Meet Our People
Scroll down to see bios, photos, and contact information for all of our affiliated service providers. They are independent practitioners, so please contact them directly about their services.
For general inquiries, please use the form on our Contact page.
Midwives
Trillium House midwives are independent practitioners who use Trillium House for consultations, examinations, office space, and births.
To ask questions or to schedule a consultation, please use the contact links in the bios below to get in touch with our midwives directly.
Leslie Payne, CPM
Leslie is currently not accepting new clients.
On a personal note, my husband and I have five grown, beautiful and wonderful children. As of October 2023, we have twelve grandchildren. Our lives are full. This comes first because what’s below would never have happened without it.
Years ago, I earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Religion, which I contend was good prep for becoming a midwife. I know how to read, write, and pray - skills I still use daily in my work.
Midwifery was something I was born with - it was congenital. I have always, even as a child, been fascinated by birth. As my mothering years (my first and most favorite profession) began to wane, I found myself being invited to local home births by friends. One thing led to another, and, in the same way as midwives have been called to the profession over the course of humanity, the families began to ask me to be their midwife. I had many different preceptors - practicing midwives who provided me with on-the-job training - during those years.
In 2001, I was about three-quarters through the certification process with the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), when my husband took a new job that moved us to Lynchburg. I took a year's break, thinking that while we settled into our new home, I would help with an effort to get a law passed through the state legislature to allow the licensing of midwives. But, for the first time in many years, there was no community midwife working in Lynchburg, and when people found out I had some training and experience… my vacation was over. Thanks to my generous clients, I was able to have midwives from all around the region oversee my work, which, in turn, allowed me to complete my credentialing as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) in 2004. In 2005, our licensing bill passed the legislature and I received a License to Practice Midwifery in Virginia.
Pregnancy, birth, and parenting are formidable tasks with profound impacts on us, our children, our community and our world. While my role may be small in this big picture, I am sincere and passionate about the importance of this work. In a perfect world, there would be no need for midwives and our advice, guidance, or presence, because complications would never occur. But since the world is not perfect, I am thrilled to be in this space and have this job. I see miracles daily. How could it be better than that?
Savannah Fassero, CPM
I started birth work in 2010 as a home birth assistant in Lynchburg, VA. I attended Virginia School of Traditional Midwifery, graduating in 2013. In 2016 I moved to Harrisonburg, VA for a full-time midwifery apprenticeship, before sitting for my national midwifery exam and becoming licensed as a Certified Professional Midwife in 2019. I started my own practice, Heart of Lynchburg Midwifery, and have served the families of the Lynchburg area since.
Birth is an emotional event, because birth is a hormonal event, so your comfort level in your environment and with your providers has a physiologic impact on birth. I believe in both evidence-based care and in respecting and integrating traditional birth wisdom. You, as a pregnant mama, are the expert on your body, pregnancy, and birth, and deserve the information you need to make informed decisions on your birth place, providers, and care. I am passionate about facilitating access to compassionate, culturally-informed care for every family. Every mama deserves this. I love getting to know the families I serve and learning from them.
When I'm not doing birth work, you might find me renovating my house, doing something -- anything -- outdoors, or spending time with my family.
Taylor James, CPM, LM
My journey to becoming a midwife began when I sought to be a doula in 2015. After having my first child at the end of 2017, I began my midwifery apprenticeship, whilst continuing to grow my family. Our daughter was born at home in January 2020 and she attended birth with me for several months. Our third child was born in June 2021, and he attended his first birth at eight weeks old. In the summer of 2022, I became a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Licensed Midwife (LM).
After becoming licensed, I quietly opened my own home birth practice here in Lynchburg as well as continuing to work for The Birth Center of Charlottesville. This has given me the opportunity to broaden my perspective of midwifery and become confident in my skills. My heart, as a midwife, has been shaped by many but it revolves around serving women. Every woman deserves to have options in birth and to be supported in those decisions.
When I'm not busy at work being a midwife, I am working in my most important roles as wife and mom to our (soon-to-be four) little ones. Motherhood is one of God's highest callings. Some of our family's favorites pastimes are homeschooling and playing outside. I personally enjoy working with herbs and art through crafting, pottery, and painting.
Nikki Marterre CPM
My name is Nikki. I am a Buddhist, mother, midwife, serious nerd and humanist. I am passionate about seeing pregnant people step into their health, their power and the transformative journey of birth and parenthood. This journey looks different for every person and every family, and while it certainly presents challenges, it also presents many opportunities for growth and joy.
I have a Master's Degree in Cultural Anthropology, which makes me appreciate birthing people from every different background. I have worked at busy birth centers in Texas and also trained with home birth midwives. I ran my own homebirth practice in Austin for two and a half years and am excited to offer my services now in Albemarle County, Fluvanna County, Greene County, Orange County, and Louisa County.
When I'm not helping moms, families and newborns, I'm with my husband Josh and my four year old son. I have two dogs. I love gardening, hiking, herbalism, community gatherings, board games and cooking.
