019. I completed additional coursework in Botanical Medicine and love to incorporate herbal remedies into my practice. I can't wait to meet you all and share in your journeys from pregnancy to birth!

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