JOPPPAH Editorial Team

Editor in Chief: Christiana Rebelle, PhD

Christiana Rebelle is a perinatal health consultant and researcher dedicated to educating fitness and medical professionals about pre-and peri-natal nutrition, exercise, and behavioral health. For nearly 20 years, she was a health coach for pregnant women and new mothers. Christiana also wrote extensively on prenatal health and provided seminars and workshops in her community. Her doctoral research examined pregnant women's health beliefs and behaviors, emphasizing the inequities and inadequate care that can lead to adverse outcomes for women and children in the South. Subsequent analysis looked at the impact of provider counseling on prenatal physical activity and sedentary behavior. Christiana is currently developing coursework for medical professionals to improve health literacy and communication between patients and providers. On the weekends, she can usually be found outdoors with her wife and three young children.

Managing Editor: Jess Kimball, PMH-C, CLC she/her

Jess is a full-spectrum doula, lactation counselor, and “Jane of all trades” trained in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. She holds a PMH-C from Postpartum Support International. Jess is trained in EFT tapping and Reiki I and II. She is an author of multiple books and a writer for Robyn, Every Moo, and Global Foundation for Girls.

 

Jess is passionate about birth justice and accessible care. She was first introduced to reproductive and birth justice as a young child when hearing the stories of her mother’s births. Her personal journey with infertility, gender discrimination, and sexual violence has fueled a personal journey of growth and healing that inevitably led to a career in reproductive and birth justice.

Jess comes from a large family of seven children and grew up surrounded by birth. This led her to become a doula at sixteen and eventually joining the staff at the National Midwifery Institute. She has produced webinars and documentaries on birth justice and the Midwives Model of Care and has traveled to colleges guest speaking about disparities in birth and postpartum care in America. When working directly with families she loves to provide education around fertility, babywearing, lactation, and biologically normal infant sleep.

Her career background has been diverse, having traveled the world training with providers and supporting families in Hawaii, the East Coast of the United States, Europe, Canada, and Central America. Jess is dedicated to learning and growing, always. She is currently completing a bachelor’s in Psychological Science at Vermont State University. She is focused on reproductive psychology, social justice, public policy, and gender studies.

Associate/Copy Editor - Ekaterina Cupelin, PhD

Ekaterina is the Director and Head of Research at the Postnatal Support Network in The Netherlands. With a diverse background, she has served as a Teaching Assistant at the IHEID Graduate Institute of International and Developmental Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, a Consultant for UNICEF, an English Language Instructor in Bulgaria, a Project Manager for the ACORN Foundation in Mumbai, India, and Manager and Legal Assistant at a law firm in New York, NY, USA. Her academic achievements include a PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from the Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science degree in Children’s Rights from Universiteit Van Amsterdam in The Netherlands and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Middlebury College in Middlebury, USA. Ekaterina is not only an accomplished author but also a Birth, Postnatal, and Bereavement Doula, a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, and an international volunteer in multiple countries.

Associate Editor: Thomas Verny, MD, DPsych, DHL (Hon), FRCPC, FAPAM

Thomas R. Verny is a psychiatrist, writer and academic. After publishing his book, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child (1981), he founded the Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Association of North America (PPPANA) in 1983 (renamed APPPAH in 1995) and served as its president for eight years. In 1986 he launched the Association's Journal (JOPPPAH), which he edited until 1990 and continues to serve on the JOPPPAH Editorial Board. Thomas continues to lecture and lead workshops on Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Psychotherapy through-out Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. He is a member of the Ontario Review Board (ORB).