Jennifer Stevens DrPH, CNM, MS, RN – Education Director
Jennifer is a midwifery researcher, educator, and speaker. She holds a doctorate of public health from Boston University. Her professional publications address the midwifery model of care, midwifery centers, and safe childbirth standards. She has led midwife education in Bangladesh, India, and Haiti. In 2016, she co-founded the GoodBirth Network. She continues as a consultant for UNFPA and WHO, while leading the GoodBirth Network.
Cynthia Ingar, PhD – Network Coordinator
Cynthia Ingar is a Peruvian doctor of anthropology, specialized in medical anthropology and reproduction. She is mother to three children, and is trained as a Doula and women’s health educator. Her research has been centered in Andean women’s reproductive health and autonomy, intercultural health, authoritative knowledge dynamics, and the politics of reproduction. She is the founder of Hampi Warmi (2008), an intercultural reproductive health community-centered project designed to empower Andean women and girls in Peru through woman-centered knowledge. The program is strengthening community Andean midwifery, revitalizing local feminine wisdom, and is networking with other indigenous wise-woman traditions in the Region. Cynthia is also a holistic/ autonomous midwifery student (AAM).
Summer Aronson, RM, BSc
Summer is a UK-trained midwife working in a busy London hospital and a postgraduate student in Global Maternal Health at City, University of London. Her current research focus involves evaluating the accreditation process for midwifery centers in low- and middle-income countries. Originally from the United States, she is passionate about supporting and scaling midwifery globally. She has a communications, marketing, public relations and organizational development background. Her photography has been featured in Marie Claire UK and other publications. She is also the mother of two awesome kids.
Cristina Alonso DrPH, MPH, CPM
Cris is an advocate and author for women’s healthcare rights. She is a certified professional midwife and holds a doctorate in public health from Harvard University. Prior to moving to Boston, Cristina lived in Central America and Mexico for almost 20 years, where she spearheaded movements to professionalize and integrate midwifery into national healthcare systems. She founded the Luna Maya birth centers in Mexico as well as the Mexican Midwifery Association. In addition to her profession research and editorial publications, Cris is the author of GoodBirth’s manual for opening and operating birth centers in resource poor settings, now in English, French, and Spanish.
Currently, Cris serves as the health equity director for La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Massachusetts and works with the American College of Nurse Midwives on strengthening midwifery in Afghanistan.
Cristina is an advocate for community-owned and empowered health care options. She believes that local communities know what is best for their health and well-being. She works to bridge healthcare systems with local voices and needs in ways that are relevant and accessible.
Stan Shaffer, MD, MTS
Stan is a neonatologist, now retired except for assisting with GoodBirth projects. He is a career advocate of the midwifery model of care and preventative neonatology. Stan co-founded Maison de Naissance in Haiti in 2004. He co-founded the GoodBirth Network in 2016 in order to facilitate the sharing of best practices among birth centers globally. Past pleasures include directing the Healthy Mothers – Healthy Babies Foundation, the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers, the UMKC School of Medicine Global Health Program, and the NICU’s of the St. Luke’s Healthcare System in Kansas City.