International Cesarean Awareness Network

Gretchen Humphries is the Advocacy Director for ICAN, the ICAN email list administrator, and co-leader of the ICAN of Ann Arbor Chapter. She is also a Veterinarian, working in emergency and critical care at the Animal ER Center in Southeastern Michigan. She has written extensively on birth topics and many of her essays can be found at Birth Matters. She’s the mother of 4 wonderful children and the wife of a man who realized how much they’d both lost with the cesarean, after his third child was born at home.She’s had one cesarean for breech twins and then 2 wonderful HBACs.

Dawn Kubik is the Development Director for ICAN and the Chapter Leader for ICAN of SW VA. As Chapter Leader she started the All About Birth Expo (to inform and empower women), which has become an annual event. She is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and served her country for 10 years. She is now a fitness instructor, Certified Personal Trainer and helps her husband with his jewelry store. Dawn became involved with ICAN after her second cesarean, both for supposed CPD. She has two beautiful children, with her third on the way.

Elaine serves as Secretary on ICAN’s Board of Directors and is Co-Leader of ICAN of Atlanta. She has been involved with ICAN since 2003. She is mother of 3 children, the first two born via cesarean and the last aVBAC after 2 cesareans.
 

Desirre joined the ICAN family in 2004 as a chapter leader.  The ICAN mission spoke to her immediately in a profound and very personally way as a 2VBA2C mother of 4 boys.  She wears many hats including: wife, mother, childbirth educator, labor doula, public speaker, volunteer and blogger.  Desirre’s deepest passion is working with and for the every woman and family having the right to choose the birth truly desired regardless of location or path.

Krista Cornish Scott is a classically trained musician with a graduate degree in voice who never imagined the turn her life would take when the planned homebirth of her first son turned to a cesarean for "CPD". She has worked extensively with ICAN as a Chapter Leader, Regional Co-ordinator, co-editor of "Cesarean Voices" and most recently as the Chapter Director on the International Board. Krista’s poems have been seen in Mothering, New Beginnings, the Compleat Mother and other publications, and her birth songs have been heard and sung by ICAN women all over the globe.

Lisa Houchins is the Education Director for ICAN and a co-leader for ICAN of Central Iowa. In her eclectic professional life, she has been a middle school science teacher and an actuarial analyst, and in 2004, she was promoted to the position of stay-at-home-mom. Lisa is a wife and mother of three children who were born by cesarean, CBAC, and VBA2C. In Lisa’s spare time, she reads birth blogs and medical research, hangs out with family and friends, plays bridge and tries to overcome her addiction to online Scrabble.

Maria Rojas is the International Director for ICAN, moderator of the Spanish Yahoo support list, editor of the eNoticias and Spanish translator for all things ICAN! . She is the mother of a beautiful two year old son and wife of a wonderfully supportive man.

Pam was elected President of ICAN in April 2007 after serving on the Board of Directors since 1999 (with a short hiatus in 2005-2006). Pam’s experience supporting, educating and encouraging moms who are recovering from cesareans and those who are searching for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) has kept her not only inspired but passionate in her continuing belief in women’s rights for birth. Pam’s first two children were born by cesarean while her last three were born vaginally. She was also the co-compiler of Cesarean Voices, a raw and honest look into the heartache and physical pain women deal with after a cesarean.

I have a daughter who arrived by c/s in
2002. The support and information which I gained
through ICAN has benefited me greatly since that time
and now I’m happy to have the opportunity to help ICAN
as MidLakes Regional Coordinator. I live in East Lansing, MI
with my daughter and my husband, as well as a Labrador
mix dog and an orange tabby cat.

Alison Spath is the ICAN Webmaster and Database Administrator.  She is a former Computer Programmer turned Stay at Home Mom with her two daughters, both born by cesarean.  Alison found ICAN in 2006 when planning her VBAC and became one of the Chapter Leaders of ICAN of Greater Rochester in 2007.