Ami Burns
 Ami teaches Intro to Birth Options, Childbirth, and Comfort Measures for Labor classes for Adeline's Room. She is a DONA International Certified Doula, Lamaze International Certified Childbirth Educator and a Fellow in the American Academy of Childbirth Educators whose warm, non-judgmental style has helped countless women make informed choices about their birth experiences. She is well respected by members of the medical community (many doctors and nurses take her classes) as well as parents favoring an alternative approach to birth. Ami has a B.S. in Mass Communication from Emerson College. She combines her love of birth and media by writing articles for PregnancyandBaby.com and producing award-winning birth education videos. She and her husband are the proud parents of two sons. For more information, please visit www.birthtalk.com.
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Naomi Cymbalski
 Naomi Cymbalski moderates Nanny Talks at Adeline’s Room, a discussion- based group for mothers considering or working with nannies. Naomi has eighteen years of childcare experience, beginning with work at day care centers throughout her teenage years. She became a full-time nanny seven years ago, and has worked for six different families, often caring for two or more families simultaneously.
Naomi specializes in working with infants and toddlers, and her passion has always been “to care for children to the best of her ability, raising them to become intelligent, strong, and compassionate individuals.” Her current interest is strengthening the mother-nanny relationship to create a peaceful atmosphere for nanny, mother and child.
Naomi is currently attending courses to obtain her Bachelors in Early Childhood Education while also working with a local Evanston family. Naomi is also working on a book entitled To Raise a Nation. You can catch glimpses of the book’s topics at toraiseanation.blogspot.com.
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Roxann Ferguson
 Roxann teaches Story and Song I and Story and Song II classes for Adeline's Room. Roxann Ferguson, An active performer in opera and music theatre, she received a Master of Music degree in Music Theatre: Opera Performance from Arizona State University, and bachelor’s degrees in both Vocal Performance and Anthropology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Recent engagements include Frou Frou in Mitislav the Modern with Chicago Folks Operetta, the Sandman and Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel with Village Players Theatre in Oak Park, and Die Fledermaus with Music by the Lake. In Arizona, Roxann performed feature roles in productions ranging from Dialogues of the Carmelites to Oklahoma! Internationally, she performed in Salzburg, Austria, as Sandrina in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera and as a soprano soloist in selections from Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Requiem, as well as appearing in concerts in Urbania, Italy. Roxann has received awards from the Bel Canto Italian Opera Contest in Chicago and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, and a Monticello Archaeological Scholarship from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. In addition to performing, Roxann enjoys teaching voice lessons, musical theatre classes, children’s theatre, and early childhood music.
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Vanessa Knoedler
Dr. Knoedler teaches the Before and After Guide class at Adeline’s Room. Vanessa is an MD in Obstetrics and Gynecology and has delivered over 500 babies! She arrives at Adeline’s Room with a BA in Biochemistry and French dual degrees (women’s health education in French anyone?) from Swarthmore College. She studied at Harvard Medical School doing research in neonatal neuropathology and SIDS etiology, she received her MD at New York Medical College and she is currently fulfilling her Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center with a specialization in Robotic DaVinci Surgery.
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Ellen McManus
 Ellen teaches the Infant Calming and Massage class at Adeline’s Room. Ellen has a true passion for the wellness of mothers and their young children as illustrated by her 20-plus years in Maternal/Infant Education and Lactation. Ellen is a certified Lactation Educator, Childbirth Educator, and Postpartum Doula, and she received her certification in Infant Massage through the International Association of Infant Massage in 1999.
Ellen currently teaches a variety of classes at Prentice Women’s Hospital (a division of Northwestern Memorial Hospital), though she has a special love for Infant Massage in particular. She enjoys the intimate interactions between parent and baby during the sessions, describing it as “indeed a time to behold.”
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Jodie Shields
 Jodie teaches Nursery Design at Adeline's Room. She is the owner and founder of Home & Haven Designs,and has a degree in art history from Dartmouth College and in interior design from New York School of Interior Design. She was trained at Thom Filicia, Inc., a high-end design firm, where she specialized in both residential and hospitality design. Jodie has worked on projects including television makeovers for The Today Show and The View, a hotel renovation for the W Hotel in San Diego, apartments using only what the client owns, and residences for homeowners starting from scratch. Jodie is passionate about helping clients achieve great design on any budget.
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Donna Stanton
 Donna teaches our Intro to Breastfeeding class and has more than 30 years of experience in Maternal Child Health. She has been an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant for 13 years and currently conducts in-patient lactation consultations at a level 3 area hospital, dealing with a range of issues from basic breastfeeding to suck problems, multiple births and maternal breast issues. Donna has also been a Labor and Delivery staff nurse and a prenatal educator at two level 3 hospitals in the area.
Donna is a long-time Evanston resident and mother of three. Despite her many years of experience she still cannot believe she is so lucky as to help women breastfeed and regularly be a part of these “most exquisite first moments between new mothers and their babies.”
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