For Jennifer, becoming a mother was her initiation into care work. Out of love and a desire to keep her son close, Jennifer cared for families as a nanny while simultaneously homeschooling her son into his late elementary years. It was after returning to Portland and her son entering public school for the first time that she realized her calling to become a postpartum doula.

It made sense. Ever since middle school, friends and classmates had come to her to divulge their secrets and talk over their uneasy feelings and relationship woes. She loved the time spent volunteering to cook food with Food Not Bombs and sharing it with her community and those in need. Research and discussing knowledge with others was always a joy. She found herself the de facto doula for her friend, who was in recovery. And her own extremely rough postpartum period offered deep insights into this transitionary period. With love, and through her identity as a caregiver, she sees it as an expression of community care and part of her spiritual path to nurture postpartum families, to give validation, to help where help is needed, and to impart knowledge when requested.

With training and interest in folk herbalism, twenty three years of vegetarian/vegan cooking, a lifelong love of philosophical thought and shared understanding, and a decade of experience taking care of newborns to pre-teens, Jennifer is excited to offer her support to nourish your family culture. She has a staunch anti-racist position, a commitment to working with families of all economic classes, and loves to attend to other queer families.

Jennifer lives in Portland with her son. She grew up in Southern California and has lived in Virginia and Colorado. She loves reading historical romances, topics of social justice and popular fronts, going to kirtan, wild crafting medicines, weaving large scale tapestries, and collecting handmade and vintage trinkets. In the future, she hopes to learn pottery and how to use a sewing machine to create a wardrobe of vintage/antique attire.

Certifications & Continuing Education