Our Vision
We believe that pregnancy, birth & the early years of parenthood are some of the most vulnerable, beautiful, and overwhelming years of a person’s life. Many of us wish that we had more support as we navigated the many challenging decisions, sleepless nights, feeding struggles, and feelings of isolation that commonly arise during this season of parenthood. We want to be a hub for families to find community, build friendships, empower themselves through education, and create fun enrichment opportunities for their kids.
Want to check us out for yourself?
Elisa Havens-Stokes (She/Her)
Elisa Havens-Stokes (She/Her)
Elisa is mommy to Joachim(14) and Xiomara(6) and has been serving families throughout Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties for over 7 years as a Full Spectrum doula. With intentional focus on serving low income families of color, her commitment to equity and respectful is the driving force behind her vision for The Circle. In her role as Director of Operations, Elisa is excited to combine her business management skills, non profit experience, and passion for birthing people in this space.
Kim Guiley (She/Her)
Kim Guiley (She/Her)
Kim, CD(DONA), is a mama to Hazel (8) and Theo (5). She has been a birth doula for many years and is deeply passionate about creating equity and supporting ALL families through this major life transition. She also owns Aptos Village Creative, a web design & photography business, with her husband Travis. In her role as the Director of Marketing, she is thrilled to be combining her love of families with her skills in photography, branding and web design.
Marlene Kleffel (She/Her)
Marlene Kleffel (She/Her)
I am a (new) momma, wife, photographer, and fur momma to four cats and two dogs. I am born and raised in Santa Cruz. You’ll likely find me crafting, traveling, or hiking in the woods with my husband, daughter Ramona, and our little doggos. The Circle has truly allowed me to be open about the joys and challenges of parenthood. Being seen and heard has allowed me to grow as a person, partner, and mom. I am here to pay it forward and provide parents a safe space to share their journeys.
The Advisory Board
We are thrilled to have a team of dedicated community members helping to shape the vision & offerings for this space.
Brie Buxton (She/Her)
Brie Buxton (She/Her)
Brie Buxton is a local birth worker, student midwife, and mother of three. She serves the Santa Cruz area as a full spectrum doula, supporting families in the childbearing years. She is a reproductive and birthing justice advocate, childbirth educator, and intuitive parenting champion.
To learn more about Brie’s work and her services, visit https://briebuxtondoula.com or visit her Instagram @mamadoulabrie.
Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle (She/Her)
Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle (She/Her)
¡Hola!
Me llamo Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle.
Brenda was born and raised in San Diego, California and now lives in Santa Cruz.
With over 10 years experience as a bilingual interpreter/translator, nanny and caregiver and now with two lively kids of her own (3.5 & 1) (plus one more on the way!) Brenda is a full-time mother, homebirther, and passionate about child care, parenthood, and elderly support.
She finds meaning in service to others and hopes to soon complete Doula training so she can pursue her calling to empower and support pregnant people and their families in some underserved and LatinX communities.
When not chasing after her niños, or studying the coursework to become a Birthworker, you can find her singing Mariachi music in her cocina while cooking a meal with her husband, dancing to Cumbia with her boys around her home or taking a stroll through the Santa Cruz redwoods.
Marlene Kleffel (She/Her)
Marlene Kleffel (She/Her)
I am a (new) momma, wife, photographer, and fur momma to four cats and two dogs. I am born and raised in Santa Cruz. You’ll likely find me crafting, traveling, or hiking in the woods with my husband, daughter Ramona, and our little doggos. The Circle has truly allowed me to be open about the joys and challenges of parenthood. Being seen and heard has allowed me to grow as a person, partner, and mom. I am here to pay it forward and provide parents a safe space to share their journeys.
Diana Narva (She/Her)
Diana Narva (She/Her)
Diana is a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, Cleo Guide Manager, and mom of two.