Anna McGuire, CPM, LM, CLC
I began my training as a midwife over a decade ago at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I had known all through high school that I wanted to become a midwife, but as a Canadian, I wasn’t aware how different midwifery practice looks in my home country vs. here in the U.S. After a year and a half in my Canadian midwifery program, I didn’t feel like that path was right for me, as most of my work would be hospital-based. I withdrew and began to pursue midwifery training in Maine, the state that neighbored my home province.
There I met my husband, and we began our family alongside my apprenticeship. Six years, five (local) moves, four of my own home births, one adoption, and one immigration process later, I became a Certified Professional Midwife in January 2022. I began my practice at one of the facilities where I had trained - the Holly No. 7 Birth Center in Bangor, Maine.
In July of 2023, I moved to Virginia to join a wonderful home-visit based practice. I found that I missed serving a mix of birth center and homebirth clients and longed to be a part of a collaborative model with other midwives -- extrovert that I am! I am so grateful to have been welcomed in by the other Trillium midwives as I launch my own midwifery practice in this area. I have a special passion for VBACs, water-birth, and folks seeking a first-time experience outside of the hospital (whether they’ve had previous births in the hospital or this is going to be their very first birth!) When not midwifing, you can find me exploring outside with my kids, having impromptu dinner parties with friends, and saying, “Sure, we will be there -- as long as I’m not at a birth!”
Degra Nofsinger, CPM
I am a Certified Professional Midwife licensed to practice in Virginia, and primarily serving the Roanoke area. I do occasionally attend home births in Lynchburg. I use the office space at Trillium House for prenatal and postpartum visits, but do not attend births there. For more information, visit my practice website, lunamidwifery.com.
I went to midwifery school at Maternidad La Luz (MLL) in El Paso, Texas which is a Midwifery Education Accreditation Counsel (MEAC) Accredited school as well as a Texas state licensed birthing center. While at MLL, I completed an academic program in midwifery, provided prenatal and postpartum care, and attended births. I received the CPM credential in 2009. For further information about MLL, visit: www.maternidadlaluz.com.
After completing the midwifery programm at MLL, I returned to my native Roanoke, Virginia. I have been attending home births in Roanoke, Lynchburg, and the surrounding areas since 2009, and since 2007, I have attended approximately 500 births, 350 as the primary midwife.
I participate in quarterly peer review, continuing education and retain credentialing in CPR and NNR (Neonatal Resuscitation). I am an active member of local, state, and national midwifery organizations: VMA (Virginia Midwives Alliance), MANA (Midwives Alliance of North America), NACPM (National Association of Certified Professional Midwives) and ACNM (American College of Nurse Midwives).
I am continually involved in volunteer midwifery work in Virginia, and focus on establishing and improving relationships between midwives and various other practitioners and organizations. In 2016, I volunteered for 2 weeks in Haiti with Midwives for Haiti. Hablo español.
Trillium House Support Staff
Julia Bradner: Director of Services for Trillium House, CD, LCCE
My formal birthwork training began in 2017, when I was certified as a birth doula through DONA international. I continued my education through Lamaze International, and was certified as a childbirth educator. In the same year I began working as a midwife assistant with the local community midwives. The various formal training resulted in "New Life Doula Services" and "Prep4Birth" education series, both businesses that I own and have the privilege of serving families through. In 2021, I helped open Trillium House and have been in charge of establishing the birth center and running the operations. I am a midwifery student/apprentice, in a full time apprenticeship and midwifery school, currently providing care as the primary midwife under the supervision of a licensed midwife.
I believe pregnancy and birth have the power to unlock strength in families and our entire community. Birth is not innately a dangerous, medical condition, but rather a physiological wonder that should be respected and honored. As we pause and look at the beauty of pregnancy, the wonder of the event of birth, and the power and strength inside of women, we will unlock health in our communities. I believe that knowledge results in power and when we inform our intuition, we can dig deep and make the best decisions for ourselves and our families. I am passionate about providing families with informed consent around their pregnancy, birth and postpartum seasons of life.
I have been happily married for 22 years, have five amazing children and four furry children. I thoroughly enjoy being near the water, reading historical fiction and swinging in a hammock swing!
Morgan Reames, CD, Assistant Director of Services at Trillium House
My passion for birth started as a young kid from attending the births of my many younger siblings. After hiring a doula for the birth of my first, I really wanted to pursue this passion and get into birth work. I became a certified birth doula in 2020 and started working at Trillium House when it opened.
In 2023, I became Assistant Director of Services for Trillium House and love being able to help families utilize this beautiful house for their sacred births. I think it is so important that families feel empowered and safe when they enter their birthing space and it is such an honor to be able to come alongside them. I find it an enormous privilege to be invited into people’s birth stories as they entrust me to be a part of such an intimate event in their lives.
I married my husband, Akeriam, in 2014 and together we have four amazing children; Harrison, Scarlett, Elias, and Hazel. I love taking care of my many house plants and eating sushi and spending most days hanging out with my huge extended family.