Holy Family Services

Sandra is a valley native who joined the Holy Family team in July of 2016. She has a passion for women's healthcare and social justice. In addition to her work at Holy Family, she runs a small family business with her husband. She previously worked for the Cameron County Department of Health and Human Services. In her time with the county she helped to oversee four public health clinics that provided various services to the community.

Her love for Holy Family stems from her personal experience with the birth center, as both of her children were born here. She brings a collection of work experiences, dedication for equality in women's healthcare, and love for her community to the HFS family. In her free time she enjoys traveling, listening to live music, and spending time with family and friends. 

Bachelor of Science - Psychology, Business Minor, Pennsylvania State University: 2005

Master of Arts - Global Development and Social Justice, St. John’s University: 2014

Amy has been a part of Holy Family Services for many years. In the past she has been a staff midwife and has previously been in the role of clinical director as well. She splits her time between the RGV and Fredericksburg where she has her own midwifery practice. Amy's goal with practicing midwifery is to provide a new style of healthcare that improves access and eases the burdens for students, busy moms, and working women.

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Prior to becoming a midwife, Amy was a labor and delivery nurse for 13 years. She graduated from Frontier Nursing University as a Certified Nurse Midwife in 2014 and began pursuing her passion of helping mamas birth their babies naturally.

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Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time with her family cooking, gardening, traveling, and wine tasting.

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Diploma Nursing RN- 1997 Baptist school of Nursing San Antonio 

Bachelor of Science 2009 Texas Tech 

Simone Payan calls El Paso, Texas, home.  It was there that she graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing in 2011. She spent the next two years working as a labor and delivery nurse at a private hospital. During that time, her passion for maternity and newborn care grew and she decided to expand her role as a provider. In 2014, she applied to the nurse midwifery program at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, and in 2016 she graduated with a Master's degree in Nursing. 

She was originally called to the Rio Grande Valley after applying for a six month fellowship at Holy Family Birth Center. During that time, she developed a love for the people, culture, and surrounding area. After her fellowship ended, she was granted the opportunity to remain in the area and work at a local private practice and in the hospital setting. After three years, she made the decision to return to her first calling in the Valley and carry out the role of clinical director here. After witnessing numerous women and families grow during their prenatal care, labor, and delivery, and experiencing it herself firsthand, Simone is dedicated to upholding the holistic, respectful, safe, and evidence-based care that Holy Family provides. 

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Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, University of Texas at El Paso, 2011

Master's of Science in Nursing, University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, 2016

Anna is a nurse-midwife originally from Pennsylvania. She attended undergraduate at Eastern University where she studied nursing and earned her BSN In 2016. She lived in Guatemala at Lake Atitlán providing care in a rural maternity clinic and birth center, and then she went on to graduate with a Master of Nursing in Nurse Midwifery from Jefferson University in 2020. 

She has now been working in the Rio Grande Valley since 2021. She originally came to Holy Family for the fellowship program as new graduate. She now works as a staff midwife at the birth center in addition to providing midwifery care to migrants seeking asylum at the Humanitarian Respite Center border shelter. 

Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, Eastern University, 2016
MSN Nurse-Midwife, Jefferson University, 2020

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Sarah is a nurse midwife from the Pacific Northwest. She grew up on a rural dairy farm in the mountains of Idaho. In 2004, she received her BSN from Northwest Nazarene University, moving to Oregon upon completion. Following the empowering, midwife attended, birth of her son she became a labor and delivery nurse in 2005. Eventually continuing on to be a women’s healthcare provider, CNM and WHNP,  graduating from Frontier Nursing University in 2018.

She and her family relocated to Texas in 2019 as she completed the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Frontier Nursing University and started work as an out of hospital midwife. She is passionate about creating a safe space where women are listened to, respected and encouraged to be active participants in their own health care. 

Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Northwest Nazarene University, 2004

Masters of Science in Nursing, Frontier Nursing University, 2018

Doctor of Nursing Practice, Frontier Nursing University 2019

Lori is our full time clinic nurse. She grew up in Mercedes, Texas. After working as an EMT and earning her LVN, Lori came to HFS because she wanted to work in a place that both empowered women and served the local community. Lori also has a family history at Holy Family-- her brother, niece, and nephew were born at Holy Family and she came to HFS for her prenatal care while pregnant with her son.

Lori enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending time with her son.