Journey Talkovic, CNM (She/Her)
Journey Talkovic, CNM (She/Her)
Dr. Terry Williams (She/Her)
Dr. Terry Williams (She/Her)
Terry works with individuals, groups and organizations focusing on transformational leadership and coaching. She integrates a wealth of experience in coaching, leadership and organizational development in her work with people from diverse backgrounds within schools, non-profit organizations, and corporations throughout the U.S. and internationally. Her work with groups and organizations is focused on strength-based experiential curriculum and facilitated programs emphasizing participatory processes, performance, and teamwork in corporate and educational environments.
Our Teachers
Brook Artziniega (She/Her)
Brook Artziniega (She/Her)
Brook Artziniega is a conception doula and yoga instructor living in Soquel. She is passionate about supporting folks in family creation, whatever shape that takes. Brook did her yoga and doula training in Montana, where she lived until this year, and where she worked in film production and storytelling.
Sofía Bisbee (She/Her)
Sofía Bisbee (She/Her)
Hola! My name is Sofía Bisbee. I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. I have been practicing yoga and working with children for over 10 years. Most recently, I was a yoga instructor at an elementary school in Sunnyvale. I discovered yoga as a teenager when I was experiencing hard times, and it brought balance to my life as I was discovering my place in the world. I enjoy the peace of mind, and the mind-body connection I experience as I am doing yoga. I look forward to working with you!
To learn more about Brie’s work and her services, visit https://briebuxtondoula.com or visit her Instagram @mamadoulabrie.
Brie Buxton (She/Her)
Brie Buxton (She/Her)
Brie Buxton is a local birth worker, student midwife, and mother of three. She serves the Santa Cruz area as a full spectrum doula, supporting families in the childbearing years. She is a reproductive and birthing justice advocate, childbirth educator, and intuitive parenting champion.
To learn more about Brie’s work and her services, visit https://briebuxtondoula.com or visit her Instagram @mamadoulabrie.
Emi Cyan Lery (She/Her)
Emi Cyan Lery (She/Her)
Emi is passionate about perinatal health and healing arts. She has been a yoga instructor and massage therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2012. She is a new mom to Selena Peach born in Watsonville November 2021. With over 1000 hours of yoga training in restorative and Hatha yoga, her classes are geared towards cultivating joy and leaving one with a sense of well being and ease. She is a nanny and family assistant and has been a birth and postpartum doula since 2014.
Gabriella DeNike (She/Her)
Gabriella DeNike (She/Her)
Gabriella grew up in Santa Cruz California where her love for outdoor adventures with hours of painting under the sun came to be. She received an education at UC Berkeley with a BFA in Art Practice in 2018. She has had the honor of teaching children creative expression since she was a teenager and into her adult life. She loves being able to teach and learn from others, adding and enriching her own practice as a visual artist.
Aya Dunin (She/Her)
Aya Dunin (She/Her)
Aya has been dancing ballet since the age of 4 in London and Paris. She discovered Yoga and Contemporary Dance in her early twenties. And has been on a journey of decolonizing her body, and rewilding. Aya’s approach to Yoga is informed by InnerYoga, the Hakomi Method (Mindfulness-based Somatic Psychotherapy), and Dharma of Trauma (Hakomi).
Aya’s yoga classes are therapeutic. She invites students to cultivate: Awareness. Kindness. Breath. Ease. Courage (the InnerYoga foundational principles). She provides tools to meet everyday challenges, and to cultivate intimacy with the self and the present moment. Her intention is to guide you home into your body temple, and develop a coherent nervous system.
Aya Dunin started her journey with yoga in Paris, thanks to Louisa Raszyk (Dynamic Yoga), her first teacher twenty years ago. That is when she also met her Contemporary Dance teacher Nathalie Pubelier at the Studio Harmonic. Aya pursued her interest in dance and yoga in Tokyo, meeting the great Butoh masters Kazuo Ohno and his son.
In San Francisco she studied at CCSF with Luana Modern Dance, Ballet with Dr Jeanne-Marie Hughes, and Yoga with Suvani (Gail Stepanek) between 2009 and 2012.
Her first yoga teacher training took place at Yoga Tree San Francisco in 2012 with Darren Main & Chrisandra Fox. In her pursuit to decolonize herself, she studied Yin Yoga with Dina Amsterdam in 2013.
