Our Team

Administration

 Founder & Lead Doula  

 Certified Full Circle Doula, Peer Lactation Counselor, Placenta Specialist, and Trauma Informed Professional.

Cynthia Garcia

I have a passion for helping others find their voice and reclaiming their power, especially in their birth spaces. I am a mom of four, with kids ranging two to seven of age. My own experiences with my births are what piqued my interest into the path of a birth professional. Before that, my passion was cooking, and I went to school for culinary arts. Now, I combine both passions to help families prepare for labor and postpartum recovery. I have personally experienced a cesarean section, two hospital VBACs, a home birth (HBAC), and pregnancy losses. I wanted to bring my own experiences into helping others on their own journeys. As someone who has been through trauma of birth, childhood and sexual abuse, I make it my mission to advocate and help birthing survivors, through any trauma or fears that they feel will affect their birth. I continue to learn and educate myself in any way that will best support families looking for support through the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods. I am currently taking a midwifery course, and training as a student midwife. 

When I am not helping families, I like to spend time with my family and take some time for spiritual care. One of my favorite ways to relax and refresh from a hard week, is taking a day for myself and read/write with a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate, and creating new recipes. 

Training and Certification Include:


A word from the founder:

Hi families! Congratulations on such an exciting new adventure. I wanted to take a few minutes to give my thanks for considering Treasured Art of Birth, for your journey! I created this agency to have a safe place to get all your birth support needs. I have hand selected my team, whom I believe will be a great addition to this agency, to serve families with compassion, kindness, and respect for this sacred time in your life. We are dedicated to making this experience a memorable one. Please reach out for any questions or to schedule a consultation with us! 

With much love and gratitude,

Cynthia Garcia

Sally Cote

Hi! I am Sally, I started working with children at age 10! I knew that young, I wanted to work with families. I started working with teen moms at age 14, with postpartum care. During this time, I was also babysitting and working in classrooms for kids with autism, as an aid. It was around this time, I started doing energy healing work, and studying holistic and herbal health. This continued for much of my life, before I was 30 I had my own daycare, preschool, and parent education business. This, all while working with new parents in postpartum, and through pregnancy. In 2018, I left work to take care of my family, and in 2019 I decided to focus more on parent education and doula work, and went for my official certifications. In 2020, I was working as a birth doula for the first time, while continuing my initial passion, as a postpartum doula. I now work with families, supporting them through fertility, pregnancy, birth, lactation, and beyond. I still provide parent education and coaching to growing families. 

Certified Doula, and Treasured Art of Birth's Lead Instructor.

Doula and Marketing Assistant

Sagal Aden

Hello, I'm Sagal Aden. 

I am currently working towards getting a degree as a practicing midwife. I work as a postpartum and birth doula. I feel that a doula's responsibility is to contribute without interfering and to offer each family tailored care as they make their way through the early stages of motherhood. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to supporting families, in my opinion. My goal is to troubleshoot, help families gain the confidence they need through both birth and postpartum, normalize unsettling situations, and assist new parents in starting out strong.


The Team

Hector Garcia - Trauma Healing Meditation Guide and Partner Guide

I am a devoted husband to a doula/student midwife/entrepreneur and wonderful stay at home dad of 4. When I am not being husband or dad of the year, I utilize my free time to guide dad's/partners on what to expect and how to help during labor from the male perspective. As a supportive partner I have experienced a c section, 2 hospital vbacs and a home birth by my wife's side. I am also a meditation guide who specializes in not only helping others heal from their emotional and mental traumas, but helping pregnant individuals through their fears of pain during birth (similar to hypnobirthing) 

Chyna Roberts-Doula

As a mother of four, I was blessed with the opportunity to birth my children naturally and noticed immediately the lack of positive support and knowledge I had to get through it. I took that and used it to assist my family and friends with their birth and postpartum plans. Being able to help them see how far they could go with positivity and support led me to the decision to make this a full-time career and help as many families as I can. I believe every family deserves to have their voices heard and be able to speak up on what they feel is in the best interest of their families." 

Kelly Hickman-Doula & Photographer


Hello there! My name is Kelly Hickman, and I am a birth & postpartum doula. In addition to offering doula services, I also offer maternity, birth and Day In The Life/A Sweet Afternoon photo sessions, placenta encapsulation, and specialize in energy realignment sound healing sessions utilizing crystal singing bowls, guided vocal toning, guided breathwork and meditation. 

