Kathi Mulder, CPM, President

Kathi is a newly retired Licensed Midwife and former owner of Dance of Life Midwifery. As the GCBC President Kathi provides the overall leadership for project planning, fundraising, meeting agenda setting, communications, and BOD operations.

Kathi saw the need for more equitable maternity care firsthand when she traveled to Haiti in 2011 to offer relief services following the 2010 earthquake.  She had the opportunity to serve as one of Ninotte’s mentors.  Kathi feels strongly that the best way to make a difference in the lives of women and families in Haiti is to invest in one midwife who can then help many. She brings her years of experience of leading other midwifery boards and committees to Grace.    

Craig Mulder, Treasurer 

Craig retired from Northwestern Michigan College as the head of technology and information services and now devotes some of his many skills and energies toward managing GCBC’s financial operations, donors, website, and all things IT. Craig has worked in many ways throughout his life to make the world a more just and equitable place for families and the GCBC fits well in his wheelhouse of projects to achieve those goals. He values the fact that GCBC is Haitian-directed. 

Melinda Parenteau, CPM, Secretary

Melinda lives in British Columbia, Canada. She is currently a non-practicing registered midwife and the mother of two young children. Melinda keeps the GCBC on task, organizing meeting minutes and correspondence. Melinda is currently focusing on fundraising for the building project within her community. Melinda met Ninotte in 2010 when she moved to Haiti to practice midwifery soon after the 2010 earthquake that killed over 200,000 Haitians. Melinda and Ninotte continued to work together over the course of the next four years at two birth centers. Melinda was one of several of Ninotte's midwifery preceptors. She was witness to Ninotte's passion to see change and new possibilities for Haitians. Midwifery met Ninotte's heart and enabled her an outlet, a voice and platform to help women, babies and families succeed in the most trying of times. Melinda is committed to Ninotte's vision for midwifery in Haiti. They share a passion to provide holistic, compassionate and family centered care. 

Lynette Biery, PA-C, Director

Nancy Cowans, Director

Reina Galjour, CPM, Director

Reina has been a Certified Professional Midwife since 2004. She worked in Texas on the US/Mexico border for 7 years and Haiti for 3 years, and currently works as an ER nurse in North Carolina, USA. Reina met Ninotte in 2011 at Olive Tree Projects in Jacmel, Haiti where they worked together for 5 months at a community birth center. Reina knows Ninotte to be a driven and visionary Haitian woman who has dedicated herself to improving maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in Haiti through high-quality midwifery care, an art that Ninotte has been cultivating for years and continues to refine. Reina believes that the most effective way to support positive change in Haiti is through channeling resources to grassroots, Haitian-led initiatives such as Grace Community Birth Center because they are ultimately more sustainable, cost-effective, appropriate for the setting, and culturally congruent. She invites those interested in helping to improve maternal and neonatal care in Haiti to invest in this long-term, sustainable community intervention.

Rachel Olsson, CPM, CNM, Director

Rachel Cornett-Olsson is a CPM and nurse-midwife licensed in Texas and Vermont. She has a mostly virtual women's health practice, but has a history of practicing home birth She worked in Jacmel, Haiti, with Melinda and Ninotte at Mother Health International birth center in 2011. She is a board member because she respects Ninotte as a leader and is enthusiastic about supporting respectful and excellent women’s and infant care for Haitians by Haitians.