Aya completed her InnerYoga certification with founder Dina Amsterdam in 2014.
She finalized her 500hrs RYT with Pete Guinoso in 2014 with Yoga Tree San Francisco (Advanced Teacher training). She has been studying Shakti Yoga® & Temple Tribal Fusion Dance® with Tenley Wallace since 2017. Recently she studied Pre/Post Natal yoga with Jane Austin in 2020.
Aya is also a Healing Arts practitioner (ThetaHealing, Shamanic Healing, Sound Healing), and a World & Electronic music DJ. She is a devotee of the Way of Love, from Mary Magdalene’s lineage. Aya is a Permaculture designer and owns an Apothecary of Vibrational & Herbal Supplements (Madonna Love Apothecary). Finally she is a Holistic Birth Worker (perinatal doula) & Holistic Chef.
Aya currently lives on a farm, near Santa Cruz CA in the mountains of unceded Amah Mutsun territory. She facilitates classes, produces workshops and retreats in California, Costa Rica, and France.
She teaches in English, French, and some Spanish.
Carolyn Eckman (She/Her)
Carolyn Eckman (She/Her)
Carolyn is the owner of FIT4MOM Santa Cruz and an Aptos mama of two who loves the outdoors, dancing, sports, and group fitness. Her passion for wellness, strength, and community in motherhood is what inspires her to bring classes like Groovaroo Dance to all the families of Santa Cruz County.
Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle (She/Her)
Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle (She/Her)
¡Hola!
Me llamo Brenda Gisela Guzmán Ehle.
Brenda was born and raised in San Diego, California and now lives in Santa Cruz.
With over 10 years experience as a bilingual interpreter/translator, nanny and caregiver and now with two lively kids of her own (3.5 & 1) (plus one more on the way!) Brenda is a full-time mother, homebirther, and passionate about child care, parenthood, and elderly support.
She finds meaning in service to others and hopes to soon complete Doula training so she can pursue her calling to empower and support pregnant people and their families in some underserved and LatinX communities.
When not chasing after her niños, or studying the coursework to become a Birthworker, you can find her singing Mariachi music in her cocina while cooking a meal with her husband, dancing to Cumbia with her boys around her home or taking a stroll through the Santa Cruz redwoods.
Kate Giampapa Friel (She/Her)
Kate Giampapa Friel (She/Her)
Kate has been fortunate to travel and live in many beautiful places where she immerses herself into community through teaching yoga. She spent a decade in Colorado practicing and teaching yoga to X-Games and Olympic athletes, students, and people of all ages and sizes. Living in Santa Cruz county since 2014, she has found herself in “the hot room” teaching larger groups of all levels, working with private clients and customizing classes, and teaching prenatal and postpartum yoga.
Kate has been teaching yoga since 2005 and just recently got certified (and is so excited!) to be a birth Doula. She also runs a yoga retreat business called Journey Yoga Retreats and has been traveling the world with students since 2007. She enjoys introducing yoga to beginners and shows a great amount of patience and compassion towards novice yoginis. Teaching yoga to pregnant mamas is a passion for Kate as she knows how much yoga and breath work can help prepare women for labor and delivery. Having two young children of her own she also understands how important postpartum care is for families. Kate is so happy to be part of The Circle and hopes to meet you soon!
Kim Guiley (She/Her)
Kim Guiley (She/Her)
Kim, CD(DONA), is a mama to Hazel (8) and Theo (5). She has been a birth doula for many years and is deeply passionate about creating equity and supporting ALL families through this major life transition. She also owns Aptos Village Creative, a web design & photography business, with her husband Travis. In her role as the Director of Marketing, she is thrilled to be combining her love of families with her skills in photography, branding and web design.
Elisa Havens-Stokes (She/Her)
Elisa Havens-Stokes (She/Her)
Elisa is mommy to Joachim(14) and Xiomara(6) and has been serving families throughout Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties for over 7 years as a Full Spectrum doula. With intentional focus on serving low income families of color, her commitment to equity and respectful is the driving force behind her vision for The Circle. In her role as Director of Operations, Elisa is excited to combine her business management skills, non profit experience, and passion for birthing people in this space.
