Our Staff

AlexAnn Westlake
AlexAnn WestlakeExecutive Director & Certified Nurse Midwife

AlexAnn (she/her/hers) is the Director of Our Community Birth Center. She has been a Certified Nurse Midwife since 2014 and has had the honor of supporting over 400 births as a midwife in both birth centers and hospitals. AlexAnn grew up in Lane County and is passionate about building sustainable birth center services with equitable access to care for Lane County families for generations to come. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon where she studied Spanish and Oregon Health & Sciences University where she studied nursing and midwifery. She is also the parent of two children who were born with midwife assistance. Se habla español.

Zoe Gardziola
Zoe GardziolaCertified Nurse Midwife

Zoe (she/her/hers) is a Certified Nurse Midwife at Our Community Birth Center. Zoe is a graduate of University of Michigan where she studied global health and nursing and University of Illinois at Chicago where she studied midwifery. She relocated to Eugene from the Midwest in 2024 to join the team at Our Community Birth Center. Zoe is excited to work at a birth center that shares her commitment to inclusive, equitable, and accessible midwifery care. She is also a parent of a child born with midwife assistance.

Vanesa Cervantes
Vanesa CervantesBilingual Clinic Assistant

Vanesa (she/her/hers) is the Bilingual Clinic Assistant for Our Community Birth Center. Vanesa speaks Spanish and English and helps with communication, support, and care coordination for Spanish speaking clients at the birth center. She is also at the birth center daily helping welcome clients when they come in for their appointments and supporting our midwives with the flow of the clinic day. Vanesa is a positive and empathetic person with a passion for health care and 15+ years of experience working in health care. She used to volunteer at a birthing center in her hometown in Mexico and she loves working with families and babies and helping them feel comfortable. Vanesa has an 18-year old daughter and a 4-year old Cane Corso dog. She loves waterfall seeking and road trips to anywhere that has a beautiful view.
Sophia Hirons
Sophia HironsBirth Assistant & Registered Nurse

Sophia (she/her/hers) is a Registered Nurse and Certified Lactation Consultant. She works as a Birth Assistant and Clinic Nurse for Our Community Birth Center. She has extensive experience working with children and families and loves bringing that experience into her work at the birth center. She is a graduate from Lane Community College’s nursing program, has earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and she is looking forward to studying midwifery and becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife. She finds so much joy working at the birth center and being able to be a part of providing care to the people in her community. During the clinic day, she assists the midwives in providing care, including assisting during clinic appointments, providing education, and helping to coordinate the care that people need. She attends a majority of the births at the birth center as the birth assistant and provides care and support to birthing people during their labor, postpartum time at the birth center, and when they go home. She also supports the midwives in offering high-quality lactation support to everyone for all types of lactation and baby feeding journeys. She is a willing servant to multiple cats and likes crafting and cooking in her spare time.
Rya Smallwood
Rya SmallwoodBirth Assistant & Licensed Practical Nurse

Rya (she/her) is a Licensed Practical Nurse and Birth Assistant & Registered Nurse at Our Community Birth Center. Rya first got involved at the birth center in 2021 as a student volunteer. That experience inspired her to continue working towards her dream of becoming a nurse and birthworker. Rya is passionate about trauma-informed care and is looking forward to supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. In her free time, Rya enjoys long distance running, playing with her dogs, reading, and spending time with her friends and family. In the future, Rya plans to get her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and will continue to support parents in the community.
Francis Wildheart
Francis WildheartChildbirth Educator & Baby Clinic Host

Francis (they/them) is a midwife, birth doula, abortion doula, and childbirth educator. Francis works with Our Community Birth Center in few different roles: as a birth assistant, teaching childbirth education courses, hosting Baby Clinic, as well as the LGBTQIA+ monthly meet up. Francis proudly identifies as queer and non-binary and is passionate about holding space for child bearing people, families, and babies in many different ways. Francis has been attending births and supporting families and individuals in their reproductive health journeys for almost 9 years. Francis has trained with 3 different doula organizations, and has been studying midwifery to become a Certified Professional Midwife at Birthwise Midwifery School and Midwives College of Utah since 2019. Francis is an artist and enjoys making art, ceramics, and music of all kinds. If you see them out in the wild when when they are not working, you might find them covered in paint, clay or knitting little baby hats in a coffee shop.
Melinda Perkins
Melinda PerkinsOperations Coordinator

Melinda (she/her/hers) is the Operations Coordinator of Our Community Birth Center. Melinda helps schedule appointments and ensures smooth operations of our clinic and birth center facility. She completed her education as a medical assistant through Lane Community College and has worked in healthcare for over 30 years. Melinda enjoys spending time with her family, reading and taking walks with her dog. Give us a call to schedule your appointment at 458-234-6800 and you’ll probably have the pleasure of talking to Melinda!

Amanda Bedortha
Amanda BedorthaCommunity Engagement & Fundraising Coordinator

Amanda Bedortha (she/her/hers) is the Community Engagement & Fundraising Coordinator for Our Community Birth Center. Amanda coordinates fundraising, outreach, grant work, and events for Our Community Birth Center to support our mission of ensuring equitable access to midwifery birth center care regardless of a person’s financial or insurance situation. She has a background in magazine writing and editing and nonprofit communications. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Magazine Journalism and Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. She enjoys engaging with families and local nonprofits to help share the wonderful resources we have available to families and individuals in our community. Outside of work, Amanda has two children and two dogs who keep her busy with playdates and games of fetch. She also enjoys gardening, nature walks, volunteering at her kids’ school, and visiting the Oregon Coast.