Community Roots Midwife Collective
a group of midwives, healers, and community practitioners providing inclusive, full-spectrum care throughout the childbearing continuum.
Through education, community building, and accessible services, we strive to increase midwifery access for all. Our work is grounded in the values of integrity, human rights, reproductive self-determination, and physiologic birth.
Herstory of CRMC
2016
CRMC Is Founded
A group of midwives came together, motivated by the lack of accessible midwifery care and the health disparities impacting BIPOC, low-income, and under-resourced communities in Boulder County and beyond. They envision a care model rooted in reproductive education, community support, and culturally-affirming midwifery.
Community Growth
CRMC offers homebirth midwifery services, community-based prenatal and postpartum support, and begins building strong connections with local families. Through grassroots community and outreach efforts across Boulder County, the collective also launches informal offerings like support groups, childbirth education, and inclusive spaces for learning and connection.
2017-2018
2019
CRMC Becomes a Nonprofit
Through grassroots community and outreach efforts across Boulder County, the collective launches offerings like support groups, childbirth education, and inclusive spaces for learning and connection.
AWPC Program Launches
In collaboration with Harvest of All First Nations (HAFN) and Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR), CRMC launches the Ancestral Womb and Postpartum Care Program to bring Cerradas/Closing of the Bones ceremonies and reproductive wellness education to our community. This initiative supports emotional and physical healing through culturally-rooted care practices.
2021
2024
Nourishing Roots Program Launches
The Nourishing Roots Program is created to support midwives across Colorado who are serving focus communities, including LGBTQIA2S+ people, BBIPOC families, youth, single parents, and those in midwifery-care deserts. This program extends CRMC’s impact far beyond its local reach.
Meet the Midwives
Join us at Community Roots Midwife Collective in Longmont to learn more about midwifery-led care and home birth. Our Meet the Midwives gatherings are held twice a month and offer a welcoming space to connect, ask questions, and hear our vision.
Get to Know Our Midwives
Rachel Engel
RM, CPM (she/her), Primary Midwife, Program Director and Co- Foundress
Rachel was born at the Denver Birth Center, and natural birth has been a normalized part of her life from the start. She studied art in college and worked with a program that used creative expression to support people through long hospital stays, where she witnessed the power of the mind-body connection and people’s ability to transcend difficult circumstances.
Rachel began doula training and attending births in San Francisco in 2008. She quickly fell in love with birth work. From 2011–2013, Rachel completed her clinical midwifery training at the Northern New Mexico Birth Center and Better Birth in Utah, alongside didactic studies through the National College of Midwifery. She became a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) in 2013 and returned to Colorado in 2014, where she’s been serving families ever since.
Rachel loves witnessing people become parents and families grow. From early in her training, she felt called to make midwifery care more accessible and is grateful to be part of a collective working toward that vision in Boulder County. She is committed to ongoing education and regularly attends conferences and trainings in all areas of midwifery. Rachel holds certifications as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Colorado Registered Midwife (RM), and Certified Lactation Counselor® (CLC), and keeps her CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certifications current.
Lo Kawulok
RM, CPM (she/her), Primary Midwife, Co- Foundress, & AWPC Co-Lead
Lo Kawulok is a mother, midwife, and community advocate that has been supporting womxn and families as a full- spectrum, reproductive health worker for about 15 years. Born and raised in so-called Boulder, Colorado, Lo has a deep love for the earth, sacred relationships, strong communities, and a reverence for ancestral connections. She has learned the art of midwifery in various settings ranging from rural and urban homebirth, a bustling birth center on the US/Mexico border, to international practice in Guatemala and Mexico. Lo is connected to the midwifery and spiritual traditions of the earth, her maternal line, as well as traditional healing practices passed down from the hearts and hands of her teachers.
Lo believes that midwifery care has always been, and will continue to be, vital to the health of a community. She sees that resilience is built when people feel supported and the innate design is honored. The formation of this collective has been a dream of hers for quite some time, and she is honored to be working alongside this group of devoted and brilliant midwives. Lo’s certifications include Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Colorado Registered Midwife (RM), and Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). Her CPR and NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) certifications are current at all times.
Se habla español
Stacie Meredith
RM, CPM (she/her), Assistant Midwife
Stacie Meredith fell in love with birth in 2000 after reading Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. She knew immediately that this was her life's calling; to support, educate and empower birthing people and their families during this amazing journey.
She graduated from a MEAC accredited program at The Florida School of Midwifery in 2005. In 2006 she and her husband Robert moved to the lovely Boulder County area, where she established Stacie Meredith Midwifery Services, LLC. She has been joyfully attending families and caring for newborns since then. For more information, please visit www.staciethemidwife.com.
Stacie began working with Community Roots Midwives Collective in June 2020 as an Assistant Midwife. She is honored and delighted to be part of such a phenomenal group of midwives and shares their deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Stacie's certification’s include Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Colorado Registered Midwife (RM) and Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). She remains up to date on her Neonatal Resuscitation certification and her CPR.
Madison Cheshire
RM, CPM (she/her), Assistant Midwife
Madi is a licensed midwife living in the front-range communities of Colorado. She is passionate about supporting families through the magnificent process of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum time. Madison believes that the childbearing continuum is a space with the potential for deep reflection, healing, and transformation. Since her first birth training in 2011 in Boulder Colorado, Madison has pursued a midwifery education through a traditional rural homebirth apprenticeship in the high rockies, as well as a high volume international birth center and midwifery school along the U.S./Mexico border. Since returning to the front-range in 2015 Madison is grateful to collaborate with the Community Roots Midwifery Collective, as well as to offer massage therapy to the community.
