Karen T. Baker MD, FACOG

Dr. Baker obtained her Medical Degree from the University of Florida and completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She spent 7 years as faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and became Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology before moving to Savannah 10 years ago with her husband and her 2 daughters.

She is currently the Residency Program Directory for the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Memorial Health Hospital as well as the Medical Director for the Midwife Group and Birth Center.  She has a special interest in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, menopausal care, pelvic pain and complex family planning.  In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the many islands around Savannah with her husband and daughters looking for shark teeth.

Dr Baker’s topic will be “SARS-COV-2 Infection in Pregnancy, Evidence based research”.

Marian Marsh PhD

Dr Marsh has provided mental health services to women and families for the past 50 years.  With a Ph.D. from University of Cincinnati in Developmental and Child Clinical Psychology, she has worked in a variety of settings–children’s hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, early intervention programs for children ranging in ages from 1 year old to early elementary school.

Dr Marsh has provided counselling/therapy services to the Midwife Group and Birth Center in Savannah, Ga since 2006.  The goal of the facility and her personal goal is to help all the babies born there to have a Happy and Healthy Birthday and join a healthy family.   Her job is to smooth this transition.  She always feels honored that these clients are willing to share their life stories with her.

Dr Marsh’s topic will be “Possible effects of Prior Sexual and Physical Abuse on Labor and Delivery”

Connie Mullen CPM

Connie Mullen has been in the wellness profession for over 39 years. She is a Florida Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife and certified Childbirth Educator. She also holds certificates as an ACE and AFAA Group Fitness Instructor, a GGS-1 Certified Women’s Coaching Specialist, Pound Pro, PLYOGA Fitness Trainer, FXP Hoop Fitness and Hoopyasa Trainer and an American Heart Association Basic Life Support and CPR Instructor.
Connie teaches Midwifery classes at two local midwifery schools and teaches fitness and wellness classes at a variety of locations including private community clubhouses, corporate fitness and wellness programs.
She has also given many presentations, lectures and written or appeared in several magazine and newspaper articles and on television. Connie frequently offers demonstration classes at health fairs and events.
Connie’s Topics will be:  “Fetal Development” and “Perinatal Mood Disorders”

Debby Sapp

Debby Sapp, mother to five living children, granny to three, former homebirth midwife, and herbalist, is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Certified Women’s and Family Educator through Naturally Healthy Herbal Course (written and taught by the late Shonda Parker).  She has worked with women and families in the birth field for over 30 years as a doula, childbirth educator, direct-entry midwife, and herbalist.  In 2008, she graduated with Academic Honors from Ancient Art Midwifery Institute with focuses on Breastfeeding, Herbs, and The Newborn.  She was awarded the coveted Yellow Sponge Award for insatiable love of learning.  It was her herbal research for AAMI that made her realize how much she loved herbs.  She enrolled in the Naturally Healthy Certified Clinical Herbalist program and graduated in 2015.
Debby has taught at several midwifery conferences and workshops, community and internet teaching events, and was an adjunct instructor for Alternative Modalities I at Heritage School of Midwifery.  She has also taught at the Deep South Herbal Conference in Alabama twice.  She has been teaching Bible in local jails for over 19 years (minus the Covid years).  She and Joni Sellars, another graduate of Naturally Healthy’s Clinical Herbalist course, are presently working on a Christian herbalism course ready for the 21st century.
Her classes at the conference are Using Herbs to Support Pregnancy, Using Herbs to Support Labor from Beginning to End, and How to Make Lotions and Creams.
Debby has a carousel of hobby horses which includes sewing, genealogy, proofreading, and supporting medical freedom.  She lives in Georgia and communicates with her legislators to try and make homebirth midwifery readily accessible in her state.
Debby’s Topics will be:  “Herbs in Pregnancy” and “Herbs for Labor: Beginning to End”

