Team
Cathy Daub
Founder - President
Trainer - Mentor
Cathy is a pediatric physical therapist who is founder, designer, and president of BirthWorks International. She is author of Birthing in the Spirit- a human values approach to childbirth, and Doulas of Love and is co-author of the BirthWorks Childbirth Educator Manual, and the Doula Journal Workbook. Cathy has taught childbirth education and doula workshops in the USA and overseas over the last twenty years. She is a certified Maya Abdominal Massage therapist, is certified in pelvic bodywork, is trained in techniques of myofascial release and teaches human values, all of which she incorporates into her workshops.
Cristin Tighe
Program Director & International Coordinator
Trainer - Mentor
Cristin certified as a BirthWorks Childbirth Educator in 2010 and in 2020 cross-certified as a BirthWorks Birth Doula & Postpartum Doula. (She's also DONA Birth/Postpartum Doula certified). She’s honored to serve BirthWorks by coordinating strategic and program development in the US and abroad. Cristin is a Yoga Teacher/Trainer and has three children - her daughter by waterbirth at home in Belgium and twin boys via cesarean in CA. Her experiences birthed a deep longing to empower women to understand their power to birth naturally, be confident about the best use of technology (and understand risk of cascading interventions). Inspired, she founded Conscious Empowered Birth in 2008 to educate mothers during pregnancy, as a first step to creating a peaceful, healthy world!
Horatio Daub, MD, MPH
Treasurer
 Dr. Daub received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from M.I.T. He went on to receive his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed a residency in Family Medicine at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ. He later received a Master’s degree in public health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He has been in practice as a Family Physician for 34 years which initially included obstetric care. He believes that preventive and lifestyle medicine requires more emphasis today to change our disease care system to a true health and wellness system for our nation. He is currently serving as Treasurer for BirthWorks International.
Liz O'Shea
Board Member - Co-Founder Birth Doula Program
Liz began her midwifery journey out of a deep desire to share the joy of birthing at home. She wanted all women to experience what it is like to feel the innate power within them to give birth. Following her first home birth in 1982, she began studying to be a birth assistant in Rahima Baldwin’s Informed Homebirth course. Liz’s passion for learning about normal birth continued through her own homebirths and as she raised her six children. Liz certified as an A.L.A.C.E Doula and later with Birth Works International, so started teaching childbirth education. As Co-Founder of BirthWorks Birth Doula Program, she taught varied training workshops. After attending births as a doula in hospital and home settings, she found the opportunity to apprentice with several home birth midwives who shared their knowledge of traditional midwifery. She began an independent practice in 2000 and along with her daughter, Emily, formed the first Birth Circle of Frederick, MD. Encouraged by her mentors she applied for and obtained certification through North American Registry of Midwives in 2007. Her midwifery home birth practice has nearly doubled, in the future when she takes less clients, she is definitely interested in leading workshops as a BirthWorks Birth Doula Trainer. BirthWorks will always be in her heart!
Dr. Nils Bergman
Kangaroula Trainer
Jill Bergman
Kangaroula Trainer
Jill is passionate about helping parents and their babies get the best start in life. She is an advocate, a voice for the newborn.
She received her Teachers Diploma from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1983. She taught in Zimbabwe and South Africa and lectured at the teachers training college. She has supported the work of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) since 1988, and played a key role in her full-time capacity since 2000. Together with Nils, she created four DVDs and wrote a book Hold Your Premie specifically for parents of premature babies.
She trains nursing staff in KMC, works with developmental care, is a doula and a Kangaroula. She is a speaker at national and international conferences and published a number of articles with titles like as “Whose choice? Advocating Birthing Practices According to Baby’s Biological Needs,” and “A Voice for the Baby.”
She and Nils have three children, two just finished at University.