Clothilda is orginally from Gambia, West Africa. She moved to the USA in 2008 to pursue her education in Nursing. She graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing in 2012. She has worked in a rehab center, various hospital units, and in the home health setting. She moved to the RGV in 2022 and heard about Holy Family from a neighbor. She was drawn to Holy Family because of her devout Christian faith. She believes in empowering and supporting women especially during childbirth when they are so vulnerable. Clothilda loves attending church activities and spending time with her family.

Jessica is a wife and mother to 4 amazing children. Supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and lactation is her passion. Her interest began when she was pregnant with her oldest son. While pregnant she read everything she could about pregnancy and lactation. She found that her first birth which took place in a hospital lacked the  supportive, nurturing, compassionate care she was expecting. That experience led her to seek an alternative option with her second pregnancy and she discovered midwifery care. Her subsequent experiences here at Holy Family and with a home birth sparked a desire to help other mothers through their pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding stages. She began her journey as a La Leche League Leader 16 years ago and volunteered with LLL for many years. She has been an IBCLC for 12 years, a birth doula for 8 years, and a student midwife for 4 years. She initially came on board at Holy Family to serve as a lactation consultant, assisting new and expecting parents with breastfeeding. In addition, she has taken on the role of birth assistant.

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Marylu started at Holy Family as a medical assistant student and was hired immediately after graduating in 2011. She has been a welcoming, cheerful face in the front office ever since! Our families love Marylu- she has even provided personal labor support and encouragement to several of our families during labor. She is a mother of four and in her spare time she loves going to movies, baseball games, and church with her kids.

Jessica completed her Medical Assistant clinicals here as a student. After graduating in 2012, she began working here as an AmeriCorps volunteer in the front office. She was hired on as full-time staff two years later and has been with us ever since! Jessica has an excellent sense of humor and a positive attitude. She has six daughters. She enjoys spending time with them outdoors, especially sunrise walks on the beach!

Brandi Kennedy relocated from Chico, California to McAllen, Texas in 2007. She earned her degree in Business Administration with an option in Marketing from California State University, Chico.

After the amazing water-birth of her son in 2010 at Holy Family she felt compelled to share what she had learned from her own birth experience. She pursued a certification as a childbirth educator and has been teaching classes since 2011. She later went on to receive her birth doula certification in 2013. In 2023 she took a step back from her business and came on board as the Practice Manager at Holy Family.

She has two children, two cats and a dog. She loves traveling and spending time with family/friends. 

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Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration-CSU Chico: 2006

Elizabeth is originally from Donna Texas, has been happily married and has three children. She moved to Wisconsin when she married in 1998, and while living there, decided that it is never too late for education. She achieved her certification as a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist in 2013 and is currently working towards her associate's degree in applied science for her HIT.

In her free time, Elizabeth loves spending time with her family and friends, drawing, listening to music and pastoring alongside her husband.

Jessica was born and raised in Upstate New York. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia for her undergraduate degree, and studied abroad for a year in Guanajuato, Mexico. After graduating, she she moved to the RGV as a Teach for America Corps Member. She was classroom teacher in the public school system for eight years before starting her own business as an educational consultant and advocate. 

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Her pregnancy and the birth of her son at Holy Family in 2020, sparked her interest in birth work and advocacy related to women's health care. She came on board in the fall of 2023 and is excited to have the opportunity to share the incredible benefits of the holistic care provided at Holy Family in her role as the Outreach Coordinator. 

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Outside of work, Jessica is a mother, a wife, and a small business owner. She stays busy caring for her young son, two dogs, and cat. When she has free time, she is an avid reader. She also enjoys cooking, writing, and traveling. 

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Bachelor's of Arts in Spanish- Sweet Briar College, 2009.

Master's of Educational Leadership- University of Texas at Brownsville, 2012.

Maria was born and raised in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She is a licensed accountant and community health worker. At HFS, she is our "promotora de salud"-- focusing on connecting with the surrounding Spanish speaking community in need of health support and education. She enjoys her work at Holy Family, because she is able to work with people and be out in the community making a difference for others.

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Maria is married with two children. In her free time she enjoys cooking with her kids, walking, riding her bike, and dancing!

Maria has been with Holy Family since its early years.  She began doing housekeeping and facility maintenance in 1984. She has seen Holy Family transform and continues to graciously welcome the countless volunteers that make their way to experience the birth center and its community.  She has three adult children and enjoys her involvement with her church. In her spare time, she loves watching movies.

Dami began working at Holy Family in 2001 doing housekeeping work.  Her kindness and sense of humor is much loved by the rest of the staff.  Outside of work, she loves spending time with her family and going to church. 

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