Clinical and Administrative Staff

Abbie Franke EMT-IV, BA
Abbie is our Associate Director. She works closely with Aszani and Bill, attending to the details of running a birth center. Her responsibilities include long-range planning, insurance contracting, personnel and acting occasionally as a birth assistant when we're busy!

She got to know and love our center and staff when she was a client here for the birth of her first son, Owen. Her second son, Eli, was also born in the water at MBC.

Abbie obtained her BA in Zoology from UW Madison in 2000 and is an Emergency Medical Technician. She has worked previously in the medical field, both clinically and in sales.




Ashley Holen
Ashley is our Office Manager and Medical Receptionist. She moved here in 2006 from Southern California, where she was born and raised in a large family of eight children. Prior to moving to Wisconsin she lived and worked on a wooden tall ship, The Spirit of Dana Point, where she educated children on sailing and the history behind it. This was a life changing experience for her, creating many wonderful memories. Ashley now lives in historic Kroghville with her boyfriend Jeffrey and their dog Guss.










Nicole Heimbecker
Nicole is our Medical Billing Coordinator. She is a certified Professional Coder (CPC) and a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Nicole is responsible for all of Madison Birth Center’s medical billing and coding. It is usually Nicole’s friendly voice you hear on the other end of the phone when you call with billing or insurance questions. Nicole is always willing to assist our clients in navigating the complex insurance world. Nicole has a degree in General Studies & Medical Coding from MATC, and has worked in the Medical Billing field for 10 years in the Madison area. She is married and has two children, Kaitlyn and Karver. In her spare time she enjoys camping and outdoor activities.






Arlinda Michael RN, BSN, IBCLC, CIMI
Arlinda assists the midwives during births, does home visits and works with mothers on breastfeeding issues. She also teaches the Infant Massage and breastfeeding classes. She received her BA in Biology from Luther College in 1982, followed by a BS in Nursing from Marycrest College in 1988. She began her interest healthy families as a Certified Infant Massage Instructor in 1988. For the last 20 years she has been guiding families in the use of touch and massage for babies and children. Arlinda has studied under Edgar Monetatchche (traditional Indian medicine), Rima Star (The Star Institute of Birth and Healing), Michael Trout (Infant-Parent Institute), Maria Mathias (International Institute of Infant Massage), and participated in work groups with the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children. Arlinda’s passions for optimal health in families led her to work in breastfeeding and in 2000 she became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Arlinda has an active yoga practice for over 35 years, enjoys natural foods, live music and being outdoors. She has an adult son and daughter, and enjoys playing with three happy, healthy grandchildren.


Minta Dwyer RN, BSN
Minta completed her BSN in Nursing and Women's Studies at UW Madison. Following graduation, she moved to Minneapolis to work at the VA hospital in extended and hospice care. Realizing her passion for women's health, she began work for the Hennepin County Medical Center, in their bustling obstetrics department. She quickly ascended to night charge nurse, and spent the next two and a half years learning high risk obstetrics and how to say contraction in several different languages. Missing the serenity of Madison, Minta moved back in August 2007, and started work at the Madison Birth Center in September. She has found the out-of-hospital birth world a calm and fulfilling place. She also works in the community with children with disabilities as often as she can. Minta currently lives in Madison with her partner, Liz. Their first baby, Joella, was born into the hands of Liz, Anastasia and Mary this Spring 2008.


Lauri Ysen RN, BSN
Lauri received her bachelors degree in nursing in 1999 from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. Soon after graduation she moved to Alaska, where she lived for eight years. Her first few years in Alaska were spent working in a rural hospital in labor and delivery. The hospital serviced primarily Yup'ik Eskimos. Working with Yup'ik women and seeing the amount of trust they had in the normal process of birth - often despite the feelings of the hospital staff - was a life changing experience for Lauri. She knew then that she wanted to continue to work with women and share in the transforming experience of labor and birth. In addition to labor and delivery, she also spent time as a public health nurse for the state of Alaska, and as a school nurse. After becoming pregnant with their first baby, Lauri and her husband, Daniel, moved to Madison to be closer to family. Jack was born at home in August of 2007.



Nichole Baumbach CNA
Nichole is a clinic and birth assistant who has been with the Madison Birth Center since March of 2003. She has been working with pregnant women and birth since 1998 as a doula, a homebirth midwife assistant, and an apprentice midwife. In her free time she attends classes at MATC and home studies midwifery. She also helped work on and pass the legislation in 2006 allowing Certified Professional Midwives to practice legally in Wisconsin. Nichole is a mom to three beautiful children, the last two born in the water at home.







Susan Grabia MPH, BS
Susan’s journey in women’s health began in 1977 as a homebirth midwife. After retiring from midwifery in 1986 she earned a BS in Health Promotion and Wellness, and a Master of Public Health degree with a focus in complementary medicine education. Susan was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, School of Nursing from 2004 - 2006 and taught the Complementary Health Practices (CHP) and Holistic Health Principles courses. She has been a guest lecturer in the UW system on CHP for the last 10 years, and is a strong advocate for the development of a single payer health care system in the US.

Susan continues her work in family health at the Madison Birth Center as a clinic and birth assistant. Her passions are family, friends, medicinal herbs, homeopathy and riding her bicycle. Susan has 4 adult children, 3 of whom were born at home, and 3 grandchildren who were also born at home.


Tia Keenan RN, BSN
Tia completed her BS in Nursing and Psychology at UW-Madison in 2000. Fulfilling a lifelong dream to live in the Pacific Northwest, Tia and her husband moved to Seattle, Washington. She spent the subsequent 6 years working in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit (ICU) at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. When she became pregnant with her daughter she discovered the incredibly supportive and bountiful birthing resources in Seattle. Through much lobbying and calculated argument, Tia led her husband to the realization that homebirth was a healthy and responsible birthing option for women. She and her husband chose to have both of their children in the living room of their Seattle home. They could not have been happier with their experience. In 2006 Tia and her family moved back to Madison. Encouraged by her family, Tia chose to pursue her interests in non-hospital birthing options in the Madison community. She joined the Madison Birth Center in March 2007 as a birth assistant and truly loves what she does. Tia enjoys running in races as well as running after her children, and recently gave birth to her third child at home.