Meet Our Team
THE BIRTH EXPERIENCE YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR
Althea Hrdlichka, CPM
Midwife, Owner, and Clinical Director
Althea Hrdlichka is a Certified Professional Midwife licensed in Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. After completion of her clinical training in Arizona and Northern Colorado, she graduated from National Midwifery Institute in October of 2016 and received her national licensure in February of 2017.
Althea started her solo homebirth practice in 2016 and shortly after began pursuing her dreams to open Northern Colorado’s first freestanding birth center, Tender Gifts Midwifery & Birth Center. Althea began her career as a birth and postpartum doula in 2009 after the birth of her 4th baby. Her drive for supporting families during the most precious times in their lives began after having a number of different birthing experiences herself, ending with the most perfect homebirth.
She has had the honor of attending over 500 births. Althea has helped the women in our community with preconception counseling, prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. Tender Gifts serves clients in Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming and Nebraska.
Althea’s goal for Tender Gifts is to provide gentle, loving care to any and all clients, helping them have the birth experience they deserve.
BRECKLEN ABLES
Midwife
Brecklen started her journey into the birth world with the intent to become an OBGYN. Through the birth of her own children, Brecklen discovered how incredible birth was and how strong women are. This discovery sparked a passion to move away from the hospital setting and return to the roots of birth by supporting women through community birth.
Brecklen is a mother to four children with all different birth stories. Her first was a cesarean, her second was a hospital VBAC, her third was a second trimester loss, and her fourth was a HBAC. After having kids, she returned to birth work by becoming a doula which strengthened her desire to become a midwife. After completing a medical study in Kenya and Tanzania, Brecklen came back and immediately enrolled in midwifery school.
Brecklen was born and raised in Northern Colorado and loves this community and is so very grateful to be able to support them through their pregnancies, birth, and beyond. She believes that trust and support are the absolute must haves in birth and will support families in any walk of life.
SHAY LUCAS
Midwife
Shay began nursing school with the intent of working labor and delivery. During that time, she went to El Salvador on a mission trip for 2 months and worked side by side with a community midwife. During her time there, her mind was changed for good, and she knew that community midwifery was the right path for her.
Therefore, she shifted gears and enrolled in Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, in Wisconsin. Shay worked with the Amish community in rural Indiana and Wisconsin. She has attended many different types of births, to include breach and twins. She graduated with her Direct Entry Midwifery degree and got her CPM in 2021 and moved to Colorado to work with Tender Gifts in December 2022.
Laura Early CNM
Midwife
PRN Midwives
HEATHER ECKSTEIN
PRN Midwife
Learn More About Heather
Heather’s career in birth work began in 2005 when she began supporting families as a DONA doula and became a LLL Leader in 2007. She is now a Certified Professional Midwife and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Heather graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery and a Master of Arts in Maternal-Child Health Systems.
Heather is married to her husband Jason, who has served in active duty military for the last 19 years. They have eight children, including two sets of identical twins. She enjoys traveling and camping with her family.
Victoria Fiore
Midwife and Clinical Manager
Learn More About Victoria
Victoria is coming back from her maternity leave and you will see her (and Margot!) around the office.
Victoria Fiore is a Colorado Licensed Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife. She graduated from Mercy In Action College of Midwifery in 2018 after completing her clinical training at Mercy Birth Center in Idaho.
After the homebirth of her daughter in Fall of 2021, Victoria took a step back from being a full-time midwife. She has continued to work with midwifery students in their training and skills and helping out the midwifery community! Victoria is excited to continue serving women and their families with compassionate, evidence based, maternity care.
Victoria enjoys doing life with her husband and daughter, which usually means tackling an endless list of projects, fly-fishing, and listening to audio books.
AUBREY MAST
PRN Midwife
Learn More About Aubrey
Aubrey Mast is a Certified Professional Midwife licensed in Colorado. She graduated from Mercy in Action College of Midwifery in 2019 after completing her clinical training in Northern Colorado.
Aubrey finished her training with Tender Gifts Midwifery, where she went on to stay as a staff midwife. Aubrey found her passion for midwifery after attending the birth of her best friend’s baby, at home. While Aubrey first considered a career in nursing, she soon realized out of hospital midwifery was her calling. Aubrey has a passion to educate families and facilitate the birth they desire.
Anna Gilmore CPM
PRN Midwife
Jenn Foltz CPM
PRN Midwife
Alycia Chambers
PRN Midwife
Student Midwives
Sheradia Seek
Student Midwife
Learn More About Sheradia
Sheradia is a student midwife, currently studying at Mercy in Action College of Midwifery.
Sheradia initially desired to enter the medical field in high school. After she graduated high school she had the opportunity to go overseas for medical missions. While there, she was able to learn more about mother and baby health, and the miraculous ability women have. She realized her true passion was in midwifery, and caring for mothers and babies. Her heart is for women and women’s health, being there to advocate, support, and encourage.
She was able to grow up in an environment supporting natural remedies and is continuing to learn new ways to implement this during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She is excited to promote an environment that is safe, welcoming, loving, and respectful as mothers welcome their new babies into the world.
Birth & Clinical Assistants
The birth and clinical assistants at Tender Gifts are experienced in caring for prenatal, labor, postpartum patients.
Bethany Melton
RN
Learn More About Bethany
Bethany is an RN, BSN and a Birth Assistant for Tender Gifts. She has had a love for all things birth and babies since she was young. She loves assisting in birth and thinks it is the best job in the world! She also participates in home visits after baby is born. When not doing all things birth and baby you can find her at her small farmette in Erie, CO, wrangling her four small children, homeschooling or growing her garden. She also loves traveling and being in the beautiful CO mountains.
