Rebecca Polston
Midwife, Owner, Executive Director
Rebecca (she/her) is a practicing midwife and the owner and director of Roots Community Birth Center. She has a passion for building the Roots community and creating a safe space for all birthing families. She has been in practice as a midwife since 2011 and involved in professional birth work for over a decade. She loves providing nurturing grounding care. She and her husband have 3 children, 2 of whom were born at home. She loves horses, her dog and reading.
Rachel Voigt
Midwife, Clinical Director
Rachel Voigt (she/her) is a Certified Professional Midwife and Licensed Midwife who has been practicing in Minnesota since 2016. She is a graduate from Birthwise Midwifery School and practiced in home birth and reproductive care in Duluth prior to joining the Roots' team. Rachel believes in the importance of evidence-based, individualized care and respects the fact that each family, birth, and baby are unique in their needs and experiences. She lives in North Minneapolis with her partner, daughter, and goofy dog and enjoys gardening and drinking too much coffee.
Kaitie Moore
Practice Manager
Kaitie (she/her) is the Practice Manager at Roots. Kaitie is a mom of three who has always had a passion for pregnancy, labor and birth. When she saw a birth center had opened up in her very own community, she was determined to be involved in any way possible. Life agreed, and shortly after she found herself pregnant with her third. The care she received at Roots was incomparable to that received with her first two. This further fueled her dream to someday work with midwives on a professional level! When her Roots baby entered kindergarten Kaitie found her way back to Roots as the practice manager. Her extensive background in administration, relentless organizational skills, and love of good conversation - especially involving pregnancy and birth - made her a perfect fit for Roots. With Kaitie behind the scene, you can count on a warm welcome, thorough communication, and a staff eager to provide you with the best care possible.
When she is not at Roots, she is most likely on her kayak, heading up north to play in the woods, baking cookies or hibernating and longing for warmer weather.
Willa Campbell
Staff Midwife
Willa Campbell (she/her) is a Certified Nurse Midwife and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner who has been practicing since 2014. Since graduating from the Yale School of Nursing she has practiced in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, attending home and hospital births while offering primary and reproductive health care. Willa is excited to continue her work as a midwife in the midwest with the community at Roots. In her care, Willa balances intuition with a deep knowledge base to meet people where they are; providing support and respecting autonomy. Willa lives with her husband and two kids in Saint Paul; she heartily welcomes recommendations of hiking spots and restaurants!
Mandi Pittman
Staff Midwife & Childbirth Educator
Mandi (she/her) is a MN Licensed Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife who has been practicing since 2016. She is a graduate from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery and practiced in Gainesville, FL, in a home-birth setting prior to moving to the Twin Cities in 2018. Having birthed both of her children out-of-hospital under the care of midwives, Mandi is a firm believer in natural, physiologic birth. She is most passionate about respecting each family's unique circumstances and autonomy while providing empathetic, evidence-based care. Outside of clinical practice, Mandi enjoys spending quality time with her two girls, live music, outdoor adventures, and discovering new restaurants. She is a Gainesville, FL native and always appreciates chats about the glorious (if somewhat obnoxious) Florida heat, alligators, swamps, manatees, and springs!
Shala Brooks
Clinic & Birth Assistant
Shala (she/her) grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Rasmussen in 2019 with her diploma as a Medical Assistant. She has been working in healthcare since age 16 and worked her way up into OB-GYN clinics in 2019 and enjoys getting to know clients in clinic. She is looking forward to the continuity of care her role at Roots will allow. Shala has a background in wound care and provides excellent clinical care to all clients, in particular when it comes to wound/venipuncture healing. When not at work she enjoys spending time with her partner and dog, Suge.
Ashtyn Silva
Student Midwife
A Minnesota native, Ashtyn (she/her) has been a student midwife since 2018, studying through Southwest Wisconsin Technical College's direct entry midwife program and apprenticing with various midwives throughout Minnesota. In a world where today's mainstream birth culture is largely medicalized, Ashtyn is passionate about: functional pregnancy and birth, providing holistic, wellness-based care, and empowering birthing persons to realize their own strength through the transformative experience of birth. Ashtyn is a wife and mom of two. Her first birth was a wonderful experience at Roots Community Birth Center, and her second was a planned home birth with a licensed community midwife. Being a Brazilian American family, Ashtyn and her littles are continually practicing Portuguese, although she most often listens more than she speaks in every language. Outside of clinic and studying, she enjoys delicious Brazilian, Italian, and Mexican food, endless "mom-ing things," and outdoor activities in every season.
te’jah fields
Clinic & Birth Assistant
Te’Jah (she/her) has been a medical assistant since 2019 working alongside midwives and OBs. During this time her passion for pregnancy and childbirth was ignited. Through working in the clinic Te’Jah was able to do more and though she was a part of folks’ pregnancy journeys she was not able to experience birth and exhibit her strong abilities to comfort and support during the labor journey. She is beyond thrilled to be a part of this amazing group of midwives and to join the Roots Community Birth Center family! She personally had a midwife with the birth of her son who is now 6 years old and feels the magic midwives provide is astonishing! She looks forward to opportunities to provide the additional support needed during this special moment.
Photo credit for staff photos: Josephine Miller and Rachel Voigt