Jesira Jorn (She/Her)
Jesira Jorn (She/Her)
Jesira is originally from Germany, where she studied Childhood Education, B.A and Nutrition, Li.A for several years. She worked with Children of all ages, including Newborns. Her Yoga Practice began in 2013 in a purely physical form and has deepened on any level ever since moving to California four years ago. In 2020 Jesira decided to connect her passion and profession and started helping Clients to improve their wellbeing with a holistic approach, focusing on Nutrition, Movement, Meditation and Breathwork. She completed Teacher Trainings for Vinyasa Yoga and Trauma informed Yoga in the same year.
13+ Years of experience in Childcare encouraged her to get certified as a Prenatal and Posttpartum Yoga Teacher shortly after. She is dedicated to her practice and teachings and loves to share her passion with other people.
Deutron Kebebew (He/Him)
Deutron Kebebew (He/Him)
Deutron Kebebew is a father, husband, and mentor to fathers, father figures, and young people in our community. He is the Founder and Executive Director of MENtors Driving Change for Boys, Men, and Dads, a local social justice 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Previously, He was the Program Director for the Family Resource Collective division of the Community Bridges, overseeing a 2.4 million dollar budget and 27 employees. Before that, he worked for Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center for fifteen years as Project Director for Father and Family Services. As Director, Deutron managed and directed Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) evidence-based clinical research project for over a decade in Santa Cruz County in partnership with UC Berkeley and Yale University. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Cruz.
He has a strong passion and commitment to representing, supporting, and working for children, youth, fathers, and families. Deutron has extensive fatherhood involvement intervention expertise, training, knowledge, program experience, and background in evidence-based program implementation with fathers and co-parents. He has over seventeen years of leadership and performance expertise and nonprofit leadership and operations. Deutron has engaged and served over 4200 fathers and father figures over seventeen years. Deutron has served on several community boards, such as Children’s Network, CASA, Smith Society, and California Youth Connect(CYC). Deutron is a certified parenting educator in the Positive Discipline curriculum and Positive Parenting Program (Triple P).
Currently serves as Commissioner for Santa Cruz County Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission, is a member of Children & Family Services Citizen Review Panel for the State of California, National Facilitator Brazelton Touchpoints Center and Club President for Rotary Club Watsonville.
Brooke Powell (She/Her)
Brooke Powell (She/Her)
Hello friends! My name is Brooke Powell, also known as “Miss Brooke” to my preschool students. I am a Santa Cruz local, born and raised, who grew up to become a passionate Early Childhood Educator! And recently, I became a new mom! My daughter, Clara, was born in Jan. 2021. Since she has been born, I was hoping and dreaming of creating a way for me to be able to continue teaching, but also, engage in a parent/child class or group. Thus, “Mini & Me Music Class” was born! I am so excited to connect with other local families and their little ones through music, instrument exploration, story time and more!
Jenny Putt (She/Her)
Jenny Putt (She/Her)
Jenny Putt PT is a pelvic floor physical therapist in Santa Cruz. She is also a certified orthopedic specialist so she treats the whole body including all the holes. Jenny specializes in all perinatal diagnoses and chronic pain. As a mother of a 3 year old, she understand the ins and outs of both the physical and emotional journey of having a child. Jenny aims to make pelvic floor physical therapy a universal standard for all. She wants everyone to feel empowered and hopeful when it comes to their bodies. She also takes pride in making what most deem uncomfortable topics, as comfortable as talking about the weather. Jenny offers in-person and virtual individual physical therapy. She also has a virtual program that teaches individuals how to be their own pelvic PT so they can navigate pregnancy and postpartum with every tool needed to feel good…maybe even better than before they had a kid.
Journey Talkovic, CNM (She/Her)
Journey Talkovic, CNM (She/Her)
Sara Wright (She/Her)
Sara Wright (She/Her)
Sara Wright is a personal trainer, specializing in functional fitness for postpartum women. She lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and two kids, and also coordinates the local chapter of Surfing Moms.