The Los Angeles Gathering held at Hudson Loft was filled with empowering speakers, "seasonal" breakout sessions, a village to sip, snack, shop and connect, a nourishing lunch, a thoughtfully curated goodie basket as well as pre and post virtual gatherings.

photography by @mamanielaco

  • Haize Hawke

    Haize is an assistant midwife, master doula, and spiritual mentor. A proud mother of three, she supports families in their journey to and through birth with a holistic, spiritual and emotionally centered approach. She sees and supports the divine in everyone and uses her many creative gifts to fortify those beliefs in others. You can find her on instagram @iamhaizehawke

  • Dr. Britta Bushnell

    Dr. Britta Bushnell (she/her) is a wife and mother, author of Transformed by Birth, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, relationship, and parenting. For over 20 years, Dr. Bushnell has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for the life-changing experience of giving birth. Her work with parents has been enriched by her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her years spent as co-owner of Birthing From Within, as well as her dedicated study of solution-focused brief therapy, storytelling, and sustaining sexual and romantic vibrancy even during parenthood.

    When not working with parents, Britta loves spending time with her husband, Brent, and (when they are available) their now grown children either adventuring in the mountains, playing games, or traveling to exotic destinations. You can find her on instagram @brittabushnellphd

  • Paula Mallis

    Paula supports women to embody true transformational healing and shifts to higher levels of consciousness. Paula’s life experience, her expertise as a Doula, a facilitator of women circles, and her extensive training in Spiritual Psychology all allow her to serve and hold loving space for her clients. Supporting women on their own unique journey to cultivate their intuition and help them discover what tools and support are best for their own life’s journey, is her deepest passion.

    Paula founded WMN Space in 2016 as a place for women to gather and be supported and inspired on their journey through life in any and all stages. In 2019, Paula had an unexpected medical event that again pointed her in a new direction. During her recovery from a near death experience, she experienced the healing power of true stillness. She continued to deepen her understanding of the power of going within for the answers that reside in her own heart - and those of her clients.

    To this end, she decided to shift her energies away from the physical space of WMN Space. The onset of the Covid19 pandemic confirmed this decision and she continues to evolve and create ways to serve her clients and community online. Find her on Instagram: @paulamallis

  • Jessica Diggs

    Jessica is a Los Angeles-based licensed midwife, educator and co-founder of Centered. She’s been a birthworker and reproductive health educator since 2012. The trainings, her mentors, and ultimately, her first birth as a doula honed her interest in reproductive justice and empowering education. Jessica supports people and families through well-person care, home birth services, and conception support. She recently co-curated a community just for doulas and their businesses. When she’s not talking birth and bodies, she loves hosting dinner parties, eating, traveling and devouring a good book. Find her on Instagram @jessicaadiggs

  • Becca Piastrelli

    Becca is the author of Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, & the Self and is the host of the Belonging podcast. She teaches and speaks on the nature of belonging and runs retreats to help women reconnect with their rooted sense of self. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, child, two cats, and five chickens, where she gardens, cooks, mothers, and gathers with the ebb and flow of the seasons. Find her on Instagram @beccapiastrelli

  • Jenna Furnari

    Jenna is the co-founder of Ayurvedic Mamas and has worked primarily with women in the world of prenatal and postpartum care for over ten years. As a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner specializing in Postnatal Care, her life's work is a commitment to bringing this ancient wisdom to a living practice for women around the world. Jenna’s intention is to reach as many women as possible with complete care and support through their entry into motherhood. In the first six weeks following birth, deep impressions that can last a lifetime are set. Through this system of care, health and vitality are returned to the mother, deep bonding becomes possible and the impact serves not only the entire family, but the wider community and planet.

    Jenna completed her Master of Arts research and thesis on women's reproductive health. Her studies included time spent in Nepal where she immersed herself in clinical work with Dr Sarita Shrestha, Nepal’s first Ayurvedic OB/GYN. Jenna supports women throughout the Los Angeles area as well as virtually through the First 42 Days following childbirth. She has built the Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula Online Training and has brought this education to hundreds of women around the world. Find her on Instagram @ayurvedic_mamas

  • Jaimi Brooks

    Jaimi is a Pepperdine and UCLA trained therapist and women's group leader that has spent her life working with women in many different capacities. As a women’s therapist, Jaimi saw the deep need women have to keep growing outside of the therapy room. She built The Well Lived Woman, now a brick + mortar community space in Topanga Canyon— as a fresh option for women to find meaningful connection while growing in whichever ways they desire personally. Leading Mother + Identity and Entrepreneurial Women's Groups, Jaimi believes a life well-lived is found through living intentionally and works to make that more beautiful and accessible for us all. Find her on Instagram @jaimibrooks

  • Mari Orkenyi

    Mari is a Contemplative Educator, Research Psychoanalyst Candidate and Writer. Her work lives in the space where Contemplative Practices, Buddhist Psychology and Psychoanalysis intersect. Mari holds a Masters in Arts, is Certified in Contemplative Psychotherapy and is Certified Meditation Teacher. She supports individuals, corporate teams and groups with Contemplative Practices and tools, guiding them on a journey of self awareness, exploration and integration. Mari has collaborated with Moca,The Marciano Foundation, Loom, Apple, DoorDash, LA Dance Project and more. As a native Brazilian immigrant with Hungarian roots, living in Los Angeles by way of Spain and Mexico, her multicultural perspectives and backgrounds are continuously informing her work. You can find her on instagram @mari.orkenyi.

  • Kirstin Ford

    Kirstin is a Ceremonialist and Women's Ayurvedic Health Coach specializing in Maternal Health. She weaves ancient and modern wisdom into her ceremonial work for celebration, transformation and healing. Kirstin's Ceremonies for Mothers help mamas process the life-altering events of becoming a mother, and are especially important in the tender weeks following labor as she has birthed herself alongside her baby.

    Her mission is to create safe spaces for women to return to themselves and witness their divine potential through ceremony. A resonant blend of science, spirit and nature infuses her life and her work. She believes and has seen, both in her own life and the lives of her clients, the power in moving toward the shadows in a world where people often escape their darkness at all costs. Kirstin is a certified ayurvedic health coach, reiki master and sound healer. You can find her on instagram @kirstinbford

  • Rachel Wolke

    Rachel Wolke, certified somatic attachment practitioner and published children’s book author, was born in Germany and moved to the US in 2022. After the sudden loss of her father at the age of 21, Rachel developed an even stronger love and passion for writing. Writing had a healing effect that helped her overcome this difficult time in her life. It was during this period that Claus Cloud, the main character in her books, was born.

    While pregnant with her second child, life tested Rachel on an even deeper level when she tragically lost her mother due to suicide. However, making the conscious decision not to let these traumatic experiences define her, she turned her anguish into something positive and started her training with an emotional counselor at a suicide prevention hotline.

    Feeling called to understand mental health at its root level, she began to study the nervous system and became a certified somatic attachment practitioner. Rachel is happily married and a mother of three, living life to its fullest. She helps people all around the world heal on a deeper level by combining her personal life experiences with knowledge of the nervous system and how emotions, triggers, and traumas are all connected to it. You can find her on instagram @ rachelwolke.