I am the grateful mother of three amazing children, Benjamin, Joel & Rebecca. I am fortunate to be supported in this adventure by my husband John. I do work of many kinds related to expectant and new families and have done so for 20 years now. I teach childbirth preparation, baby care, breast feeding, and sibling preparation classes. I am a doula but now only attend births with family and friends. I have the privilege of facilitating support groups for new parents for the last 13 years. I work with parents in a drop in group format at Alta Bates hospital where I do most of my teaching. These groups support families with children birth to three years. I have facilitated small format moms groups for many years, holding the groups in Janaki Costello and Sue Wirth's wonderful lactation offices in Albany.

I have a degree in Biology from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in public health education. I am a certified lactation educator, childbirth educator and doula.

My family and I are involved in all kinds of coop activities including the elementary and middle schools my children attend, soccer...well lots of things! We love living in the Bay Area and when we have the time, taking advantage of our incredible resources here. I love to read, dance, swim, cook, listen to music, play with my kids and someday to travel again. I am currently working on a book of resources for expectant and new families.

Being a mom is the most important part of my identity. With my partner, Marcie, I am blessed to parent a wonderful 11 year old son, Drake.

Along with being the Administrator for Support Group for Mothers, I am the Church Administrator at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, where the Oakland groups are held. I first met Sherry Reinhardt when she was looking for a new location for her Oakland groups, although I had heard her name in the parenting community for years. It is my pleasure to now be a part of this organization and it is always a joy to see the moms and their babies strolling by my office on their way to group.

I have done graduate work at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. My areas of study included women's spirituality and integral health. I continue to be interested in the joys and challenges of lesbian parenting.

The birth of my first child brought mountaintop and valley experiences that touched the deepest places of joy and grief I have ever experienced. I have learned first hand how important it is to share all the joys and griefs of motherhood with others who are on the same journey. My own personal growth has been nurtured and supported as I found other new moms in my mom's group who offered me strength and courage, love and new friendships through the sharing of our common walk. Now I am passionate about creating opportunities for growth and relationship for other women.

I have professional training and experience in both group facilitation and art. I graduated from Albion College in Michigan and moved on to graduate school in Studio Art at the University of Wisconsin. Over the past six years, I have worked as a group facilitator for kids, teens, and adults in a variety of contexts, including working extensively with Mom's groups at a local pottery studio in Berkeley. I have been married for four years and we are the grateful parents of a lovely daughter. As a family we are active in our neighborhood and enjoy volunteering with a local high school youth group. In personality I am outgoing and engaging and thrive on meeting new women. I am always excited and honored to meet with a group of new mothers as they grow on their journey of motherhood.

I clearly recall those first few months of motherhood—exhilarating, filled with awe, but also overwhelming and humbling. After the birth of my baby, I found myself happier and more vulnerable than anticipated. My treasured sense of independence and competence was shaken, and it felt so new and difficult to need, to not know, and to ask for help.

I joined one of Sherry's groups in July of 2005 when my daughter, Mia, was just five weeks old. Although I had a local cadre of wonderful, lifelong friends with children, I wanted to find a circle of women to share the “rookie phase” of infant care. In my group I found such warmth, encouragement and humor. Even though we had different backgrounds, birth experiences, and ideas about parenting…our weekly discussions left me feeling less alone and absolutely more confident in my ability to not only be a good mom, but to get out there and enjoy it more!

Our group still meets and we continue to share our trials, exchange ideas, celebrate milestones and commiserate about the minutiae of motherhood. What a relief and resource—for my entire family—to have practical advice from the collective experience of eleven caring and intelligent East Bay moms! As a group facilitator, this is exactly the kind of support I am now grateful to foster between new moms in Oakland.

I have been facilitating groups and working with families for over ten years.

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I have a private practice in the Glenview/Montclair neighborhood, where I help individuals, couples and families. As a Counselor at Head-Royce School in Oakland, I teach socio-emotional skills to children and support parents. A high school counselor for many years, I have provided academic and behavioral guidance to diverse populations at wonderful local public, charter and independent schools.

A Bay Area native, I received my B.A. from Gonzaga University and my M.S. in Counseling Psychology from California State University, Hayward in 1999. Before my graduate work, I spent a year learning Spanish in Costa Rica and Argentina, where I also taught English. Anchored in Oakland since 1997, I live with my husband Alex and our daughter, Mia.

Gathering weekly with new moms and babies inspires and rewards. Week by week, milestone-by-milestone, I witness women—who begin as sleep-deprived strangers—build their own community. After our eight weeks, without exception, what I hear is how much more confident, connected and capable these moms feel. My goal and hope is that their connection and support continues for years to come.

I have been working with new mothers, babies, and expectant parents since 2004. I teach childbirth preparation, pregnancy health, breastfeeding and baby care classes privately, and at several Bay Area organizations and hospitals. I do home-visiting breastfeeding support in the East Bay, working with moms and babies to smooth out bumps in their breastfeeding relationship. I hope to be a Board-Certified Lactation Consultant by the end of 2008.

The experience of being a mother has been continually surprising to me since the day my oldest daughter was born – more rewarding, more loving, and more confusing each day than the day before.

The more time I spend with mothers and babies, the more I am struck by the capabilities of newborn babies, the depth of mothers’ intuitive knowledge of their babies, and the intensity of the relationships that babies and moms create together. It is an honor for me to witness the unfolding of a new family. I am learning from babies and new parents every day.

Before I had children and began this work, I earned Bachelors degrees in Biology and Geography, a Masters degree in Geography, and finished the coursework toward a PhD in Geography and International Nutrition.

When I get a chance, I like to work in the yard, read, or watch my chickens.

Jennifer Subasic-Marks, CBE, CLE, Doula and Mom
Director of Support Group for Mothers
510-868-2617
P.O. Box 6675
Albany, CA 94706
E-mail: Info@SupportGroupForMothers.com