The Childbirth Education Team
We're here to help you make the transition to parenthood – to help you Welcome Baby. Our goal is for you to feel confident and comfortable, and honor your family's unique pregnancy and parenting experience.
All of our educators are certified in childbirth and lactation education, and bring a wealth of knowledge from nursing, midwifery and doula experience.
Glossary
CCE - Certified Childbirth Educator
CPST - Child Passenger Safety Technician
ICCE - ICEA Certified Childbirth Educator
LCCE - Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator
LEC - Lactation Educator Certified
M.Ed - Masters in Education
Cari Hanaway, MA, LEC
Cari comes to EvergreenHealth after seven years as the primary caregiver for her two daughters and three years volunteering and working as a newborn and expectant parent group leader for PEPS. Cari completed childbirth educator training with the International Childbirth Education Association. She obtained a Master of Science degree in child development with a specialization in infancy (0-3 years) at Erikson Institute in 2012. She has previous experience as an adjunct professor of child development, a research assistant, and an assistant director at a local childcare center.
Cari had incredible experiences attending childbirth and lactation education classes and delivering her daughters at the Family Maternity Center at EvergreenHealth. Her oldest child was born at 42 weeks and her youngest child was born at 33 weeks, then spent 30 days in the NICU. It was the excellent care and support Cari received at EvergreenHealth that inspired her to pursue this position educating expectant parents.
Cari spends her free time exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters. She also enjoys photography, camping, and spending time with friends and family.
Amy Kretz, ATC, CLEC, CE
Amy comes to EvergreenHealth after nine years as a self-employed doula and primary caregiver for her three young boys. Amy completed childbirth educator training with Great Starts, Seattle in 2009 and finished doula training at the Seattle Midwifery School, now Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations at Bastyr University, in 2004. She obtained a bachelor's degree in speech communication at the University of Washington in 1997.
Amy is passionate about labor and delivery and feels extremely privileged to take part in this personal experience with mothers and their families at EvergreenHealth. She is DONA and PALS certified.
She enjoys spending time with her husband and sons or, when a game is on, cheering for her beloved University of Washington Huskies.
Miriam Molloy, CE
Miriam joined EvergreenHealth as a childbirth educator in 2015. She received her certification through Bastyr University Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations.
Miriam spent 12 years in law enforcement before pursuing a career in childbirth education. She developed great respect for the EvergreenHealth Childbirth and Early Parenting Education department while attending Parent-Baby classes following the birth of her first daughter in 2011. Her second child was born prematurely in 2013, and received care in the EvergreenHealth NICU. Miriam uses personal knowledge gained from her family's experience to support parents through the NICU journey.
Miriam and her husband have been married for 10 years, and love team parenting their young children. She enjoys traveling, cooking for her family, gardening and memory keeping. Miriam proudly has thousands of photos and words about her family documented in albums.
Christine Muenz, MA, CCE, LEC
Christine began teaching lactation and parenting courses at EvergreenHealth in 1996. She is certified in both childbirth and lactation education and holds professional certification from Childbirth Education Association of Seattle, now Great Starts, EvergreenHealth Medical Center Professional Education, and Evergreen Perinatal Education. Christine earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound, and a master's degree from San Francisco State University.
Christine brings her talents as a former university lecturer to EvergreenHealth, designing curriculum, teaching, and working with pregnant and postpartum families. Her courses at EvergreenHealth blend compassionate care with research-based education. She is also a content developer and lecturer for Evergreen Perinatal Education, providing lactation training for professionals who work with new families.
She and her husband are parents of two sons and one daughter. Christine does the NYTimes crossword every day and is passionate about cooking, travel, her yellow lab, and the theater. She watches too much TV.
Deborah Sleeman, MA, ICCE, LEC
Deborah came to EvergreenHealth in 2006 after several years volunteering with new parent groups in the community. She completed her childbirth educator certification with the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) and holds an additional certification as a lactation educator. Deborah is a Certified Gottman Educator and she completed parent coach certification through the Parent Coaching Institute and Seattle Pacific University.
Deborah presents the Bringing Baby Home workshops at EvergreenHealth and is especially interested in helping parents manage screen time in their family life and understand the importance of play in children's healthy development. She believes that parenting is important work, worthy of thought and effort and enjoys providing calm, compassionate support and up-to-date information to families as they grow.
