Meet Our Midwives & Birth Assistants
Abrie Koupal, CNM, MSN
Midwife, Co-Owner & Clinical Director
Abrie (she/her) attended a friend’s birth in 2009 and the experience changed her forever. Leaving a career in cross-cultural education to pursue midwifery, Abrie became The Birth Center of Boulder’s first Student Midwife in 2015 and joined staff as a midwife soon after. Empowering families during this life-changing journey and sending them off into parenthood with the confidence that comes from surrendering to the humbling strength and wisdom within their bodies is, and always will be, a deep honor. She also loves having the opportunity to offer continuity of care as clients return for annual visits. Still an active part of the midwife team, Abrie now also serves as BBHH’s Clinical Director, and relishes endless opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, and communication amongst the clinical team. As co-owner of BBHH, Abrie is eager to expand health services to better serve the community and to safeguard this unique model of care for years to come. When not working, she can be found playing in the mountains with her entrepreneurial husband, son and daughter (both born at BCOB), and Kyrgyz street dog.
Cheryl Furer, RM, CPM, CHom
Midwife
Cheryl (she/her) is a Certified Professional Midwife and Certified Homeopath (CHom), blending clinical expertise with holistic wellness to foster a healthy and balanced childbearing year. With a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery and a Master of Art in Resilient Leadership, she helps ensure the prenatal journey is safe and empowering for clients. Beyond healthcare, you'll often find her exploring Colorado's stunning mountains, crafting delicious vegan treats in her kitchen, studying native bees or tending to her garden. These passions mirror her love for nurturing life in all its forms. What drives her is the joy of helping families welcome new life into the world, fostering informed decision-making, and empowerment.
Courtney Hein, CNM, MSN
Midwife
Courtney (she/her) has worked with families for 15 years, first as a L&D nurse and now as a Certified Nurse Midwife. In the hospital setting, Courtney advocated for evidence-based, person-centered care, resulting in policy changes and nurse trainings at two local hospitals to improve cesarean birth care. Courtney worked as a nurse at The Birth Center of Boulder while in midwifery school and is thrilled to return as a midwife as the center transitions to Boulder Birth & Holistic Health! Courtney’s journey as a mother started 17 years ago, and although she did not receive the care she needed, this experience shaped her passion for supporting women and families. She practices trauma-informed care and prioritizes mental health. Prior to joining BBHH, Courtney traveled regularly to provide critically needed midwifery care at Pine Ridge Reservation, Oglala Lakota Nation. Courtney lives in Longmont with her husband, two teenage sons, two dogs and a cat. She enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, hiking and paddle boarding.
Kathryn “Kat” Manchester, CNM, MSN
Midwife
Kat (she/her) began her journey into birth work as a nurse in the emergency department. She loved taking care of pregnant people- something not typical of ED nurses! Kat serendipitously caught a baby in the ER and then she was hooked. She transferred to L&D for several years and then became a midwife in 2018. Kat has enjoyed providing midwifery care for diverse populations: from rural and high risk clients to elite athletes to immigrants. Kat believes it is a true honor to welcome babes Earthside, but even more, it is creating long lasting and trusting relationships with families that is truly at the heart of Kat’s work. She is also passionate about providing whole-person gender affirming primary and gyn care. When not at work you will find Kat out at a park with her two little boys and husband, cycling, hiking and indulging in all-you-can-eat sushi.
Bry Kring, CNM, FNP, MSN
Midwife & Family Nurse Practitioner
A Boulder, CO native, Bry (she/her) trained as a midwife in the United States and Latin America, from interning at a birthing center on the border of Juarez to learning from Mayan Midwives in the highlands of Guatemala, to high-risk hospital settings. She has witnessed birth in many of its different forms and settings and honors the deeply transformative and uniting force that it is, for all those involved. In addition to providing midwifery care, Bry is also a Family Nurse Practitioner and excitedly offers integrative and functional primary care and menopausal support at BBHH. Bry is also a Craniosacral practitioner. Bry works creatively to find what best meets the needs and desires of each client in a safe, individualized, and holistic way. She is committed to increasing access to midwifery care for all people and building a stronger community around empowered and individualized birth and health care. In her free time, Bry is a watercolorist and writer, loves being in nature, teaches yoga, rides her motorcycle and gets her hands dirty in the garden. She speaks both English and Spanish.
Adrienne Leeds, RM, CPM
Midwife & Birth Assistant
Adrienne (she/her) is a midwife and herbalist who has supported women in health and birth for over 25 years. After numerous people told her she had “midwife energy,” she heeded the calling. Adrienne has studied birth, women’s health, and body work with Wise Womanhood, The Matrona, The Association of Texas Midwives, Ysha Oakes, Ruth Shepard, and Dr. Rosita Arvigo. She graduated from the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies’ clinical herbalism program in 2001 and is a married mother of two home-birthed children. Adrienne currently runs a homebirth practice and also supports families in the birth center setting. When not attending births or making placenta medicine, you can find her in the garden or out hiking and wildcrafting.
Amanda Coslor, RM, CPM
Midwife & Birth Assistant
Amanda Jane Coslor (she/her) has been a Certified Professional Midwife since 2008 holding licenses in California, Wisconsin and now currently in Colorado. Her initial training began at a birth center on the border of Juarez and El Paso, Texas. She worked in both rural and urban settings, serving the Amish in Wisconsin then settling in San Francisco where most of her midwifery practice was in homebirth serving the Bay area community. Amanda lived in San Francisco for over 20 years, moving with a very blended family to Boulder in 2017 to be near her mom and sisters. Amanda has fallen in love with the beauty of the front range and its people, and is thrilled to return to midwifery practice after dedicating years in the broader movement of reproductive health and birth justice. She respects and believes in the body and is honored to be a trusted support in peoples’ birth processes. When not at BBHH, Amanda is walking her dogs, hanging out with her teenagers, writing, cooking, or wildcrafting.
Margie McSweeney, RM, RN, CPM
Midwife & Birth Assistant
Margie (she/her) has worked in maternal/child healthcare as both a RN & midwife since 1980. She has been an active team member in hospital, birth center & home settings in Boulder, Colorado since 2000, weaving medical, traditional, and natural perspectives while supporting women and families with holistic, patient-centered care throughout her career. Supporting and educating families to meet their individual needs has been and continues to be an important aspect of her approach as a healthcare provider. Margie is also a yoga instructor, Reiki healer, mother, and grandmother.
Dori Shiovitz, RN, MSN
Nurse & Birth Assistant
Dori (she/her) is deeply invested in delivering comprehensive, inclusive reproductive and sexual health care that addresses clients’ diverse needs. Inspired by her love of caring for others and travel, Dori pursued a nursing career to provide healthcare to resource-limited communities both locally and abroad. Her participation in international medical missions highlighted the immense need for improving maternal and newborn health outcomes worldwide. Dori lives in Boulder with her husband and their sweet black lab, and has an adult daughter living in DC. When not at BBHH, she can be found on global health missions, advocating for reproductive rights and safe abortion care, or exploring the outdoors on hiking, backpacking, or trekking adventures.