Meet the Staff
Kaleen Richards
Founder, CNM, ARNP
Certified Nurse Midwife
As a nurse midwife, Kaleen has worked hard to be able to offer families many birth options over the years. She started Tree of Life to offer that personal care you don’t often receive with a hospital birth. She started out as a doula and childbirth educator before getting her RN degree. She believes all women benefit from prenatal care with a midwife due to the emphasis of the Midwifery Model on education, partnership, and natural childbirth.
Kaleen has three amazing sons, two of which were born at home with a midwife. As a health care provider, she encourages natural remedies for healing and has taken courses to increase her knowledge. She does however take pride in her ability to offer medication when necessary. Kaleen believes all women deserve to make choices during their birth process and it is an honor to help offer natural childbirth options to families in our community.
David Carter-Plake
M. Ed., BSM, LM, CPM, C-EFM
Licensed Midwife
Certified Professional Midwife
Nationally Certified in External Fetal Monitoring
David’s calling to midwifery and maternal-child health care started at an early age! After attending his first hospital birth at the tender age of 14 as a part of a health care careers program, he was hooked! David began working as a tech on Labor and Delivery through high school and during nursing school, continuing as a Labor and Delivery nurse in hospitals across the United States and the Caribbean. David began attending out of hospital births as an apprentice in 2003 and as a midwife in 2005 serving diverse communities in the Midwest.
David graduated from Midwives College of Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery. Seeing the need for more midwives world-wide, David knew that providing high-quality education to midwifery students was imperative. David began teaching and pursuing a degree in education to learn best practices for educating adult learners and graduated from Strayer University with a Master of Education Degree. He is currently a doctoral student with a focus on health professions education and is nationally certified in external fetal monitoring-heart songs are his specialty!
David has a passion for providing compassionate, informed care to clients and their circle of support during the childbearing year. David is a firm believer in your body, your birth, your baby and supports clients with shared decision making during the course of their care.
David currently resides in Orlando with his Yorkie Henry. In his spare time David enjoys reading, traveling, crafting, and napping!
Sonni Bersamenia
Licensed Midwife
Certified Professional Midwife
Bio Coming soon
Caprice Wright
Licensed Midwife
Certified Professional Midwife
Bio Coming soon
MEET OUR SUPPORTING STAFF
Kathryn Foreman
Office Manager/Birth Assistant
Kathryn received B.S. degree in Psychology in May of 2011, but knew her true passion and calling was to help women feel heard, respected, and empowered during the most important time of their lives. As Office Manager and a member of the front office staff she will be there to greet you and make you feel welcomed. As a birth assistant, she will use her education and personal birth experience to help you achieve the birth you want. She understands the power that a safe, comfortable, and loving environment has on women and their families. She also believes the birthing experience to be a sacred moment for the moms and babies and that every woman has the power within herself to birth her baby the way she wants. Providing moms with a supportive, safe environment to welcome her child into the world is her priority and focus.
Ashley Dexter
Reception
Ashley is a Florida Native and mother of two beautiful daughters that were both born at home. She grew up learning that birth is normal and women have the right to safely birth at home or birth centers.
Ashley joined the team in early 2022.
Meg Folsom
Birthing Expert
Meg has been working in the birth field for the last 20 yrs. She started her Doula practice in 2002, then went to work at the Birthing Cottage of Winter Park where she taught childbirth birth classes, worked as a birth assistant, lactation consultant and medical assistant. Birthing Cottage became Inspiration Family birth center in 2010 and she worked there until she retired in 2019. She recently joined the Tree of Life team getting back into working with Pregnant women, which has always been her passion.
Julie Deyo
Educator/Birth Assistant
Julie believes that every expecting mother deserves the same support she received at the births of her two children. Her passion drove her to become a certified birth doula, a certified HypnoBirthing® Educator with HypnoBirthing, The Mongan Method, trained and certified in the use of Rebozo, a certified lactation counselor with the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice, as well as a yoga instructor trained in prenatal yoga. Julie strongly feels she is meant to be a part of women’s wellness, prenatal health, labor support, and to educate expecting families to lovingly welcome the birth of their their babies.
Sarah Engel
Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Sarah is a wife and a mother of two beautiful children. Her professional history for the last 10 years has been solely women's health nursing. Prior to that she was a doula and prenatal yoga instructor. Her passion for lactation started in 2015 when she gave birth to her daughter. She eventually became a Certified Lactation Counselor and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. In January 2020 she decided to focus solely on lactation support and became The Nursing Nurse, offering home lactation services. Since starting her practice she has given birth to her second baby. Her son was born in February 2021 and she’s currently breastfeeding with all the challenges that come with it.
Zion Gomez
Reception
Zion Gomez is Kaleen Richards’s first born son! He graduated from Seminole High School’s Health Academy and is pursuing his Nursing degree