Board of Directors
Laurie Wood, CD(ProDoula)
President
Laurie comes to birth work with years of experience, showing up for people during life's big moments. Before she was a doula, Laurie spent 30 years as a public school educator and 15 as a middle school principal, working alongside kids and families through some of the roughest, most formative years of growing up. That time taught her what it means to meet someone exactly where they are with patience, warmth, and steady encouragement, even (especially) when things feel uncertain.
Today, Laurie is a birth doula with Life's Work Doula, her private practice, serving families throughout the Heart of Maine area. She believes every birth is exactly that — someone's life's work in motion — and feels grateful to be trusted with such a tender time. She also serves as president of Community Doulas, working to help doula support reach more families, not just a lucky few.
When she's not at a birth, you might find Laurie with a leash in hand. She also runs Pups and People, a dog training business focused on helping families and their dogs navigate the transition of welcoming a new baby or living alongside a toddler. It's a slightly different world from birth work, but it draws on some of the same instincts: building trust, reading subtle cues, and helping someone — two-legged or four — feel safe enough to grow.
Laurie also brings the perspective of her own family to this work. She is the mother and stepmother of a blended family of eight adult children and ten grandchildren, and that experience has taught her a great deal about the parenting journey — its challenges, its surprises, and how much support really matters along the way.
Rebecca Goodwin, LMT, SpBAP
Founder, Vice President, Doula Mentor
Rebecca is a dedicated doula and Licensed Massage Therapist with over two decades of experience in the Greater Portland area. Since 2000, she has been supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and became a certified Spinning Babies® Aware Practitioner in 2019. Through her unwavering commitment to birth work, Rebecca has earned a respected presence in the medical birthing community, where she strives to create positive and memorable experiences for every family she serves.
Rebecca is also the founder of Birth Alliance, a practice focused on providing compassionate, holistic care to families throughout the birthing process. In addition, she is one of the co-founders of Community Doulas (formerly CDBP) and currently serves as the Director of Mentors, guiding doulas-in-training to develop their skills and knowledge.
When she’s not supporting families, Rebecca is an accomplished triathlete and spin instructor. She resides in North Yarmouth with her husband and two children.
Program Director, Doula Mentor
Jessica Ruscetta, CD CPD, CLC, LCCE
Since 2013, Jessica Ruscetta has been showing up for birthing people at some of the most vulnerable and powerful moments of their lives. More than a decade in, her belief hasn't wavered: every person deserves steady, informed, and truly compassionate support as they bring their babies into the world.
Jessica is the owner of Rooted In Birth, her private doula practice supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and the tender transition into parenthood. True to the name, her approach is grounded — she believes birth support should be personal, evidence-based, and built on real trust between doula and client.
Jessica also serves as Program Director of Community Doulas, pouring her experience into making sure quality birth support reaches families throughout the community, not just those who can easily find or afford it. It's work close to her heart, and it shows in everything she builds.
On top of all that, Jessica is a childbirth educator at Birth Roots, where she helps expectant parents walk into labor and delivery feeling informed, calm, and ready — blending solid knowledge with the kind of warmth that makes a classroom feel like a safe place to ask anything.
With over a decade in birth work, plus experience in program leadership and childbirth education, Jessica brings a rich, well-rounded perspective to Heart of Maine Doula Training as a co-founder, program manager, and facilitator. She's excited to help guide the next generation of doulas as they find their own footing in this work.
Treasurer
Jillian Hollis, CLC, NCS, CPD, Birth Doula
Jillian brings nearly two decades of experience supporting families with newborns, toddlers, and growing households, and more than 12 years of specialized training in postpartum care, lactation, newborn sleep, and perinatal family support.
She began her career in early childhood care in 2006 and discovered a deep passion for supporting new parents through the transition into life with a baby. Jillian continued to grow her expertise through extensive training, earning credentials as a Certified Lactation Counselor, Newborn Care Specialist, Certified Postpartum Doula, Birth Doula, Infant Sleep Coach, and Miscarriage & Infant Loss Doula.
She is the founder of Sunny Side Postpartum Care, a private practice where her team focuses on overnight support for new families. She also founded The Doula Admin, a virtual assistant business built specifically for birth workers, drawing on her own experience with the operations side of running a doula agency.
Jillian is Treasurer on the board of Community Doulas because she believes cost should never be the reason a family goes without a doula, and because Maine needs more trained doulas to meet the need that's already here. She sees plenty of room in this field for everyone doing the work, and she's one of the strongest voices pushing doulas to collaborate instead of compete. That same belief is what drew her to Heart of Maine Doula Program, where she's Enrollment Coordinator. Alongside Laurie and Jessica, Jillian built the program's curriculum for newborn care, postpartum support, infant feeding, and the business side of being a doula, drawing directly on her own path to running her own practice. She brings compassion and clarity to the work, helping families feel confident during the postpartum period.
As a Maine transplant, Jillian enjoys exploring all living in Vacationland has to offer: farmer's markets, quiet mornings in the woods with her family, and learning to ski. She lives in Saco with her husband, daughter, and their very naughty rescue dog.
Ashley Robinson, Doula
Grants
Ashley is a birth and postpartum doula serving Southern Maine and the Mid-Coast area. After working over a decade in the legal field, she transitioned into community-based care, completing her doula training in 2024. Ashley's work as a doula began in Massachusetts, where she provided educational and hands-on guidance to families throughout pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum days.
Through her private practice, Due Season Doula, Ashley continues her work by helping Maine families approach their care with confidence and understanding. She welcomes all families, with a focus on supporting multicultural families and those who might not otherwise have the resources to access doula services.
Ashley joined Community Doulas to contribute her professional background, learn alongside local partners, and support the organization's practical and important work in the community. Outside of client care, Ashley enjoys exploring Maine’s hiking trails, crafting, and diving into a good romance novel.
Carolyn Hricko, PhD, MPH, CD, PD, RYT, RPYT
Carolyn is a certified yoga teacher, birth doula, and trained postpartum doula dedicated to supporting families through movement, evidence-based education, and community connection. After almost two decades of studying, working, and living outside the state, Carolyn returned to her rural Maine roots and now resides in her childhood home with her husband and two young daughters.
Carolyn holds a Master’s in Public Health and a PhD in Food Systems, allowing her to bridge the gap between research and practice, skillfully integrating data-based evidence with a deep respect for each client’s lived experience, intuition, and individual preferences. To provide comprehensive care across the perinatal period, Carolyn has completed additional training in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders through Postpartum Support International and is studying to become a Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist.
Throughout her career, Carolyn’s work has spanned direct family care and systemic change. She has supported dozens of families as a birth doula and guided many more through empowering yoga and fitness sessions designed for the physical and mental demands of pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. Her background also encompasses academic teaching and advising, research, project management, and policy advocacy in public health and sustainable food systems. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys the chaos of young children, tending her garden, and staying active on foot, bike, or skis.