Ireena Keeslar, CPM

Ireena Keeslar CPM, LM, CDEM and a Associates in Science of Midwifery. Ireena worked as an assistant in labor and delivery before becoming a nurse in 1993. She worked in 2 different hospitals in labor and delivery over the years. Teaching both Amish and non-Amish, she taught childbirth classes for over 20 years. Her classes were often attended by up to 25 Amish couples at a time. She has been practicing midwifery for over 21 years in a rural community, mostly with Amish clients. She ‘helped’ start 4 different free standing Birth Centers, 2 still remain open today. She has wrote midwifery articles for several journals, served on several state midwifery boards, and has been involved with conference planning for over 15 years. She has been married since 1980, has 5 children & 5 grandchildren whom she enjoys spending as much time with as she can. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, sewing, crocheting, photography, gardening, drawing and painting.

Ireena serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board for ACBP.

Ireena’s Topic will be: “Practice Management: Common Pitfalls”

Helen Pastures, IBCLC

Bio Coming Soon

Helen’s topic will be “Breastfeeding Challenges/Tongue Tie issues”

Pre-conference Speakers

Jill Whitfield, CNM, MSN

Jill has served in Women’s Health for over 48 years and has been a Certified Nurse Midwife for the last 18 years. She has cared for women in various settings including the hospital and birth center.  She co-owns, with her husband, “The Midwife’s Mercantile, LLC”, a ministry that provides low cost organic and natural supplements and products to women and their families.  Her greatest love is Christ Jesus and through His love and guidance, she has experienced His miracles.  Jill is married, has had 2 daughters, 2 incredible sons in love and 2 granddaughters.  She loves her Church, Her Husband, Her Family, Sailing, Hiking, Traveling and Reading.

Jill serves Chair of the ACBP Board.

Jill will be presenting in the Pre-Conference:  Basic Suturing Skills

Pamela Golliet, CPM

Pamela has been involved in many facets of birth work for over 30 years. She’s been an OB nurse, a childbirth educator, a doula, a lactation consultant and a home birth midwife. She’s married to her best friend, Steve, and they have two grown daughters. She has lived all over the world following her family in the United States Air Force. She currently lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband and two cats. She reads, sews, and has an additional business doing longarm quilting.

Pamela serves as the Treasurer for the Board and ACBP.

Pamela will speak be presenting at the Pre-Conference:  Basic Suturing Skills

Heather Wyrick, RN, BSN

Heather Wyrick graduated with a BSN from Georgia Southern University in 2000.  After graduation she began her nursing career at Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah in the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery.  She joined the Neonatal Transport Team in 2003 and continued in this role until 2012.  During this time, she served as president of the unit practice committee and trained many new nurses to the transport team.  In 2012 she became assistant nurse manager of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she functioned in a dual role as educator for the unit.  During her time in PICU, she restructured the orientation process for new nurses and taught numerous classes/in-services.  In 2014, she accepted a position as nurse clinician for the NICN.  She was a part of numerous committees such as the Quality Improvement and VON committees and led the unit’s PICC committee.  She also taught the Neonatal Education Course providing education for NICN nurse residents.  In 2016 she became the Neonatal Outreach Coordinator providing education and training for healthcare professionals in the southeast Georgia region.  She is currently a NRP instructor and STABLE instructor.  She is an AWHONN, ANN, NANN, and GPA member.  She currently has her certification in Neonatal/Pediatric Transport and Neonatal Intensive Care and is a Certified Lactation Counselor.  During her free time, she enjoys doing anything outdoors and loves spending time with her husband and 12-year-old daughter.

Heather will be our NRP Instructor.

Tamra Haymans-Benedict, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN

Tamra “TJ” Haymans-Benedict has an incredible career in the cardiac and critical care arenas.  She is also credentialled and serves on the Faculty of the American Heart Association.  TJ has been the CPR instructor for all of the Savannah conferences in the past.

TJ will be our CPR Instructor.

More information to come.