A Safe Passage founder, program coodinator, counsellor, workshop facilitator

Jodi worked as a DONA certified doula and childbirth educator for 10 years, with a focus on the intersections between trauma histories and the experiences of women during the childbearing years. Since 2002 she has been employed in both residential and clinical settings as a full-time Woman Abuse counselor, providing counselling to women who have been abused, as well as facilitating groups for women whose children have been exposed to their abuse. Jodi has a certificate in crisis intervention from Fanshawe College and an Honours Degree in Women's Studies from The University of Western Ontario.

Jodi's unique combination of skills from both the birthing community and the Violence Against Women sector has spurred a high demand internationally for her workshops aimed at informing other medical and allied health and social service professionals around the complex issue of trauma and the childbearing years. She was recently a guest presenter at The National Summit to Ensure the Health and Humanity of Pregnant and Birthing Women in Atlanta, Georgia, and provided specialized training in Vancouver at the Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program's provincial conference Celebrating the Health of Our Children, Families and Communities. In 2009 she was invited to Johannesburg, South Africa where she presented at a national midwifery conference on the topic of Birth Related Trauma.

Jodi is currently a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences - Health Professional Education stream at The University of Western Ontario. She is the research coordinator of a Canadian Institute of Health Research funded study, entitled "Embodied Trauma: The impacts of abuse on the transition to mothering", and the author of recently published article in the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research on the health related needs of women in conflict with the law.

Jodi resides with her family in London, Ontario, where she runs a private counselling practice for women, and operates A Safe Passage, the first and only website dedicated to supporting Women Survivors of Abuse through the childbearing year through providing women, their families and their care providers with information on the impacts of trauma on the perinatal period.

counsellor, doula, workshop coordinator

Amanda has been working as a counsellor for abused women since 2004, specifically women whose (ex)partners have been charged with a woman-abuse related offence against them. Amanda's role is to provide information on safety-planning, self-care and crisis intervention. She also provides clinical support to mothers whose children have been exposed to abuse perpetuated by their fathers.

Amanda's education was completed at The University of Western Ontario (Women's Studies, BA) and at Fanshawe College where she completed the Crisis Intervention program. Trained in 2006 as a doula and childbirth educator, Amanda provides trauma informed doula services to women survivors and has been mentored by Jodi since 2004 on working specifically with women who have been abused and are pregnant or parenting a new baby.