NINTI SHALOM

Board President

As a doula supporting conceiving, pregnant and postpartum mothers, I am passionate about advocating for expecting families’ desires and needs surrounding childbirth. My goal is to awaken and enthuse the birthing person to the power of creating their own story. Through advocacy and education, I am dedicated to safely bringing birth back in the hands of home.

MEGHAN NOWLAND

LCPM, IBCLC

Executive Director

Meghan Nowland is the founder of Cincinnati Birth Center and Buckeye Birth Coalition. Experienced midwife, doula, and lactation consultant, Meghan Nowland brings expertise and a confidently calm energy to her clinical approach for clients across the local Cincinnati area since 2014 and in Kentucky since 2020. She moved to Walnut Hills with a passion to improve Ohio’s maternity care and regularly volunteers teaching community childbirth education classes. In addition to her work as a midwife, she’s a founder of Ohio’s chapter of National Association of Certified Professional Midwives. Most recently she’s been involved with legislative efforts to increase access to midwives and serving on the Kentucky Midwives Advisory Council, creating regulations for licensure of CPMs.

MORGAN ALLISON MOORE

M.Div, M.A.

Secretary

Morgan Allison Moore, M.Div, M.A., is a mother, aunt, poet, partner, advocate, and doula. Originally from Louisville,
Kentucky, she moved to Cincinnati to pursue a second master's degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. As a former sexual assault advocate and preventionist, she honed her
ability to amplify the voices of those who are often unheard, while developing strategies to prevent sexual violence.
As a Black mother, Morgan is deeply committed to ensuring that other Black birthing individuals have the birth experiences they desire. She brings her lived experience as a Black woman, advocate, and preventionist to this coalition, working to create better outcomes and more empowering experiences for birthing people.

EMILY MILLER

Treasurer

As a dedicated educator and accomplished leader, Emily Miller is an entrepreneur with a passion for empowering individuals and organizations through innovative learning solutions. Through a distinguished career in education, leadership, and small business transformation, Emily has consistently enhanced dignity in learning by fostering empowerment, growth, and success for students, employees, and organizations. Her career spans the roles of president, learning consultant, school administrator, and teacher.
Driven to expand her impact, Emily co-founded Dignified Services, an innovative organization focused on training, consulting, and investment, which operates from the philosophy that the most complex organizational challenges are best solved by empowering the talented individuals already within the organization.

ANNA PETRON

VP of Marketing

Anna is a copywriter with several years experience in content marketing. Written word is often the catalyst of change, and she hopes to inspire others through our monthly newsletters, blogs, and other materials.
After her own two home births, she developed a passion for safe, informed birth and became both a birth assistant and doula. Her goal is to support the community both in-person and through resources to help women learn they can have a deciding voice in their own birth.

ANNAMALIA TICKNOR

VP of Events

AnnaMalia joined Buckeye Birth Coalition after a homebirth with her youngest child. She is a registered nurse with a Master’s of Nursing from DePaul University and a bachelor’s in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Guilford College. Her experience as a mother, educator, work as a nurse, and academic background inspire her to work for safe birth outcomes for all families in Ohio. With passion for relationships and creating empowering experiences she hopes to be part of meaningful change.

JOSEPH COPPUS

DC, CFMP, DACNB

VP of Executive Committee

Dr. Joseph Coppus owns and operates a Functional Neurology clinic in Columbus, OH - Delta Neuro Health, with his wife Justyna. They welcomed their baby girl Charlotte Maria in August 2024 via home birth with the help of a midwife and doula. After having a wonderful experience with the birth of their daughter, Joseph was ecstatic to join the Buckeye Birth Coalition and advocate for access to home births and midwifery care in the state of Ohio.

NATALIE TULLY

VP of Outreach Committee

Natalie Tully is a Reproductive Justice Steward, Full Spectrum Doula, Mother, and Creative. After moving from rural Ohio to Cincinnati to cultivate a more meaningful career, Natalie connected with advocates from all facets of reproductive healthcare. Most recently her experience led her to a role as a Patient Navigator, helping people obtain financial and logistical resources to get the care they needed. Natalie had her daughter at home and has been an advocate for homebirth since first becoming a doula and learning about birthing disparities in our country. She believes everyone should have access to resources to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.

BECCA KEYES

DC

Marketing Committee

Becca Keyes is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Co-Owner of Bellies and Babies Chiropractic. Her dedication to working with mothers in the perinatal space came about after her first homebirth with her son. Her experience of working with women she trusted to listen to her desires and support her through her pregnancy and birth inspired her to pass the torch and serve other women through her chiropractic work and through the Buckeye Birth Coalition. In addition to her private practice, she is co-host of Unbalanced and Hormonal, a podcast committed to provide resources and information about women's health to encourage empowerment and informed choices.

STELLA UDEOZOR CROSSTY

Events Committee

Stella Udeozor Crossty is a mother, creative, birth advocate, doula, and the founder of Freedom Birth Story—a space that supports, educates, and inspires women to make autonomous decisions in birth, motherhood, finances, and loss. Stella identifies as a Portal-Keeper, holding space for women as they navigate these sacred transitions—and discover freedom on the other side. Her liberating homebirth experience with her daughter, Haven, ignited a deep passion to support women in reclaiming the power of giving birth on their own terms. Outside of birthwork, Stella is a content creator, photographer, and financial advisor. She weaves her multifaceted gifts to create containers where women can uncover their inner power, sovereignty, and liberation. Stella brings passion, nuance, and creativity to the coalition, along with an eager heart to see women activated at their highest potential—all in service to her lineage, past and beyond.

CLAIRE REED

Board Member

B.S.H.S., CCMA

Claire is a Christian, prolife, wife, mother of 2, and a member of the Osage Nation residing in rural Indiana. She has a bachelor's degree in health services and currently holds a certified clinical medical assistant license. She has experience in long term care and both early childhood education and parenting education. She is passionate about promoting breastfeeding and safe co-sleeping and now also homebirth and midwifery care since having experienced a traumatic hospital birth and then a glorious water birth with a midwife. She also has experience speaking before the legislature and is involved in the local Christian pregnancy resource center.

KATRINA HULL

Board Member

Katrina Hull is an educator and advocate who cares deeply about expanding safe, informed birth options for families. A former high school math and engineering teacher with over 12 years in the classroom, Katrina has built programs that connect young people to mentors, opportunity, and real-world problem solving, and her work has been recognized with honors, including MESA Teacher of the Year and Crystal Apple Honoree. She remains connected to the Lemelson-MIT Program as a Teacher Fellow, supporting invention education.
As a parent of three with a wide range of birth experiences—including a hospital water birth, an unexpected car birth en route to the hospital, and a midwife-supported home birth—Katrina brings both personal perspective and practical empathy to birth advocacy. She is passionate about autonomy, access to midwifery care, and clear, research-grounded education so families can make confident decisions throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

MARY THERESE HARTMAN

Board Member

Mary is a homeschool mother of five, four of whom were born at home. Through her own births and walking alongside other women in their journeys, she has developed a deep passion for women’s health and informed choice in pregnancy and birth.
Her experiences have shaped a strong commitment to supporting women not only during birth, but especially in the often-overlooked postpartum season. Mary believes that women deserve to feel seen, supported, and confident in their decisions.
She is dedicated to educating and empowering women to understand their options, trust their instincts, and find their voice when it comes to their health and their births. She lives in Ripley County Indiana

Board of Directors

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