SYLVIA BARLOW
RN
Learn More About Sylvia
Sylvia graduated with her RN from Front Range Community College in 2019 and spent the beginning of her career in pediatric home health before joining the team in July 2022. As the oldest of a large family all born in a freestanding birth center, she grew up with a love for out of hospital birth and a holistic approach to health care.
Jenny Seel
RN
Learn More About Jenny
Jenny began working in women’s health over 20 years ago. She has spent her life empowering women to truly get to know their bodies and access their innate wisdom. She has been a doula, educator, herbalist, nutritionist and most recently graduated nursing school with her BSN. She looks forward to starting graduate school to attain her midwifery certificate in the near future.
Her children were both born at home and her first words after the birth of her oldest were that she wanted to do it again! She loves supporting women and changing the culture of childbirth. When she isn’t doing birth work she enjoys homesteading, square dancing and hiking with her golden retriever.
Admin Team
Chrystal Boulden
Admin Director
Learn More About Chrystal
Chrystal does all things admin here at Tender Gifts, but she is mainly the head of our billing dept.! Chrystal was born in Jamaica and raised in South Florida. In 2016 she earned her MBA in Healthcare and has been working in healthcare administration since 2010. After having her beautiful daughter in 2016, and struggling postpartum with no assistance, she knew helping women find much needed resources for better outcomes was what she wanted to do. Her goal is to educate women, particularly African American women, about their birthing options and choices in hopes that no one has to experience what she went through. In 2017 she found her passion and destiny and began working at a birth center in AZ. Until she found that center, she didn’t even know birth centers existed or that giving birth at home was even an option! This has sparked her passion even more by providing consultations to new and established birth centers. She is now does Administrative duties and billing for a number of birth centers in Colorado and in Arizona, where she gets to travel and work remotely. Her contagious smile and big heart is at the core of Tender Gifts.
Hannah Lacy
Medical Assistant
Learn More About Hannah
Hannah Lacy joined our team back in April 2022! She has been around Tender Gifts since Jan 2021 and has loved getting to know clients and watch them along their pregnancy journey. Hannah was born and raised in Fort Collins, CO and lives with her family in town. She has 5 siblings and lots of cousins! Her interest in birth began when she watched her aunt’s home birth 6 years ago, and knew she wanted to pursue midwifery model of care. Someday, she would like to start school to become a midwife, but wants to build her skills as a medical assistant and doula first! Every mama’s story is so unique and empowering!
Lauren Kingrey
Admin Assistant
Learn More About Lauren
Lauren is a Colorado local and joined the admin team in April of 2023. While also working as a Tender gifts Doula, she works behind the scenes, keeping things running smoothly for our clients best experience. In her free time, she enjoys camping with family, yoga and painting.
Doula Team
Tender Gifts is committed to equipping our clients with as many tools as possible to ensure an empowered and supported birth, postpartum, and bereavement care.
Dawn Hager
Lead Doula
Learn More About Dawn
Dawn is our leaf doula here at Tender Gifts. Dawn’s roots are in California, where she was born and raised. She moved to CO after meeting her husband. Dawn and her husband Nick have 3 children, Brayden (5), Naomi (3) and Breckyn (2). Dawn began down the road of becoming a doula while having her children and using a Doula herself. Dawn has a business outside of Tender Gifts as a BIRTHFIT coach and specializes in pre and post natal fitness. It became evident her coaching was easily applied in the role of a doula and she fell in love with Birth. Her goal for her clients and anyone she can work with is that they feel fully supported and educated in their decisions throughout pregnancy and labor. Dawn feels that empowering her clients is key to her role as a doula and helping these mamas bring their babies earthside. In the little spare time she has, you can catch her working out or riding her horse.
Lauren Kingrey
Doula
Learn More About Lauren
Lauren was born and raised in Colorado and joined the Tender Gifts doula team during the summer of 2022 . She is passionate about empowering women to have the birth and prenatal care they desire and deserve. Lauren’s goal at Tender Gifts is to honor and support all families through their unique birthing experience. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, hiking, and painting.
Jessica Villella
Doula
Learn More About Jessica
Jessica is one of our doulas and birth class instructor. She is a wife and mama to three littles. Through her own personal experiences and journey into motherhood she found a deep love and passion for all things birth, babies and parenting.
Jessica has personally been through a cesarean as well as had multiple vbac births. After many years as a doula, she has found that she may be a great strength to have in a hospital setting, but homebirth and birth center births are her heart and soul.
Brianna Spicka
Doula
Learn More About Brianna
As the Director of the Loveland CRU, Brianna helps train and support others for and in challenging times. She does not want others to just “hang in there” but wants you to flourish in the midst of the uncertainty and expectancy. She has worked on the front lines of crisis for 11 years as a Crisis Response Missionary and Chaplain for Crisis Response International, where she deploys around the world.
While home in CO with her husband, 5 kids, and grandbaby, Brianna also fulfills other roles in the community, but what she loves best is her role as a Doula. Her training with CRI, CBI and TG have widened her skill set as a Doula. Brianna’s sincere desire is for all to have unwavering Faith, Hope and Joy even when life is challenging. “We were designed to Thrive, not just survive!”.
RN Team & Sonographer
Arielle Flom
RN
Abby Tweeten
RN
Kim Wagner
Sonographer