Certified Nurse Midwives

Toni Westphal, Director of midwifery, aprn, cnm

Toni grew up mainly in Wisconsin, but married a Minnesotan, so the children have been raised in both places. She started in OB early in her nursing career and soon found the passion that drives her today. Toni received her B.S. in Nursing from Winona State University in 1997 and her M.S. in midwifery from the University of Minnesota in 2010. She knows that God has given women amazing capabilities. Honoring and promoting this as much as possible led her down the midwifery path with a healthy respect to use the wisdom given us to identify the more uncommon complications in pregnancy and childbirth and respond safely. She has witnessed this numerous times during her 13 years of nursing and seven years of midwifery service prior to arriving here at the Minnesota Birth Center. Midwifery also allowed her to focus on women’s health which directly affects the woman, family, community, and world. She enjoys this aspect of care, too. She has had the opportunity to partner with women and families from all walks of life and feels completely enriched by it.

Toni has been blessed with a supportive partner, Darin, of over 20 years, whom she credits for strengthening her and their family. They have two wonderful daughters, Hope and Chloe, who are growing way too quickly and starting to get out on their own in very different ways. Her mother, GG, is also under her care and a large part of her life. The other members of the family, their three dogs Tucker, Addie, and Chowder, also fulfill them and keep them busy. The family enjoys traveling, biking, lake life, and great eats. Toni is also a bit of a novice carpenter and always likes to have a project.

For Toni, the Minnesota Birth Center feels like home professionally and spiritually, offering healthcare in a safe, peaceful and loving place.

Kerry Horton, APRN, CNM

Kerry’s decision to become a midwife was the result of a fortunate happenstance, but has lead to the most incredible adventures! Kerry grew up overseas, spending most of her formative years in Dubai. After college, she worked with Peace Corps in Rwanda where she found her passion for midwifery, witnessing the most simple, but awe-inspiring moment in a woman’s life. Kerry returned to the states again, where she completed her degree to become a midwife at Frontier Nursing University.

Kerry’s path to Minneapolis has gone through a birth center in Boise, Idaho and the regional hospital in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. She is excited about the chance to provide holistic, family-centered care to the incredible women of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The city has allowed Kerry a chance to get involved in everything from theater to baseball games, restaurants to book clubs. She’s looking forward to do more exploring with friends and family.

Lori Geller, APRN, CNM

Lori began her journey in the amazing world of women’s health as a young teen volunteer at a local hospital in the nursery and labor/postpartum units. She continued to pursue this passion for birth and babies by earning degrees at the College of St. Benedict in Spanish, the University of Minnesota in Nursing, and eventually again at the U of M in Nurse Midwifery (all the while working in Labor & Delivery as a nursing assistant and then a labor nurse).

Lori is a midwife with over 14 years of experience in hospital and out of hospital birth. She takes great pleasure in helping women to discover the normalcy of pregnancy and birth. She is driven to help women achieve the most desirable and educated wellness and birth experience. She loves teaching women of all ages and connects especially well with teenagers. Discussions on contraception, ultrasound technology and just connecting on a personal level are all things she’s blessed to be able to incorporate every day into her midwifery work. When at home Lori enjoys traveling, cooking, boating, entertaining guests, and being active within their faith community. She is blessed with a supportive husband, boy/girl twins and numerous “bonus” children that have blessed her home through foster care.

Katie Sandell, APRN, CNM

Katie S. brings over 30 years of experience working with women and babies in clinic, hospital, home, and birth center settings to the Minnesota Birth Center. While pregnancy, birth and babies are all miracles, she became a midwife because she wanted to offer women and families gentle, attentive, and evidence-based care during such an important time in their lives. She frequently finds herself in awe as she sees women find their own powerful, intuitive ways through their pregnancy, birthing and life transitions. “Women are amazing!” she says.

Katie moved from Minneapolis to Duluth in 1998 with her young family, and now travels from Duluth back to the Twin Cities to serve the Minnesota Birth Center community. She loves Duluth and all the wildness and gorgeous serenity of the nearby woods and waters. “It feeds my spirit!” she says. She describes herself as a happy mom, wife and midwife, and a proud Minnesota native who gained both her nursing and midwifery degrees from the University of Minnesota.

Kara Gebhard, APRN, CNM

Kara was born and raised in Minnesota and after traveling all over the world, couldn’t find a better place to call home. She has been working with families in a variety of ways since 2007: for over a decade as a labor and delivery nurse and now as a midwife.

Kara believes strongly in the power of autonomy of families during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum transition. She believes that a “good birth” is one where families receive safe, evidenced-based care where they are respected and able to communicate their family choices freely with their care team.

