Johanna Joy (Jo)

A young woman smiling outdoors wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, black overalls, and a white tank top. She has a blue and purple butterfly tattoo on her cheek, green dangle earrings, and curly light brown hair. The background has green trees and a small white building.

Whether it was God or the Moon (or both), someone was tugging on my hair, because I bought my first midwifery textbook when I was 21 years old. Though that book wasn’t read until a few years later, I knew- I was going to be a midwife. Alongside that knowing came a quieter one: before beginning, I needed to grow spiritually and heal my relationship with my mother (both my real mother and an archetypal one).

This knowledge took me on quite an adventure. In 2021, after I completed my doula apprenticeship with my dear friend and mentor, Carissa Niemyer, in Colorado Springs, I attended a four-day wilderness fast with the School of Lost Borders. There, I wrote in my journal, “What does it mean to be in service to birth?”—a question I still carry. I then set out east in my partially built-out truck to reconnect with family, spend time with my grandmother near the end of her life, and attend a midwife’s assistant course at The Farm Midwifery Center. I learned so much, but I still wasn’t quite ready.

Utah came next, where I deepened in ceremony, learned how to truly show up for loved ones, studied herbalism with Sajah Popham at the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, and worked at Juniper Canyon, a women’s wilderness recovery program. Out there, I kept finding animal pelvises- reminders of birth, passage, and motherhood. My logo is a quiet nod to those gifts from the wild.

These experiences gave me the foundation I needed to jump into midwifery. In August of 2022, I moved to Oregon to apprentice with Eliza Spears at Klamath Birth Center. I learned more than I could have imagined and met people who have become forever friends. In the summer of 2024, I answered the call to move back to my home state of Colorado. I finished my apprenticeship with Joy Frazer and Annie Rotondi here in Durango and received my Certified Professional Midwifery certificate in March of 2026. I’m thrilled to be able to serve the families of Southwest Colorado.

You might find me in the wild playing roller derby or hosting a community event. In the in-between moments, I love to go on walks with my partner Kelsey and our two cats (yes, they come along too!), harvest plants and make medicine, dance hard, and stay up too late making delicious food, laughing, and contemplating life’s mysteries with my dearest friends. At the heart of it all, I love loving people.

Silhouette of green leafy branch
A green silhouette of a leafy branch with multiple leaves.
A green silhouette of a leafy branch with multiple leaves.
A silhouette of a leafy plant or branch with multiple leaves.
Silhouette of a leafy plant or branch with multiple leaves.
Two women smiling and hugging at a booth for Klamath Birth Center, with a table displaying baked goods, a bowl, and other items, in an outdoor event with water fountains and people in the background.
Two women in a nursery or bedroom with a baby lying in a crib. One woman is holding a small pink dress, and the other woman is smiling, looking at the dress.
Newborn baby lying on a blanket, being gently cradled by a person with tattooed arms in a dimly lit room.
A woman holding a newborn in a small pool, with a man and a woman assisting during a water birth.
A woman with curly hair, smiling, is holding a scale with a fabric bag hanging from it. The fabric bag has a deer print and appears to contain a large, pink plush toy. The woman is in a room with light-colored walls and various household items in the background.
Mother giving birth with her partner and young child present, in a colorful room.

My Teachers

My work is shaped by many teachers, both human and more-than-human.

I’m deeply grateful to Carissa Niemyer, the doula and herbalist who first introduced me to birth work and plant medicine. Eliza Spears, my first preceptor in Oregon, who taught me to trust my intuition and laugh in the birth space. Joy Frazer and Annie Rotondi in Durango, who showed me how to be a collaborative provider, engage in thoughtful research, and truly listen to women. My apprenticeship with Matt Cochran of Raven Dream Tracking offered me powerful tools for working with dreams, which feel closely tied to pregnancy and transformation.

There are also many teachers whose work has shaped me from afar—Ina May Gaskin, Molly Dutton-Kenny, Samantha Zapporah, Kimberly Ann Johnson, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Carl Jung, Sajah Popham, Martin Prechtel, Mary Oliver, Audre Lorde, and David Whyte, to name a few. Parts work and German New Medicine also inform how I understand health and healing.

I’ve been guided, too, by the more-than-human world: Rose, Mugwort, Motherwort, Queen Anne’s Lace, Nettle, Sage, Juniper, Ponderosa, and the ancient Bristlecone Pine. The red rocks of Utah and Tava of Colorado have profoundly shaped who I am.

Truly, my greatest teachers are the mothers and babies who invite me into their lives—again and again teaching me through intuition, love, and grief. The friends and family who challenge, inspire, and hold me accountable are too many to name, but you know who you are.

Olive green background with light green spiral and dot pattern.
Three women standing outdoors near a body of water, smiling for a selfie.

I am also deeply influenced by my dear friend Vira who died in 2025. She was a midwife student and would have graduated around the same time as me. I hate that she won’t get to be a midwife but her radiance, joy, and deep passion for mothers will live on in the families I serve.

Midwifery Model of Care ©

learn more about CPM philosophy and principles of practice here

Midwives are health care professionals specializing in pregnancy and childbirth who develop a trusting relationship with their clients, which results in confident, supported labor and birth. While there are different types of midwives practicing in various settings, all midwives are trained to provide comprehensive prenatal care and education, guide labor and birth, address complications, and care for newborns.

The midwifery model of care is based on the belief that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. We believe that establishing trust and relationship throughout pregnancy and birth, as well as individualizing education and support, and minimizing unnecessary medical interventions, can lead to better outcomes for mothers and babies.

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