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Mission: Motherhood

Jaely is mom to George and Allen , and wife to her husband, Chris. She’s also a Musician, Yoga Instructor, Doula, Birth Mentor, and the creator of Our Village Circle. Her mission for Our Village Circle is to create a space of authentic sharing, and elevate the voices of parents and professionals alike to demystify the realities of new parenthood. LINKSOur Village Circle

Katie Spencer is a mother of two beautiful children. She is also a passionate mental health advocate and has worked in the mental health field for over ten years. However, it was through her own personal journey where Katie’s passion shifted to helping moms. Katie is a two-time survivor of perinatal mood & anxiety disorders. It was during her first pregnancy that she suffered from perinatal depression and postpartum anxiety. Katie’s second child, a son, was born just hours after her mother passed away and just days before the pandemic shut down the country. Grief, lockdown, and changing hormones led to postpartum depression and anxiety. The lack of maternal mental health professionals led to an uphill fight for her life. Katie believes in the power of peer support and strongly believes sharing stories saves lives. She enjoys writing and sharing her story so other moms know there is hope. Katie resides near Scranton, PA with her husband, Matt, daughter Riley, son Jack and their dog, Dakota. The Valiant Momma Blog

Having experienced postpartum depression herself, and when a second child was on the way, Jessica searched for a children’s book to read with her five-year old son about the changes their family could face. Unable to find a book like this, she decided to write one. ​ Jessica lives with her family in New York, where she works as a gluten-free pizza critic. Just kidding. She has a background in working with children as a speech therapist and currently works in school administration.

Christina is from a rural town in Missouri where she lives with her husband and eleven-year-old son. When her son was six days old, Christina experienced a mental health crisis when she was overcome with postpartum psychosis. Following a week stay in the hospital, Christina also experienced severe postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, which led to two more hospital stays before she stabilized. Christina is a very passionate maternal mental health advocate and believes that shared experiences not only give hope to those currently struggling, but also provides invaluable insight to healthcare providers. LINKSTina’s BlogLoving Your Child Through Postpartum Psychosis and Postpartum Depression

HEALING CIRCLE COUNSELINGTHE LOVE LANGUAGE QUIZWHAT ARE THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES?

Valerie Lynn is one of the leading New Motherhood Experts in the United States. She resided in Asia for 16 years with 12 years spent in Malaysia. Valerie, known as The Mommy Planner, has been a major force in introducing and modernizing traditional after birth recovery practices, more specifically the Malay traditions, and treatments to women globally. She researched wrote and published her first book, The Mommy Plan, in Malaysia through the Malaysian Ministry of Health, Traditional Complementary Medicine department where she conducted interviews in hospitals and in the field. Her subsequent cookbook, The Mommy Plan Recipe Book: Healing Meals: Simple Recipes for New Moms are recipes based on the postnatal nutritional guidelines in her first book. The Mommy Plan is endorsed by several leading childbirth educational organizations in the U.S. and internationally with it being required reading for postpartum doula courses. Valerie is Postpartum Support International Country (PSI) Co-coordinator for Malaysia and unofficially for APEC; an international organization in 138 countries. She is on the Board of Directors for YASNITA, 'Women's Path to Success' a Malaysian NGO that trains women entrepreneurs in several areas including 'postnatal care'. Valerie is also a Board Member of the International Maternity Institute and the After Birth Project in the U.S. She is also an approved speaker for Johnson & Johnson. Valerie resides in Brooklyn, New York and regularly travels to Malaysia. Valerie worked in the corporate world for many years holding positions such as Executive Director of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Principal of VLM Consultancy where she was provided strategic consultancy services for foreign companies entering the Malaysian and APEC markets. THE MOMMY PLAN RECIPE BOOK - HEALING MEALS: SIMPLE RECIPES FOR NEW MOMS

In 2017, after a round-the-world trip, Chiara and her husband moved to Portland, OR, to start a family. They became parents in summer 2019. She didn’t like being pregnant. She never got the pregnancy glow many women talk about. What she got, instead, was morning sickness for the first three months and acid reflux throughout the pregnancy. Her delivery was traumatic. The c-section was her worst-case scenario, which did indeed happen after four hours pushing because her son’s head got stuck. She could keep it together during the surgery, but had a panic attack right after. Her husband took time off to help her, but when he went back to work, she developed anxiety and depression. She set up an appointment with a counselor, but as days went by, she realized that talking about her negative patterns made her feel worse. So she decided to listen to her body and connect with her intuition through meditation and other spiritual practices. This is how she found all the answers and healed. After she healed from postpartum depression and anxiety, she felt a deep desire to help other women.

Samantha is the mom of three kiddos. After the birth of her first son and again during the pregnancy with her second, she was riddled with anxiety, fear, obsessive and intrusive thoughts about any and all forms of harm coming to her children. Samantha began attending a newly formed PMAD support group and shortly thereafter became one of the groups facilitators. She is passionate about helping others not feel alone in navigating this journey and providing the best resources possible.

Courtney Ginder resides in Fishers, Indiana with her husband and daughter. She is a passionate maternal mental health advocate after surviving postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic, and believes deeply in the power of sharing stories to let others know they are not alone. She blogs at beyondpostpartumdepression.com and can be found on Instagram and Facebook at @beyondppd. In addition to blogging, she is also the co-leader for the Hamilton County, Indiana Climb Out of the Darkness event, raising awareness and over $10,000 for families impacted by perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is also the Social Media Chair for the Postpartum Support International Indiana Chapter Board of Directors.

Jenny Petrucci lives in Rome. She had her son in 2019, just before the COVID lockdown and suffered with severe postpartum depression. She’s now pregnant with her daughter, due February 2022, and searching for support in Italy. She reached out desperate to share her story for the very first time publicly.