FOUNDING DIRECTOR AND CLINICAL ADVISER
WENDY N. DAVIS, PhD is a counselor and consultant in private practice and a national perinatal mood disorders trainer. She was the Founding Director of Baby Blues Connection and now serves as Clinical Advisor and a volunteer trainer. She lives in Portland with her husband Tad and their 12 and 15 year old children.
Wendy recovered from postpartum depression and anxiety after the birth of their first child in 1994 and helped create BBC that same year. She is dedicated to Baby Blues Connection and its mission of providing informed and reliable support for pregnant and postpartum families and the professionals who serve them.
Being part of BBC and Postpartum Support International, supporting other families, and training new volunteers has given meaning to her postpartum experience. Now she finds herself grateful for that difficult postpartum time: for the depth, purpose, and community it brought to her life.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
JESSICA HARRISON, board president, is a Clinical Social Worker and birth/postpartum doula with Wildwood Psychiatric Resource Center. She specializes in the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and she feels fortunate to work in a community so rich in supportive resources for families in the perinatal period.
TABITHA RHODES, board secretary: is the co-owner and publisher of PDX Kids Calendar, an online events-based resource for families in the Portland metro area. Her work on the site focuses primarily on community outreach. She is highly connected the families in the area, and works closely with many of the businesses that serve them. Her background is in public relations and office administration. She has been a supporter of Baby Blues for over three years and joined the board in the Fall of 2011.
SAM ROSENBAUM, board treasurer: works for Command Management Services in Portland as an Accountant and IT manager. He graduated from Willamette University in April ’11 with an MBA. He runs a crab catering company on weekends called the Portland Crab House, www.PortlandCrab.com. He is planning on returning to school in the fall at PSU for an accounting certification program. In his spare time he enjoys basketball, kayaking and backpacking.
LINDA ROFFE, board member: Linda’s passion for young children and their families stems from her 25 year involvement with Northwest Nannies, Inc. which she co-founded and still co-owns. She first learned of BBC when one of her former students shared her experience with postpartum depression and the help she received through this wonderful organization. Linda is the mother of three grown children, and a soon to be grandmother.
KATIE RAETZ, board member: Nurse-Midwife since 1979. Retired from delivering babies in 2007. Currently sees OB/GYN patients at Women’s Health Care Associates
Peterkort office. Katie has developed a focus in her practice of sensitivity to a mother’s mood, whether it is during pregnancy or postpartum. Helping all mothers achieve emotional comfort is a priority in Katie’s practice.
NATASHA PEREIRA, board member: is a pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic at Peterkort. She loves working with families with children of all ages and guiding parents through the stages of raising a child. She is so grateful for the services Baby Blues Connection provides, especially for the families on Medical Assistance or without insurance. She is also the very proud mother of three growing children, two teenagers and a pre-teen. In her free time, she likes to run or take barre classes, hang out with her children or go exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her family.
ANNA ANDERSON, board member: has worked as a PMHNP for greater than 10 years with a wide variety of patient populations, but feels she has found her niche working at Women’s Healthcare Associates where she provides mental health care for pregnant and postpartum women. Anna first learned of BBC as an undergraduate nursing student at OHSU and has always thought that the organization provides an amazing service to parents dealing with postpartum depression. She and her family live in SW Portland with their corgi and cat.
GABY MENDEZ, board member: has a strong commitment to providing education and support to the Latino Community around Postpartum Depression. She has many years of experience working with families and children within Early Childhood Education and Social Work. Gaby is currently working with maternity patients in a medical setting. Her overall goal in joining BBC is to empower members within the community to seek support in addressing Postpartum Depression.
Katie Dowell, board member: has more than 15 years of experience in sales and executive management at IBM. Katie decided to pursue life outside of IBM and first learned of BBC through her husband, Thomas Lee, who is a perinatologist at Women’s Healthcare Associates. Katie and her husband live in the Cedar Hills area with their two dogs and cat.