MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS

Renee became a doula in 2016 and has since attended over 25 births. She founded Hope’s Embrace. Her heart lies with serving women who are underserved and marginalized. She is conversationally fluent in ASL and has experience working with teenagers and women who have endured trauma. She also has a heart for bereavement work since she miscarried in 2014.
Renee is happily married with two living children and an angel baby.

Laura has been a doula since 2016 in her own doula practice, Sage Roots Birth Services. Her goal is to help each birthing woman tap into their own intuition to find their unique mothering rhythm. She works and lives in Southeastern Kentucky, the same area where she grew up, and serves Whitley, Knox, Laurel counties and beyond. This community is where Laura and her husband happily raise their three children. She’s perpetually honored to serve Kentucky families.

Liz developed an interest in childbirth at a young age thanks to passionate health teachers. She currently works as a registered nurse in cardiovascular intensive care, and was recently admitted to the Frontier Nursing University Certified Nurse Midwife program. In January 2020, Liz completed her DONA Doula training course with the hope of gaining tools to support birthing people in achieving empowering, satisfying childbirth experiences. Liz is passionate about serving birthing people and families in any capacity. She lives in Lexington, KY with her fur “baby”, a rescued mutt named Cooper.

Anihhya became a doula in 2018 upon completing her DONA training and has since supported over 10 families in virtual or physical support. At an early age, Anihhya knew she wanted to be involved with pregnancy and childbirth. Her passion is helping the women in her community that often get overlooked. Anihhya is a single mother to a son and a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard. With her birth work, she hopes to help change the stigmas around overlooked families one birth at a time.

Tori’s passion for birthwork began in 2018 after the birth of her son. She completed DONA doula training that summer and has earned her certification as a Holistic Doula and placenta preparation Specialist through HERBAL. She has a heart to nurture and serve. Coming from a background as a Direct Service Provider to those with differing abilities, Tori now works at a senior long-term care facility where many have said she “doula’s” her residents. Through her own experiences and a desire for less stigma around Maternal Mental Health, Tori is currently pursuing Certification as a Perinatal Mental Health Counselor (PMH-C). She is a Certified ROSE Interventionist and volunteer program facilitator with Hope’s Embrace. Tori serves Central Kentucky and resides in Frankfort with her son and 2 kitties.

Stephanie is a trained birth doula who has been supporting expectant parents since November 2019. She has spent the last 15 years working with women healing from addiction and trauma, and believes in the power of women who learn to trust their intuition. She was drawn to doula work by her past experience walking with women during periods of challenging transition, and a desire to positively impact families. When she is not doula-ing, she works as an accountant and spoils her nieces, nephew and feline friend, Mocha.

Stormy McIntosh is a Psychology major at Eastern Kentucky University. As a former client, Stormy believes in the mission of Hope’s Embrace; eager to contribute to the organization that once served her, she is working as an intern while finishing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. In the future, she hopes to obtain her Master’s in Counseling and become a licensed mental health counselor.
Stormy lives in Richmond with her two young boys, rescue cat and dog.

Amy became a doula in January 2020 after completing her training with DONA International and runs her own birth practice, Balsam & Pine Birthing Services. She has been passionate about pregnancy and birth since she was a very young girl and is thrilled to finally be a birthworker. Amy’s favorite part of doula work is being able to focus on the birthing parent, as all supporting medical staff at a birth are primarily focused on the baby. She believes that every person is entitled to a satisfying birth experience and works endlessly to bring that to each client. She was raised in the heart of Lexington, where she currently lives with her husband, Brett, and rescue dog, Huevo.

Brittany recently began her professional journey in birth work and opened her own agency, Kaleidoscope Wellness, in early 2021. She has had a passion for women and children her entire life, and has always known she wanted to work alongside women in the most significant and courageous journey of their lives. Brittany has four children, a set of twins and two young boys. She specializes in multiple births, as well as infant loss, trauma, and adoption. Brittany has worked with many women throughout her years as a Family Advocate and during her training as a women’s counselor. She hopes to continue on her journey to advocate and ensure that every woman in Kentucky has a doula that wants one. Brittany lives in Elizabethtown with her husband and four children.

Dusti is currently a stay at home mom to 3 children and absolutely loves everything pregnancy, birth and child development. She has a degree from Madisonville community College in Early Childhood Development. She worked in the school system before moving to a small farm with my husband and children, where we enjoy our many animals and exploring the wonderful outside. Dusti completed my Birth Doula training through DONA in 2020.