Our Team
Our dedicated team in helping serve families
OUR TEAM
Jesse Remer, CD/BDT(DONA), PCD/PDT(DONA) LCCE, FACCE, OR THWDOULA 0140, WA: BDC.BD.61629067, AdvCEP-012
(She, her)
Executive Director | Director of Operations & Training
For three decades, Jesse Remer has been a visionary leader in establishing doula care as an essential component of equitable, family-centered healthcare. As the Founder of Mother Tree International and a pioneering clinical innovator, she has shaped systems that bring doula support to thousands of families while building sustainable workforce infrastructure. Her commitment to trauma-informed care and health equity is evident in her international training of birth professionals across Iceland, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and the United States, and her deep investment in serving people of color and marginalized communities.
Drawing on her own experiences as a preemie and as a mother with postpartum depression and anxiety, her background in education and business leadership, and her grounding in nature and forest therapy, Jesse brings a holistic, embodied approach to her work—one that honors both the intimacy of individual care and the systemic change required to make doula support accessible to all families in the critical first thousand days.
Zoe Piliafas,
(She, her)
Director of Regional
Zoe Piliafas brings nearly two decades of experience in program design, systems strategy, and data analysis, with a focus on creating programs that respond to the real needs of communities.
Since 2023, Zoe has focused her work on reproductive and maternal health, building stronger connections between families, community-based providers, and healthcare systems. She has served on the steering committee for Black Futures in Perinatal Health and worked alongside Children’s Institute to elevate community stories and testimony supporting expanded access to doula care in Oregon.
Zoe believes lasting systems change begins by centering the voices and experiences of the families those systems are designed to serve. Her work focuses on building sustainable programs, policies, and partnerships that strengthen care, support providers, and help families thrive.
Ashley Ulmer, CNM
(She, her)
Project Manager, RHTP Catalyst Grant and CHW Supervisor
Ashley is grateful for her purview as a midwife, revealing the vulnerabilities and strengths of communities, families, organizations, and professionals alike. She wants to continue being part of the solution that rights the wrong’s of inequitable healthcare models for patients, the people who love them, and those providing their care.
Ashley championed the Adventist Health Doula Program.
Cidnee Potter, IBLC, CLC, THW CD
(She, her)
Special Programs Manager | Lactation & Feeding Specialist
Shaena Grim
(She, her)
Grant Writer and Fiscal Reports
Shaena’s work centers on supporting women-led and women-founded organizations that drive meaningful impact in their communities. She is continually inspired by the women leaders she works alongside—their ability to lead with courage and compassion, navigate uncertainty, and advocate for the people and communities they serve. Shaena is honored to work with Gateway Doula Group and support the work they are doing to advance maternal healthcare.
Eva Bailey
(She, her)
Doula Coordinator
Brooke Haynes
(She, her)
Teach Doula | Team Doula | Business Doula
Brooke brings big-picture strategy, systems development, and technology expertise to Gateway Doula Group. With years of experience helping mission-driven organizations turn complex ideas into practical, sustainable systems, Brooke supports Gateway in building the infrastructure needed to serve families, doulas, and community partners as the organization grows.
Her work spans business strategy, technology, websites, workflows, automation, program development, and operational systems. Brooke has a unique ability to see how the different pieces of an organization connect—and to identify what needs to be built, simplified, or strengthened to support the bigger vision.
At Gateway, Brooke works behind the scenes to help transform ideas into systems that work, creating stronger foundations for growth while keeping people and community at the center.
Christine D'Esposito, THW CD
(She, her)
Specialty Programs Lead Consultant
Christine D'Esposito (she/her) is a skilled mentor, full-spectrum doula, educator, facilitator, guide, and consultant with over twenty years of experience in the field of birth work. She is a certified Full Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator, and Forest Therapy Guide. Christine is a co-owner and Director of Programs at Birthing From Within International and has supported thousands of parents, and birth workers through her mentorship and workshops. As a consultant, Christine works with health care systems to establish equitable community doula programs. From 2014-2020, she worked with a team to pioneer the first of its kind program in the U.S. based on an integrated team care model. She has extensive experience navigating systems, interacting with both medical and administrative staff, and contributing to program development, including creating curriculum.
Jacquelyn Clemmons
(She, her)
Lead Mentor
Our founder, Jacquelyn Clemmons, brings over 20 years of experience as a birth and postpartum doula, educator, and advocate. From mentoring new birthworkers to producing films like Jazz and the Blues, Jacquelyn’s leadership drives Okionu’s mission to create a future where maternal health is prioritized, celebrated, and supported. She also supports Gateway Doula Group as a Lead Mentor, providing guidance, mentorship, and experienced leadership to doulas as they grow in their practice. Okionu
Ellen, PhD, CNM, FACNM
(She, her)
Associate Professor, Oregon Health and Science University;
School of Nursing, Nurse-Midwifery Department; School of Medicine, OBGYN Department
Leticia West, CD(DONA), CLC
(She, her)
Mother Tree Lead Doula: Business Incubator
For two decades, Leticia West has been a steadfast leader in reproductive justice, bringing her deep commitment to equity and advocacy from her work in Washington, DC to the Pacific Northwest. Relocating to Oregon to practice as a doula, she quickly emerged as a leading voice in the community, grounding her reproductive justice framework in direct clinical practice and community care. Her vision for building sustainable doula leadership has shaped emerging practitioners through her mentorship and her work supporting the next generation of doulas both as a founding member of the Oregon Doula Association (membership chair) and Lead Mentor in the Mother Tree Business Incubator. As she pursues her International Board Certified Lactation Consultant credential, Leticia continues to expand her clinical expertise while maintaining her fierce advocacy for reproductive autonomy, racial justice, and equitable access to perinatal care across diverse communities.
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