Kathy Tighe
Program Manager
Kathy brings a wonderful perspective to BirthWorks, as she has a long interest in women's issues and education. As a child, she was intrigued with human rights and went on to study Anthropology and Women's Studies at San Diego State University, as well as working on her Masters in Education. She gave birth to her daughter naturally at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns, one of the busiest hospitals for birth in CA. Kathy's labor was inspiring, with the only challenge being asked by the labor nurse to wait to push for the Ob/Gyn to get back from a coffee break - Kathy said no! Kathy also did Birth Doula training with DONA and brings years of experience in customer service and marketing as a top manager of a very large company in southern California.
Melissa Johnson
Website Designer
Melissa is a self-made businesswoman with a natural entrepreneurial spirit. Her background which includes owning a wellness center and yoga studio, as well as a doula agency, grew into a desire to help others build intentional businesses and see their visions become a reality. Now, as owner of Simplified Website Design, Melissa offers small business support to collaborate on design and SEO-integration with the goal of launching and maintaining beautiful, successful websites. Many of her wellness clients are birth-related organizations, so BirthWorks loves having Melissa as part of our team! Her exceptional website skills are informed by her experience as a mother and small business owner, as well as training and certification as both a Birth Doula and Hypnobirthing Educator.
Emily Parekh
Mentor
Emily lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and two daughters. Her Postpartum Doula journey with BirthWorks began after the birth of her first daughter in 2016. Inspired to be a doula, after discovering her desire to support new mothers, she encourages the women she serves to tap into their own intuition as well. She is also a holistic esthetician, so those skills assure mothers experience loving care. Emily encourages a sense of comfort by creating lifestyle flowing with intentionality - in developing a parenting style or tending to home as a sacred act. Emily reclaimed her own schedule by practicing slow living, instead of filling hours with activities. When not helping new moms, Emily homeschools usually with a cup of coffee in hand. Find her @flourishskinflow
Tia Pratignyo
Mentor
Tia holds Master degree from Northumbria University, UK. She is a certified yoga instructor from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (India), prenatal yoga & postnatal yoga from Birthlight (UK), Certified Childbirth Educator and Certified Doula from Birthworks International (USA). She is the author of book and dvd “Yoga Ibu Hamil”. When she was pregnant, she realized prenatal yoga provided such an incredible support during pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal recovery. She gave birth to her first child naturally in waterbirth and since then she has been conducting birth preparation class to boost women confidence and to trust their own power to give birth.
Tia founded Nujuh Bulan on November 2015. Nujuh Bulan Studio is a pioneer in prenatal & postnatal studio and childbirth education center in Indonesia - a safe place and sanctuary for women to heal, grow and transform. Tia believes life is a journey, and to embrace moments with awareness. She is very passionate about women empowerment and continue to educate herself. Tia is also a certified Dancing for Birth & Qi Gong instructor and regularly teaches breathing and mindfulness meditation classes.
Karen Lai
Mentor
Karen Lai is certified with BirthWorks International® as well as NACE Australia. Karen facilitates workshops within Cert IV Workplace Training standards. Karen is an AHPRA Registered Nurse-Midwife in clinical practice as well as in Midwifery Education and is currently based in Hobart. Karen has post graduate qualifications through UTAS, is an accredited Neuro-Linguistic Programming trainer with INLPTA and has an Advanced Diploma in Solutions Oriented Coaching & Counseling with the Milton Erickson Institute. Karen is most of all proud to be a midwife and a mother and proud to bring her influence to birth and parenting.
Emily Alberhasky
Mentor
Emily Alberhasky is a birth Doula practicing in Des Moines Iowa. She has been a birthworks certified Doula for nearly 8 years. She has five children ranging from ages 6 to 16. She received her bachelors degree from Iowa State University in Child and Family Services. Emily’s passion is holding the space and being present for women and their partners as they walk through their journey into motherhood. Emily also facilitates a support group called Difficult Birth Journey which allows women to share their painful story in a safe, healing, and supportive space. She considers it the deepest honor to be invited into another person’s intimate and life changing moments.