For more information visit Madison’s website.
Meet Our Board Members & Staff
Rachel Engel (she/her)
President
I am a mother to my daughter who was born at home with CPMs in May 2019. I have also been attending births since 2008. I was a midwife with CRMC and am currently working in an administrative and fundraising capacity. I have been with CRMC since the beginning of its conception and am a co-founder and helped form the non-profit.
As a new mother, I want every family to have the privileges that I had during my pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I see building community and making resources available the path to creating access for all. CRMC has been creating both of these things for years and I am proud to sit on the board to continue to serve our community.
Secretary
Lo Kawulok (she/her)
I am so thankful to walk in this world as a Mother and a Midwife. Reproductive health care and sacred life transitions are my jam. I had the privilege of having both of my children at home with the loving support of Midwives. I have been attending births as a Midwife for about 15 years now, and am honored to be a co-creator of CRMC and current board member. My work before CRMC spanned from private practice Midwifery, lead Medical Assistant at People’s Clinic, volunteer educational and doula/Midwifery services in Boulder County and San Marcos, Guatemala, to volunteer Hospice work. CRMC is working hard to be sure more folks have access to quality Midwifery care, which in turn will strengthen people’s ability to care for themselves and their families. All of my heart is with this mission, and I am so grateful for the support of our incredible community!
Treasurer
Lauri Hughes (she/her), CPM, RM, CLC
I am a co-founder of Community Roots Midwife Collective, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), mother of four adult children and Lola (grandmother) of three. Originally from Seattle, I moved to Boulder in 1996 and began birth work in 1998. This has included full-spectrum doula, midwifery and advisory services. International projects, disaster relief and low-resource settings have been particularly inspiring and rewarding. I’m proud to support various Boulder county and international midwifery organizations, as a board member and volunteer. It is with much gratitude that I serve on the board of Community Roots Midwife Collective.
I’m a life-long believer in the right of all people to make autonomous healthcare choices, so putting my efforts into creating opportunities for them to do so, is intuitive.
Yessie (Nichole) Calagias (she/her)
I am so thankful to walk in this world as a Mother and a Midwife. Reproductive health care and sacred life transitions are my jam. I had the privilege of having both of my children at home with the loving support of Midwives. I have been attending births as a Midwife for about 15 years now, and am honored to be a co-creator of CRMC and current board member. My work before CRMC spanned from private practice Midwifery, lead Medical Assistant at People’s Clinic, volunteer educational and doula/Midwifery services in Boulder County and San Marcos, Guatemala, to volunteer Hospice work. CRMC is working hard to be sure more folks have access to quality Midwifery care, which in turn will strengthen people’s ability to care for themselves and their families. All of my heart is with this mission, and I am so grateful for the support of our incredible community!
Jetha Marek MSW, CD BOD Member at large (she/her)
I’m a parent to children who squabble and love one another ferociously (inside of minutes) and a partner to a teacher who spends much time convincing teenagers of the magic of math.
I offer coaching and psychotherapy to parents and parents-to-be as they adjust to new roles by offering emotional, psychological and contemplative support.
I am a full-spectrum doula/birth worker. I combine my skill sets to honor my values in earth based spirituality and a commitment to reproductive self-determination especially in times of great change and sacred initiation.
It is a joy and honor to work alongside this group of inspiring humans to make visible and uplift CRMC’s life-giving mission - striving to make midwives accessible for any-body that wants one.
Fatuma BOD Member at large (she/ella)
I am deeply honored to serve as a board member with Community Roots Midwife Collective, where my passion for nurturing life extends from the soil to the birthing room. As the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Frontline Farming, I have spent over two decades cultivating the land, growing food, and teaching sustainable farming practices. This connection to the earth informs my understanding of midwifery—both require a deep respect for life, a commitment to stewardship, and an unwavering dedication to honoring the hard work that brings new life into the world. My journey, rooted in the rich traditions of Ethiopia and the lessons learned from tending the land, guides my approach to supporting families through their most sacred transitions. Just as we tend the soil to nourish future harvests, I believe in nurturing families to create strong, healthy communities. It is with this spirit of care and stewardship that I am proud to serve on the board of Community Roots Midwife Collective.
AWPC Coordinator
Josie Valadez Fraire BOD Member at large (she/ella)
Josie Valadez Fraire (she/ella) is an indigenous woman (wixáritari/mexika), mother, feeler, and plant-person born on occupied Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute territory in so-called Boulder, Colorado. her homelands are south of the colonial border in so-called Zacatecas, Mexico. Her love is poured into raising her baby, Metztlixochitl, creating plant medicine, cooking, and working with our Earth/expanding communities.
CRMC supported Josie through her pregnancy in the most sacred way. during the summer of 2019, Josie and her family welcomed baby Metztlixochitl Earthside in their family home with a ceremonial fire burning with the loving guidance of midwife Felicia, student midwife Lindsey, and the entire collective. now, Josie supports in sharing the medicine of homebirthing, specifically for Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples.
Fundraising & Operations Coordinator
Stephanie Minnaert (she/her)
Stephanie supports the organization with many things fundraising including grant management and any other nonprofit needs. Stephanie has been working in various capacities in the nonprofit world for over a decade.
Her history with CRMC began as a fundraising support volunteer and contractor starting at the end of 2021, then client in 2022, and now part-time staff since January 2023. Outside of the organization, Stephanie is a community birth and postpartum doula and mama to 2 kiddos.
She believes wholeheartedly in the benefits of midwifery and community care. Feeling called to be of greater service and connecting more deeply within her community, Stephanie loves supporting families in reclaiming their power and confidence to do what’s best for themselves and their families.