Her home consists of two kids, two dogs, one husband, and a wonderful network of family and friends. She is excited to be a part of the incredible community of birth workers that the Twin Cities offers.

Aubrey Monson, APRN, CNM

Aubrey grew up in the Twin Cities and is proud to call St. Paul home. Aubrey spent her undergraduate career at the U of M and Bethel University where she received her BSN. After having children of her own, she realized the profound impact pregnancy and birth have on a woman’s life. This was instrumental in her decision to go back to school to become a midwife. She earned her Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery at Bethel University in St. Paul. She has enjoyed providing care to women in the birth center, home birth, and hospital setting.

Aubrey believes in empowering women and she prioritizes building trusting relationships with those in her care. She highly values providing thorough education so that women have the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Providing health care that is both holistic and evidence-based is a priority for her. Aubrey is grateful for the opportunity to be a caring and supportive provider during some of life’s most transformative moments.

When she’s not at work, Aubrey enjoys spending time with family and friends. She has fun baking, traveling, rock climbing, and biking. She looks forward to partnering with our patients in their care!

Jillian De Moya, APRN, CNM

Jillian learned about the midwifery model of care from the midwives at the Maternity Center Association Birth Center in NYC during her first pregnancy. Her childbearing years ignited a passion for normal, physiologic birth, and the rights of birthing people to be respected participants in their care.

She realized her calling to midwifery while working as a doula and childbirth educator in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas at Holy Family Services Birth Center. Her advocacy for safe birth options includes bringing awareness of maternity care issues to communities with the play Birth! This documentary-style play tells the stories of eight birth experiences, including her own.

After graduating from Goshen College with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Jillian worked as a
labor and delivery nurse while she got her Master of Science in Midwifery from Thomas Jefferson University. Jillian has attended births in hospitals, homes, and birth centers and is committed to community options for childbirth. She loves partnering with people in their health and reproductive journeys and is passionate about dismantling systems of injustice that uphold health disparities and inequalities. She believes that every birthing person, their partners, and their family, deserve inclusive, respectful care. Jillian is excited to be living in the Twin Cities. She enjoys exploring new places, learning about new things, music, and the arts. She loves how theatre, especially musical theatre, provides a space that allows people to explore new ideas. More than anything, she loves interacting with her grown children and is always eager to see in what new ways she will learn about the world from them!

Ann Groonwald, APRN, CNM

While she may not be a native to Minnesota, Minnesota holds a special place in her heart as it is where she met her husband and is the birthplace of her 3 children. While growing up, Ann moved frequently to many different states, which contributed to her appreciation of cultural

diversity. As a provider, she strives to empower the families she serves through education, support, and shared decision making. Her goal is to provide gentle, compassionate, holistic care to all.

Ann’s midwifery journey began in her teens after she was inspired by a group of midwives she
had the pleasure of working with. She graduated with her B.S. in Nursing degree from
Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2005 and continued to work as a labor and delivery
nurse for the next 14 years.

After expanding her family, she returned to school and graduated with a Master of Science in Midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in 2019. For the past 3 years, she has worked at a
birth center in Southern California. She is excited to be back to the Twin Cities community and
is honored to serve the families at the Minnesota Birth Center.

Outside of work, Ann enjoys traveling, hiking, crocheting, quilting, and spending time with her
husband, 3 children, 2 dogs, and guinea pig.

Misti Borgestad, APRN, CNM, FNP

Misti grew up in Minnesota and throughout the years has lived in Wisconsin, Florida, Iowa, and California. She enjoys living a life of adventure and caring for others on the journey. She graduated with a BA in Nursing at St. Olaf College in 1993 and worked as an RN in Postpartum and Nursery care. While working as an RN, she also became a mother of 3 sons. Her 3rd pregnancy she was fortunate to have care from a midwife, and from then on, she realized she wanted to provide other women with the same compassionate and empowering care. She went back to school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner at Florida State University in 2010 and loved her time serving families in Family Medicine, but her calling into midwifery was confirmed after a medical mission’s trip to the Philippines with Mercy in Action where she had the opportunity to provide prenatal, postpartum, and newborn care for families. She received her Post Graduate Certification in Midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in 2010 and became a Certified Nurse Midwife. She was at the California Birth Center for almost 2 years, and then couldn’t stay away from the Midwest any longer. She is thrilled to be back home near her family. Misti has an amazing and supportive husband, 3 sons, 2 daughters-in-law, and one baby granddaughter!

She feels so honored and thankful to serve women and families on this sacred journey and believes women are powerful and amazing! She desired to protect and support physiologic birth and empower women through all stages of their lives. She is known to be gentle, nurturing, and compassionate. She enjoys reading, going on coffee dates, hiking, e-biking, and spending time with her friends and family.