Executive Staff

Sara Pearce RN CNM IBCLC

Sara is the founder of Amma Maternity, as well as Director of Education. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and a Masters of Science in Nursing from Yale University. A Registered Nurse since 1995 and Certified Nurse-Midwife since 1997, Sara practiced OB nursing and midwifery in North Carolina and Minnesota until 2001, when she shifted focus to education. She founded Amma Maternity in 2007 to bring the New Mama Class to new mothers and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. As the business grows, she still maintains a commitment to spending time in the classroom with new mothers.

 

Terri Hafner

Terri is Amma Maternity's Director of Operations.   Terri's background spans retail management, merchandising, retail consulting, business startup, and art. She is the whiz behind our retail boutique's "cute" factor and keeps Amma running smoothly.

Teaching Staff

Amma Maternity runs on the brain power of our talented group of expert-moms!

Lori Connelly ICCE

Lori, an ICEA Certified Childbirth Educator, has been teaching prenatal classes since 2000. She has an education background and also works in the patient education department at Park Nicollet. Mom to: Kirsten, Patrick and William.

Sue Dinapoli

Sue has been teaching the breastfeeding course since 2005. Her professional history spans a master's degree in education to teaching at the high school and middle school levels. Mom to: Olivia, Lucas, and Cordelia.

 

Missy Duffy RN

Missy has been a Registered Nurse since 1992 and has a master's degree in nursing.  Her professional history includes labor/delivery/postpartum nursing and administration, as well as prenatal education.  Mom to: Keegan, Finnegan and Macgregor.

 

Cari Hatcher ICCE

Cari has been teaching birth and new parent education since 1999 as an ICEA Certified Childbirth Educator. Her professional career is in marketing. Mom to: Zach and Calvin.

 

Melissa Helland RN

Melissa has been a Registered Nurse since 1999. She has worked in pediatrics, family medicine, travel medicine, urgent care and OB/GYN, and infertility. Mom to: Mirabelle.

 

Missy Lodermeier RNC

 A Registered Nurse since 1997, Missy has worked as a labor and delivery nurse since 1998 and has taught prenatal classes since 2005. Mom to: Lucas and Derrick.

 

Lisa Mosing RN

Lisa has worked as a Registered Nurse since 1998.  Her nursing experience includes cardiology and employee health.  She worked as a labor and delivery nurse from 2003 to 2009 for the Family Birth Center at Methodist Hospital.  Mom to Ava and Kellen.

 

Sara Pearce RN CNM IBCLC

Sara is a Registered Nurse, Certified Nurse-Midwife and Board Certified Lactation Consultant. In 2002 she left the delivery room for the classroom, and founded Amma Maternity in 2007. Mom to: David, Caroline, and Bennett.

 

Suzy Watson RN

Suzy began caring for women as a Registered Midwife in Great Britian. After coming to the US she has worked as a Registered Nurse in labor and delivery and in the OB clinic setting. Mom to: Oscar and Ena.

 

Susan Hagel

Susan has been teaching American Sign Language for over 30 years. She specializes in teaching parents and care givers how to sign with their hearing babies.

 

Jen Wareham RN

Jen is a Registered Nurse in labor, delivery and postpartum at Methodist Hospital. She is also a Certified HypnoBirthing Educator under the Mongan Method.

 

Leah Drury

Leah Drury is a certified Music Together instructor and has been teaching the internationally recognized program since 2005. Pre-motherhood she worked in health care management of OB/GYN clinics. She is proud that Sara Pearce caught her first-born child! Mom to: Aidan and Hadley. 

Board of Advisors

At Amma Maternity, we believe that parents seek and deserve only the most trustworthy information about birth, babies, and parenthood. To ensure quality of information, we rely on our Advisory Board to review our written materials and course content.

Through this multidisciplinary team we are proud to be at the forefront of birth and family education.

Andrea Messina MD

Dr Messina is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist in practice at Park Nicollet. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Assistant Professor of Obestrics and Gynecology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

 

Stefan Kramarczuk MD

Dr Kramarczuk is a board-certified Pediatrician in practice at Metropolitan Pediatrics. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Adjunct faculty in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

 

Jesse Kuendig LGSW

Jesse is a licensed graduate social worker in practice at the Women’s Mental Health Program at Hennepin County Medical Center.  She also serves on the board of Jenny’s Light, a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness of perinatal mood disorders. Mom to: one daughter.

 

Heather Sullivan RN

Heather is a Registered Nurse in Labor and Delivery at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Mom to: Margaret, Joey and Sean.

 

Sieglinde Peterson MD

Dr Peterson practices family medicine at Park Nicollet. Mom to: Tasman. 

 

Laurie Denn MA

Laurie is the Coordinator of the Edina Family Center. She is a licensed parent educator and has worked with children and families for over 20 years. She has an undergraduate degree in the classics from the University of Notre Dame and a graduate degree in Community Education from the University of St. Thomas.  Laurie is married and is mom to three children—a 21 year old college senior, a 14 year old son, and a 10 year old daughter.