Andrea Dykstra

Registered Midwife

Andrea has been practicing in Victoria as a Registered Midwife since she graduated from the UBC Midwifery program in 2013. She has enjoyed the holistic nature of midwifery care, its ability to adapt to suit the individual woman and family for whom she cares for. Andrea enjoys the strong relationships that are built through one to one care with clients and families throughout the continuum of the perinatal period, from the first trimester of pregnancy to motherhood.

In addition to her Midwifery degree, Andrea has a university degree in Psychology and philosophy from UBC. In between studies, she has travelled Asia extensively and lived in India and Nepal for several years studying world religion and natural traditional forms of medicine. Andrea loves the incredible natural beauty of Victoria and feel so grateful to live on such a majestic island.

Ilana Stanger-Ross

Registered Midwife

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Ilana has been lucky enough to call Victoria home since 2005, when she began studying midwifery at the University of British Columbia. In addition to her midwifery training, Ilana holds a BA in History from Columbia University (New York) and an MA in English/Creative Writing from Temple University (Philadelphia) and is the author of “A is for Advice (The Reassuring Kind): Wisdom for Pregnancy” (Harper Collins: 2019).

Ilana has a deep interest in medicine and feminism, which merge, for her, in the practice of midwifery. She has spent the last several years immersed in the joys and challenges of pregnancy and parenting as both a clinician and a mother, and feels immensely privileged to be part of such an important time in the lives of pregnant people and their families.

Sarah Atkinson

Registered Midwife

Sarah has been a practicing midwife since graduating from the UBC Midwifery program in 2012. Her passion is providing client-centered, evidence-based care to childbearing families, both in Victoria and internationally. She considers herself extremely lucky to be able to provide midwifery care in beautiful Victoria, her home town.

Away from Victoria, Sarah has spent significant time working internationally as a midwife with Doctors Without Borders, most recently in Syria. She appreciates the opportunity in these settings to use her brain in a very different way, with a view to the overall reproductive health needs of a whole community.

Sarah maintains that the only thing nicer than leaving for an exciting new mission abroad is coming home to her lovely clients and colleagues at The Midwives Collective.

Frances Millerd

Registered Midwife

The story of a birth is something you remember for the rest of your life. Frances wanted to be a midwife to help make that the best story it can be. She see her job as a way to help build healthy, thriving families through the transformative time of pregnancy, birth and new parenthood. After four years of practice in Vancouver, Frances is excited to join Ilana and Sarah at the The Midwives Collective and meet all the families in care.

Frances trained through the UBC Midwifery program, graduating in 2014 after three clinical placements in BC and one in Uganda. In her spare time she works as a board member on the College of Midwives of BC. She loves to cook, paint, and spend time with her nieces and nephews. Frances grew up on Saltspring Island. Before becoming a midwife, she studied Communications and worked in TV and documentary film.

Jody Medernach

Registered Midwife

Jody is committed to birthing people and witnessing the unfolding story that follows them in their journey to parenthood. She adores seeing families – in whatever form that takes- being born along with their baby.

In addition to being a midwife, Jody is a mom to two teenagers and is the Vice-President of the Midwives Association of BC. She sits on several committees including the Canadian Association of Midwives Board. Prior to becoming a midwife, Jody earned her BA from the University of Regina and her MPA from the University of Victoria and spent several years working for the provincial government. Jody is a founding member of The Midwives Collective but is currently on leave. In her spare time Jody can be found gardening, canning or researching social media topics for the Collective.

Carrie Ellert

Registered Midwife

Carrie completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing at the University of Calgary and worked for 14 years as a Pediatric Intensive Care nurse, where she also held education and leadership positions, prior to earning her midwifery degree at the University of British Columbia.

Growing up on a family farm in rural Alberta, Carrie observed the bond formed between various farm animals and their newborns and the community it took to grow them. Her path to midwifery began as a witness to the courage, strength and triumph of birth.

Carrie feels that it is an honour and privilege to continue to be in relationship with birth and to support the growth of families in the community of Victoria.

Jill Pearman

Registered Midwife

Originally from Toronto Ontario, Jill has been a practicing midwife in Victoria since 2001. Jill finds joy in the experience of developing relationships with each of her clients, which she believes is integral to providing skilled and sensitive maternity care. Jill is grateful for the meaningful work she has a midwife, and for the opportunity to assist in the birth of strong healthy families.

In addition to her clinical practice, Jill has been actively involved in the integration of Midwifery services in BC since 1995, and continues to focus her work on advocacy and leadership for the profession. Jill is currently the Midwifery Division Head in Victoria, Department Head for Midwifery for the Island, as well as the Maternity Medical Lead at Victoria General Hospital. Jill is passionate about promoting inter-disciplinary teamwork to ensure that clients receive the best possible care during their pregnancy, birthing and postpartum journey.

Jill also holds a BA in Women’s and Environmental Studies (University of Victoria), and has a keen interest in herbal medicine and complimentary therapies. When Jill is not busy with midwifery – she enjoys singing, cycling, and gardening.

Julia Young

Office Manager

Julia has been the office manager for The Midwives Collective for the past three years. She is also a trained doula and a homeopathic practitioner with a specific interest in birth and early childhood. Julia has taught at Pacific Rim College and attended many workshops on birth related issues. She holds a BA in anthropology and prior to joining The Midwives Collective spent many years teaching fine arts to children.