The core foundation of my practice is my passion and commitment to offering meaningful support to each client on their journey through pregnancy and into parenthood. Nurturing and caring for others in their time of need is something that has always come very natural to me. I am passionate about providing individualized care plans tailored to the unique lifestyles and specific needs of each client before, during and after giving birth. I ensure that the clients I support feel prepared, confident and empowered by helping them to discover their preferences and design their birth plans, by guiding them in becoming experts in their own wishes in the realm of birth, and providing information and resources about the options they wish to explore. 

​I love creating an environment that promotes healing and bonding between parents, baby and loved ones. I support each client during labor and birth by making suggestions for labor progression, and assisting with emotional, physical, and informational needs. 

Something that sets me apart from all other doulas in the Pacific Northwest is my offering of the modality, Birthing With Sound. Birthing With Sound incorporates crystal singing bowls, guided vocal toning, meditation, breath work, and gentle movements that provide many wonderful benefits for the prenatal, birth and postpartum trimesters. To learn more about the Birthing With Sound modality, I would love to connect with you and answer any questions or curiosities you may have.

​In addition to playing my bowls for my clients, I also find an incredible amount of joy in playing them for my family, friends and community. I love that I am able to bring a sense of peace, clarity and relaxation to those the bowls sing for. 


Charlie Whipple - Doula & Midwife


I'm a trained and certified midwife, birth, and postpartum doula. My passion about giving families the education and support they need in the first weeks and months of life with a new infant was forged deeply in my Alaskan roots. Many people are needing much more support now more than ever with recovering from the pandemic and families being far away.

I have been privileged enough to have a combined life experience in multi-generational community since birth. Since starting my career in Maternal Health in 2014 I have continued to branch out and increase my knowledge and experience in learning what the daily struggles and friction points in the transition into parenthood are. While I found attending births exceedingly rewarding, after moving to Seattle I shifted into Birth and Postpartum Doula services. This is where I found my profound passion for helping to give families the start in support that everyone deserves. I believe in helping parents understand their babies' communication efforts and building their parenting confidence through a personalized approach. Every family has a slightly different situation and I believe in building a flexible plan that will meet the needs of the families I serve.

As a queer identifying person it is deeply important to me to offer my services to LGBTQ+ families. If you or someone you know is starting a family that is non-heteronormative and have questions or concerns I am excited to be your resource. Navigating a medical system that is not built to accommodate can be overwhelming and you shouldn't have to do it alone.

Jenna Alderson - Doula

Hi, my name is Jenna and I am a Birth and Postpartum Doula.  I have always wanted to go into Nursing and the more I researched being a doula the more I knew this was what I wanted to do.  I have been a Nanny for about 3 years and while I love it, I found being a doula was the best choice for me.  My goal is to help you gain the confidence you need to go through birth and postpartum with the support from me.  I am here to answer all your questions, setting up a birth plan and being an advocate for you and of course giving you the best support physically and emotionally.  I also want to be there for your partner and family that will be involved in the birthing process.  


Amara Ali - Doula

Hi my name is Amara Ali and I’ve been a birth worker for three and a half years. I’m fortunate to be the mother of an amazing toddler, Aliyinza and my fur baby Mali. Learning about the Black Maternal & Infant Mortality Rate is what sparked my interest in holistic healing and motivated me to make a difference in my community. My goal is to empower Black Women during their birth experience and to be an advocate for the voiceless. I specialize in home births, water births, lotus births, medication and intervention free births, Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Section “VBACS”, fertility and womb wellness. I have experience in hospital births, Cesarean sections “C-Sections” and more! 

Libby Olmstead - Doula

Libby is a trained labor and postpartum doula with a passion for education and lactation. She has worked closely with birthing people and their partners since 2015, and is looking to further her education and experience in the birthing community. Libby has a magical blended family of 7 children and practices gentle and attachment style parenting while also teaching solid boundaries and maintaining the chaos with compassion and understanding. As a queer doula, she aspires to bring the same level of devotion and support to fit each clients unique needs during the prenatal, birthing, and postpartum transitions. Her personal birthing experiences range from cesarean birth, to medicated VBAC and an unmedicated HBAC water birth. She has supported VBAC clients as well as medicated and unmedicated births, has experience working with PPD, and has a variety of other mental health conditions. Libby understands that every birth experience can be vastly different from the last and hopes to help clients navigate that and the different emotions that can come up for both clients and their partners and support systems. She aims to help bring birthing partners confidence in their ability to support the birthing person and combine holistic approaches with a modern touch.  She takes her work as a doula very seriously, but still considers herself to be very down to earth. Libby also has a background as a Nursing Assistant working with medically fragile children and is both CPR and First Aid certified including Child & Infant CPR. 