Deborah is an avid reader. She and her husband are parents to a daughter and a son and enjoy playing games and exploring new places as a family.
Martha Snyder, BS, LEC, CD
Martha is thrilled to be able to combine her passion for education and her knowledge through teaching childbirth education at Evergreen Health. She has over twenty years of experience as an educator in a variety of different settings and purposes. She graduated with a degree in secondary Education from Northwest University and taught high school English both in the US and in Japan, where her first child was born. After the birth of her second child, Martha became a certified doula, transitioning to helping parents in understanding childbirth and supporting them during labor and delivery.
When Martha isn't working, she enjoys knitting, playing board games and tabletop RPGs with friends and family, and exploring the many wonderful parks the area has to offer.
Melissa Steiner, BS, ICCE, LEC
Melissa is a Childbirth Education Specialist and instructor for EvergreenHealth. She is certified through the International Childbirth Education Association, certified in lactation education and a trauma-informed through Bastyr University. Melissa graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in speech and hearing sciences. Melissa has spoken to national and international professional conferences about informed consent in the birthing space and feels that all birthing parents should have informed and supportive communication and care during their birth.
She discovered her passion for instructing new parents after the birth of her first child when she experienced first-hand the value of prenatal education and postpartum support. Melissa is honored to be a part of her clients' childbirth journey and couldn't imagine a better occupation.
Melissa and her husband have two adult children who were both born at EvergreenHealth, and a completely spoiled doodle named Charlie. She enjoys hiking, anything "artsy," entertaining, cooking, baking, and hanging out with her family, pup and friends.
Laura Thompkins, CCE, CPST, LEC
Laura is a certified childbirth educator, infant safety & CPR instructor and child passenger safety technician. Laura has been on the Childbirth Education team since 2017 and has served as a volunteer at EvergreenHealth's community car seat safety events since 2013. Laura began her journey into the field of community education and pediatric safety after becoming a parent in 2011. In 2013, she certified through SafeKids as a child passenger safety technician. Soon after, she started teaching community classes. Laura accomplished her childbirth educator training and certification with Great Starts in 2015, and in 2017 she joined the Childbirth Education team at EvergreenHealth. In 2019 Laura furthered her education with Lamaze's Passion for Birth workshop.
Outside of work, Laura enjoys spending time with family, which includes her husband, two kind and active kids, and two very loved dogs. She lives for summers filled with kayaking, paddleboarding and campfires. Laura is dedicated to connecting people to resources so they can build strong support systems and live safe, happy lives.
Jessica Trinidad, MS, MLS, LC, CBE
I am a Latin woman, mother of two active-outdoor boys, passionate about supporting Latin immigrants' parenting with reliable information, love, and empathy.
After working in the sciences field as a Medical Laboratory Scientist I found my calling when I moved to the Seattle area in 2019 with my family. I learned how hard it is to raise kids in a different country and language. I became a Childbirth Educator through Safia Monroe and Bastyr University in 2023 and at this time I am taking the same program with a traditional focus with Center for Indigenous Midwifery. I am also a Lactation Consultant currently working on my internship to become an IBCLC.
I enjoy painting and reading in my "me time." In our family time, my husband and I love playing board games, exploring nature, and watching movies with our boys.
I joined EvergreenHealth because I trust them and love that they care about culture inclusion and the power of listening the information in your main language.
Tracy Van Den Boomen, LE
Tracy joined EvergreenHealth in 1992. She is a certified lactation educator and has received continuing education in toddler development through Lake Washington Technical College. Born and raised on the East Coast, she earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Ithaca College in upstate New York.
After delivering her first child in the Family Maternity Center, Tracy was so inspired by the excellent care and service she received as a patient that she was honored to be recruited to the EvergreenHealth team. Today, she serves as parenting specialist for the Parent-Baby program. Her goal is to create a safe place for new parents to share the joys and challenges of parenting.
She and her husband have a grown son and daughter, and she enjoys sailing, kayaking, traveling, walking, hiking, biking, cooking and reading. She is an avid amateur painter and enjoys her art co-op with her girlfriends.
