Meet the Sage-Femme Team

Founder, Licensed Midwife,
Certified Nurse Midwife

Kelly, Founder and Director of Sage-Femme Midwifery, was called to midwifery as a ministry and vocation by the birth of her first child at home in 1984. Like many midwives, her relationship with birth has been long and varied. She has been privileged to serve as a direct-entry midwife, a Certified Professional Midwife, a labor and delivery nurse, and is a Masters prepared Certified Nurse Midwife. All six of her children were born at home. Her return to home birth is a celebration and a rekindling of her commitment to women and birth.

RN, Empowering Mama’s Birth Services

Lindsay came to Sage-Femme as a previous ICU RN after 11+ years in the hospital setting and an empowering, life-changing, successful, VBA2C. She discovered her love of all things pregnancy, birth, and beyond, through that of her own three children. After undergoing cesarean deliveries for her first and second child (per the mainstream medical system), Lindsay was truly scared when she discovered she was expecting her third. Excited to welcome another member of her family but feeling backed into a corner, forced to accept another surgical procedure, she found a ray of hope with Sage-Femme and welcomed her daughter through a successful out of hospital, water birth. This experience was so empowering and inspiring for Lindsay that she now feels called to share this dream and assist other women who too, may be unaware that they have other options. Her plans are to attend midwifery school with aspirations of serving women and guiding them in achieving what they dream of, not what they are told to expect.

RN, Giving Hope Birth Services

As the oldest of 8 children, Rachel has had a passion for all things mother-baby since her earliest memories. Her family is a testament to the strength of women who persevered against all odds in the name of motherhood. She came to Sage-Femme after 13 years as an RN, most recently in the ED. Through her years in the hospital, Rachel realized that a holistic model of care is paramount and felt called to a deeper level of caring for others. She found that depth of compassion at Sage-Femme. Rachel plans to start midwifery school in the summer of 2023. When she isn’t learning the art of baby-catching, she loves spoiling her nieces and nephews, spending time with her dogs, and enjoying the outdoors.

BSN, RN, Sunrise Birth Services

Abigail is an aspiring certified nurse-midwife (CNM). In 2022, she graduated from Russell Sage College with her bachelors degree in nursing. As a nursing student, Abigail had the amazing opportunity to intern with nurses at a birth center for two months. During this time she provided compassionate care to women through pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Her interest in childbirth began when she was just three years old, at which time she experienced the birth of her sibling at home into the hands of Kelly Mcdermott. She was fascinated by books about conception, pregnancy, and birth. She also attended birthing classes with her family at the Family Life Center in Albany, NY. In addition to her passion for homebirth, Abigail is a certified 200 hour Kripalu yoga instructor with experience in teaching prenatal yoga.

RN-C, LCCE, SpB®CPE

Jodi has been in the maternal child field as a hospital based registered nurse for her entire 15+ year career. She has experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, lactation, postpartum care, pediatrics, and Labor and delivery.

Jodi’s 5th and 6th (of 6 individual births) children were born at home with the Sage Femme team. It was after those empowering birth experiences that Jodi made a professional commitment to bringing Evidence Based Childbirth Education to all birthing people. Her very personal goal was to help all people achieve sharing the claim to having their best births.

Jodi specializes in Shared Decision Making Skills, Physiologic Birth, and Perinatal Pelvic Biomechanics. Her special training in Pelvic Biomechanics as a Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator offers pregnant people and their support person techniques for a more comfortable, enjoyable pregnancy and an approach to labor management for an easier birth.

RN, Creekside Birthing Services

Jessica is the owner of Creekside Birthing Services. She has been an RN for 14+ years in a wide variety of settings. Most recently she had been working part time in a group home setting with disabled adults and part time on her growing creative business.

Throughout nursing school Jessica was drawn to mother/baby nursing, but life kept taking her in different career directions. As a young mom Jessica delivered 3 babies in hospital settings. She felt that she had little control over her pregnancies and deliveries. As a more seasoned mom she knew that pregnancy and birth could be more in line with the way she lives her day to day life. This is what brought her to Sage-Femme as a client and now as a nurse, bringing her nursing school aspirations full circle and helping other families achieve this as well.

In her free time Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband, her 3 children, and their many animals. They live along the cliffs of the Schoharie creek and spend much of their time outdoors; walking, swimming and gardening. During the colder months Jessica spends a good deal of time in her shed studio, sewing and creating art.

Doula, Gift of Life Birth Services

Lataya has her master’s in social work. She is also an elementary educator.

Lataya began her natural birth journey 17 years ago, when she had her first planned home birth. She is a dedicated wife to her husband and the mother of two beautiful children. She is committed to her faith, family and community.

In 2022, Lataya met Kelly and her staff at a friend’s birth. After years of supporting friends and family during their births, Lataya received her certification as a doula and began Gift of Life Birth Services in 2023.

Lataya finds joy in supporting, educating, and empowering women and their families on their journey to parenthood. She especially has a passion to educate and support women of color on birth, as she has had her own personal experiences during her own pregnancy.

Lataya enjoys singing in the choir, supporting her children’s goals, raising chickens, gardening, and when she finds the time, soap making.