Leah Browning - Photographer

I am an experienced family, maternity, newborn, and birth photographer in the Tacoma-Seattle area, and have been providing exceptional photography to mothers and babies for 15 years. As I birthed my own children into the quiet of my home, I felt powerful and flooded with joy. My goal is to capture your birth story in all its raw grace, beauty, sacrifice, and strength; in images you can treasure and share with your child. 

“Birth is a sacred space, and I am honored to be invited into that space.”

Nicole Johnson- Doula & Photographer

Nicole Jovich Johnson “Nicki” is a married mother of three living in University Place.  She started out as a photographer and realized that birth photographer was a great passion.  She decided to become a doula and lactation counselor to add to her business and is so happy she did.  Her main focus is childbirth photography, birth doula, and placenta processing, but is skilled in postpartum and lactation counseling as well.  Nicki feels called to work with teen moms, young women, and survivors of trauma.

In her time away from work, Nicki enjoys being outside in the garden, camping and boating, water sports, live music and attending races (car).


Mckenna Tiland - Doula

Hello! I’m McKenna (she/they). I have worked with families in the Seattle area for the last 12 years as a Nanny, Newborn Care Specialist, and as a Full Spectrum Doula. I strive to offer compassionate and unique care to all families I work with and I truly adore the work I do. 

I offer doula support to folks seeking care during labor, birth, and postpartum (offering both overnights and days), as well as abortion and miscarriage support. 

When I’m not working I’m often found outside staring at trees, learning about plants, climbing, experimenting with new gluten-free recipes, or lounging at home with a book and my cats. 


Michelle Richy - Doula

I was born and raised in sunny South Africa and moved to the USA in 2012 when I married my military husband. It has been a wild ride but I have loved the experience.

 

I have always been intrigued by medicine and healing and I wanted to be part of the medical world but not in the typical western fashion- hence all my studies in complementary and alternative therapies. Women’s health is a particular area of interest for me as I have had to navigate this overwhelming and often scary space while dealing with endometriosis, infertility and loss and I vowed to help women get curious about their health and their bodies, to feel empowered and to trust their intuition and ask the hard questions over and over until their questions have been answered fully.

 

Birth work is something I feel drawn to do. I am fascinated with it and in awe of the process, the power, the beauty and the rawness of it all. Watching the birth of a baby, a mother, a father, a family….. gives me goosebumps every single time. No birth or beginning is ever the same.  Your journey matters to me, your voice matters to me.

 

When I am not nose deep in a book, you can find me hiking with my pups, renovating our home, binge watching cooking shows or exploring our new home town.

 

 

Areas I service

Accepting clients and servicing the Tacoma, Puyallup, Spanaway,  Bonney Lake, Graham, Orting, Joint Base Lewis McChord and surrounding areas

 

Trainings and certifications

Maternal support Practitioner- Bebo mia

Childbirth educator- Birth Arts International (in progress)

Spinning babies trainings

Master’s degree in Homeopathy

First aid and CPR certified


Olivia Granach - Doula

When we carry a baby and give birth, it is an opportunity to experience the forces and rhythms of nature within the changing seasons of one’s own body, a time when we are connected to the natural world in the most elemental way. I believe receiving postpartum care is a birthright and I am happy to offer ancient Ayurvedic and East Asian Postpartum care methods in conjunction with Treasured Art of Birth to nourish and support your mind, body, and soul during this deeply transformational time. These methods can provide improved vitality for years to come.


I offer a complete service to help you through the 40 days after birth and beyond to aid in the restoration of your strength and well being. The information and care I hope to provide begins in your house, listening deeply to help you process your birth experience. My offerings include belly binding, instruction on ancient herbal oil massage (abhyanga) for you and baby, nutritional support and cooking, latching and sibling integration to ease the transition of new day to day routines.


I am in my last semester of school on my way to becoming a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist and in my free time I enjoy kayaking, contact improv dance, singing and writing music.