Gretchen Spicer and Suzy Myers drawing the contest winner

The Board is excited to announce the winner of the contest that included all new and renewing members from July 1 - Dec 31, 2011.

The winner is Robin Doolittle Illian, CPM from Portland Maine. Robin will receive a complimentary registration fee to attend either the MANA or ICTC conference in 2011.

Robin lives in Portland, Maine and is partner/co-owner of a home birth practice, Open Circle Midwifery Services.  She also teaches at Birthwise Midwifery School in Bridgton, Maine where she attended school starting in 2002. After working with and learning from her mentor midwives Cindy Haag, CPM (Berkeley, CA) and Elizabeth Moore, CPM (Boulder, CO) she earned her CPM in 2005 and has been practicing in Maine since then. Being a midwife and a mother is her newest endeavor after giving birth to her son, Leo, in January of 2010.

Interview with Robin:

Robin Doolittle Illian, CPM with   son Leo

Why did you join NACPM?

My state midwifery association encouraged all CPMs to join and I found it important to have a central voice on the national and political scene. This is important to me.

How can NACPM support the practice of CPMs?

Continue to be a presence in Washington DC, let us know how we can help and be aware of the political process for midwifery.

What is the biggest challenge you have as a practicing CPM in your state?

Logistical aspects such as having access to Rhogam and interfacing with the medical world when needed.

Holly Arends Murphy, CPM, new NACPM   treasurer

Holly's Biography

I earned a Bachelors of Arts from Saint Mary's College in 1999 with a double major in Religious Studies and Philosophy. In 2005 I graduated from Birthwise Midwifery School and passed the NARM exam to become a Certified Professional Midwife.  That same year, I opened Birch Moon Midwifery, a small homebirth practice, in Bath, Maine. In 2008 I moved the practice to Penobscot where I now reside. 

Since attending my first birth in 2002, I have been witness to over 200 births. I have gained a broad range of experience working with dozens of midwives and welcoming babies in homes and birth centers in the US, Canada, and the Philippines. In addition to private practice, I am also a faculty member at Birthwise Midwifery School. I delight in educating a new generation of midwives both in the classroom and as a preceptor.

I have also been an active member of several professional organizations. In 2007 and 2008 I was very involved in the Maine Association of Certified Professional Midwives' (MACPM) effort to pass licensing legislation in Maine and I continue to work with MACPM-one of the first NACPM state chapters-to create a licensing structure in the state. I served as the membership coordinator for NACPM for several years, and am very pleased to now join the board. 

I am passionate about advocacy work, and NACPM is at the forefront of advocating for women, babies, and reformation of the maternity care system.  I love quietly advocating for women, one at a time through careful and personal prenatal care.  I am also motivated by a larger vision and am driven to advocate for women, babies, and families on a broader, systemic scale.

I enjoy life on the coast of Maine with my husband Matt and our very active 16-month-old son, Linus, as well as sailing, cooking, knitting, and hiking.