Our Midwives and Staff

Janette Gyesky LDM

I started my path to midwifery in the early 90’s when I apprenticed with a midwife in California. From there I was hooked. Watching women go through the childbirth process in a healthy, educated and empowering way has since become my life’s passion.

After California, I apprenticed with a midwife in New Zealand, a country where midwives attend over 70% of the births. In 2001 I enrolled in Seattle Midwifery school (now Bastyr University). SMS is a rigorous, three-year academic and clinical midwifery education program that meets or exceeds all requirements in the states of Oregon and Washington. Students are required to attend 100 births in hospital, home and birth center settings in order to graduate. While at SMS, I apprenticed with four busy Seattle practices and worked in a hospital on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, where I delivered more than 50 babies.

In 2006 I moved to Bend Oregon and opened Bend Birth Center after practicing in the Seattle area for two years. Since then, I have attended over 800 births and feel more committed than ever to the families of central Oregon. In 2008 and 2012 I was blessed with the empowering home birth of my own daughters. Every day, I feel fortunate that the journey of my passion is also the journey of my vocation as a midwife.

Dana Johnson, CPM, LDM

Licensed Midwife, has 18 years experience as a birth keeper and midwife, women’s holistic care practices and yoga. She began attending births in 2004 as an apprentice and doula. In 2010, Dana graduated from MEAC accredited school, The National College of Midwifery, attaining her CPM through NARM and Midwifery License in Oregon.

Dana is also a certified holistic postpartum care provider, certified in pelvic floor and prenatal yoga, and extensive herbal studies for over two decades. Dana has been a part of the Central Oregon community for 25 years and continues to teach weekly pre and postnatal yoga classes at Tula Movement Arts.

Jill Mann, Midwifery Student

Following her graduation from the University of Idaho in 1998, Jill embarked on a career with Nike upon her relocation to Portland. However, the profound experience of motherhood prompted her decision to devote herself to raising her sons at home. After sixteen years of nurturing her family, Jill embarked on a new chapter, enrolling in the nursing program at Central Oregon Community College. It didn't take long for her to recognize her true calling: to provide unwavering support to expectant mothers and their families in the intimate setting of home births, so she changed her educational path.

Driven by her unwavering belief in the transformative power of childbirth, Jill approaches her work with a delicate balance of personal insight and academic prowess. She envisions childbirth not merely as a biological event but as a sacred journey that profoundly impacts both mother and child. With a gentle yet professional demeanor, Jill endeavors to create a nurturing environment for expectant mothers, drawing upon her own experiences and scholarly knowledge to guide them through this profound rite of passage. 

Jill's mission is rooted in the belief that every birthing experience should be empowering and transformative. She entrusts in the inherent beauty and wisdom of childbirth, steadfast in her commitment to fostering positive and enriching birth experiences for all she serves.

Emily Damm, Midwifery Student

Emily is a student midwife studying at the MEAC accredited, National College of Midwifery. She started her journey as a doula in 2021 while working toward her degree in Exercise and Wellness from BYU. Midwifery is her greatest dream! Growing up in Southern Oregon created abundant gratitude to now blossom in Bend. She hopes all who meet her in their seasons of birth, pregnancy, and postpartum feel seen, upheld, and compassionately cared for.

Katrina Boswell, Office Manager, Doula, and Birth Assistant

Katrina works at Bend Birth Center as the Office Manager and trained Birth Assistant. Katrina has had a passion for birth and supporting other mama’s since she experienced an amazing home birth with her oldest child in 2009. A few years later she had a Birth Center birth (in California) and then a hospital birth at St. Charles in 2015.

She completed her DONA Postpartum Doula training in February 2020 and her DONA Birth Doula training in October 2022. Katrina began attending births at Bend Birth Center in the Fall of 2022.

When Katrina is not at work or at a birth, she can be found driving her kids around, walking her Aussiedoodle pup, taking a yoga class, or in the mountains!

Jennifer Weeks, MS, LPC

Jennifer is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and has been serving women and their families in Central Oregon in various capacities since 2005. She is currently in private practice and accepts most insurance, including OHP and is able to offer a sliding scale to out-of-network or uninsured clients. Jennifer provides compassionate, and empowering counseling sessions in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space. 

Bend Birth Center has been collaborating with Jennifer for quite some time now, and find her expertise and commitment to clients during pregnancy and postpartum to be beneficial and an excellent compliment to the care we offer here at Bend Birth Center. 

Kathryn Jonas BS, IBCLC

Kathryn is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She started off as a student gaining her hours alongside the BBC in 2021 until she became licensed in 2023. She received her Masters Certificate in Human Lactation in 2021 from Portland State University and her Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Oregon State University. Kathryn currently works in private practice and provides In-home lactation services to families in the Greater Bend area. Kathryn provides compassionate and intentional attention to each of the families she works with free from judgement. It is her goal to empower families during the beautiful bonding time postpartum. 

When she is not working with families to meet their feeding goals, you can find her outside. Often hiking, biking, skiing and swimming with her kiddos. 

You can find more about Kathryn at Cascade Lactation