AnnMarie RianWanzeck
Midwife
AnnMarie RianWanzeck, LM/CPM was called to midwifery to provide physical and emotional supportive care to the whole family during a both unique and normal time in women’s lives. She has a strong interest in herbal, homeopathic and other complementary medicines in pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding and women’s health. AnnMarie has been attending women and families as a midwife, doula and birth assistant since 2004. She lives on the East side with her husband and daughter. Click here to watch AnnMarie’s video introduction.
Lisa Richards
Midwife
Lisa Richards, MSN, CNM was born and raised in Massachusetts. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in New York state and her master’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Lisa believes strongly in providing out-of-hospital birth, and is thrilled to be a part of the Madison Birth Center. In her free time Lisa enjoys reading, swimming, yoga, and spending time with friends and family. Click here to watch Lisa’s video introduction.
Amie Gieseke
Executive Director
Amie Gieseke has been with the Madison Birth Center since 2008 and began as the Executive Director in September 2010. After giving birth at MBC, she knew she absolutely wanted to work there! Her sons, Oliver and Oakley, were each birthed into water and attended by a MBC midwife. Oliver was born at the birth center and Oakley at home. Having been a client of the birth center , Amie has a strong passion for out-of-hospital birth.
Emily Wright
Public Relations and Administrative Quality Coordinator
Emily has been with the Madison Birth Center since 2010. She discovered her passion for birth during her labor and delivery rotation in Nursing School at The University of Michigan. Since then, she has dedicated herself to the birthing community. She provides support to mothers as a doula with The Beautiful Birth Doula Cooperative, she has traveled to Ecuador to learn about their birth practices, and is now finishing her degree to become a Certified Nurse Midwife. In her free time, Emily likes to hike, play music, and play volleyball.
Nichole Baumbach
Staff Development and Clinical Quality Coordinator
Nichole is the mother to three lovely yet rambunctious children and wife to her very understanding partner, Kirk. She has been working with moms and babies for 15 years in varying capacities: doula, birth assistant, postpartum doula, lactation consultant, and apprentice midwife just to name a few. Nichole has been involved with the Madison Birth Center since it opened in 2003 in a variety of different roles but most recently as a Clinic assistant and Staff Development Coordinator. Nichole aspires to be a homebirth midwife when she grows up and in her free time she loves to wrestle with her kids and read fiction.
Alyssa Taylor
Front Desk
Alyssa has been working at the front desk of the Madison Birth Center since the fall of 2011. She is relatively new to the birth world but finds it incredibly fascinating and continues to learn all she can about it. Alyssa lives in downtown Madison with her husband, Justin. She loves food, traveling, music, and art.
Minta Jo Dwyer
Childbirth Educator and Birth Assistant
Minta has been working with moms and babes for 9 years. She graduated from UW with her BSN, worked in a High Risk Labor and Delivery Unit in Hennepin County, then transitioned to working at the Madison Birth Center 4 years ago. Minta is currently working at Meriter in their Perinatal Float Pool, teaching Natural Childbirth Classes and facilitating Moms Group on Thursdays. She has a 3 and a half year old daughter, born into the hands of MBC midwives and her co parent. Being a Mother and working with pregnant, laboring, and postpartum women has been Minta’s dream as long as she can remember. She truly believes that the world can, and will, change one mom/baby dyad at a time.
Lisa Tiedeman
Childbirth Educator
Lisa came to the Madison Birth Center with over 20 years teaching experience in the Madison area as a certified childbirth educator (International Childbirth Education Association, ICEA). Lisa’s past teaching focused on preparing expectant women and their partners to birth in hospital. It’s truly a dream come true for her to teach for Madison Birth Center where she can focus her energy and passion on natural childbirth. With the alarming increase in medically managed labor and birth over the years, Lisa is even more committed to helping women reclaim their right to birth wherever and however they choose and takes great pride in helping expectant couples navigate their way through this amazing life journey. As an independent contractor, Lisa teaches the Happiest Baby on the Block class at the Birth Center once a month. Lisa and her husband Craig live in Madison and have two amazing adult children, Nick and Laurel.
Cathy Szudy
Birth Assistant
Cathy Szudy has worked with moms/dads/and babies in many capacities (midwife, lactation consultant, nurse, prenatal care coordinator, to name a few!). The months around pregnancy, birth and postpartum are times a family will cherish forever and Cathy enjoys being part of that wonderment. She is the mother to six adult children & grandmother to 10 (1 born at the Madison Birth Center and 5 born at home).
Lea Wolf
Childbirth Educator and Birth Assistant
Lea Wolf has been teaching childbirth courses for four years, and has been actively a part of Madison’s parenting and birth community since 2004 when she co-founded Happy Bambino. Lea is a doula, as well as a birth and family photographer (www.leawolf.com). She has a bachelors in American Indian Educational Policy; a kiddo who will be ten this winter who was born with the help of a midwife, doula, best friend, as well as awesome family support; and enjoys working in Madison with such an amazing birth community.
Molly Dermody
Birth Assistant
Molly has worked at the Madison Birth Center since 2009 first as an intern, and now as a birth assistant. She has served families in Madison as a doula since 2008, and has had the pleasure of supporting women in hospital, birth center, and home environments. She is currently a CNA and she hopes to begin Midwifery studies this year. She is the mother to Ella, born in 2007 and a son Brit, who was born at home in 2009. Both we born with the support of the MBC midwives.
Jen Perfetti
Licensed Counselor
Jen Perfetti is a Licensed Counselor specializing in individual and couples therapy during pregnancy, postpartum and the early parenting period. Jen completed her graduate work at Northwestern University, with a focus on women’s issues and couples and family therapy. She has been providing therapy to individuals, couples and families since 1997. Prior to beginning her private practice, Jen worked with the University of Wisconsin Postpartum Depression Treatment Program providing mother-infant psychotherapy, assessments and community outreach. She is a former facilitator of the Madison Birth Center new mom’s group and has offered several classes at the Happy Bambino Resource Center. Jen currently serves on the Wisconsin Taskforce on Perinatal Depression and has spoken statewide on topics related to postpartum depression. In addition to individual and couples therapy, Jen provides a postpartum depression treatment group and offers workshops and community education on PPD, couples transition to parenthood, and children’s emotional development. Jen has begun to offer another much needed resource in our community by beginning a Postpartum Depression Treatment Group held at the Madison Birth Center. She is an independent contractor and lives in the Madison area with her husband and two children.