Alice B. Pillay, CNM/ARNP is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the owner and clinical director of the Birthing Cottage of Winter Park, Inc. With more than 40 years of midwifery experience, Alice is an educator and leader in the midwifery field. She has safely delivered well over 2000 babies during her dedicated career. Alice continues to be passionate about ensuring that every woman has access to quality prenatal care and that healthy women have the option of an out of hospital birth. Her commitment to women and babies makes Alice and her Birthing Cottage an incredible resource to our community.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Alice emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959 where she completed seven years of training in the nursing field. She received diplomas as a registered nurse, psychiatric nurse, and nurse-midwife. While in England she attended births both in the hospital and at home, as was the norm for healthy women in the 1960's. Upon moving to America in 1970, Alice began working as a Registered Nurse in the l abor & delivery, post-partum, and medical surgery units in the hospital setting. Through the years she continued her nursing career at various hospitals and birth centers. In 1992 Alice completed a special program at Tampa General Hospital with Frontier School of Midwifery, thus obtaining her Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse-Midwife designations in the United States. In 1994, Alice purchased The Birthing Cottage of Winter Park, Inc.

Alice is a mother to three grown sons and a proud grandmother of three granddaughters and two grandsons. Four of these grandchildren were born here at The Birthing Cottage guided by their grandmother’s loving hands.

“As midwife, owner & director of The Birthing Cottage, I have seen my dreams for women, babies, and families fulfilled with each birth.”

Barbara Edwards has been a Birthing Cottage staff member since its inception in 1994 when Alice invited Barb to join her as the public relations/office manager. For more than twenty years, Barb and Alice have been working together to assist women in obtaining quality prenatal and birth center care. As our office manager, Barb’s vast experience and caring commitment shines. She is especially knowledgeable in regards to her ability to help our clients obtain pregnancy Medicaid coverage. With patience and skill, she assists our clients navigate this sometimes difficult process.

Barb is a proud mother of two adult children and is delighted to be blessed with a beautiful grandson.

“Working at the Birthing Cottage of Winter Park, Inc. has been 20 years of joy”

Diana Cardona joined the Birthing Cottage staff as our Business Manager and Insurance Coordinator three years ago. She holds an Associate in Science Degree in Business Administration and brought with her more than ten years of experience in the insurance industry. Fluent in Spanish, Diana’s bilingual skill paired with her vast experience and passion for her work have proven to be incredible assets to our clients.

Diana is a devoted mother of two beautiful daughters. Diana could not be happier that her youngest daughter is one of the fortunate babies to be born within our cozy Birthing Cottage walls.

“Assisting moms to achieve a deeply empowering and personal birth experience has been a true blessing to me.”

Meg Folsom, CCA, CBE, CLC, a former EMT with more than 30 years of experience in the medical field, joined The Birth Cottage staff over seven years ago. Along side Alice, Meg is the guiding force in our clinical staff. As a professional birth attendant, she has assisted at well over 500 births. Meg’s firm commitment to educating and empowering women makes her an invaluable resource. Our clients benefit greatly from Meg’s ability to provide all of our maternal education and lactation consultation in-house. In addition to Meg’s birthing center experience, she has extensive expertise caring for children and babies and is the owner and executive director of Stork Support. She holds certifications as a Doula, Childbirth Educator, Lactation Consultant, and Dunstan Baby Language Parent Educator.

Meg is very grateful to be the mother of a wonderful adult son and two incredible daughters.

“Childbirth is such an intimate part of a woman's life. I feel that it is an honor to be a part of her pregnancy and birth experience.”

Vanessa Young, MA joined our staff in August in 2008. She holds an Associates in Science Degree as a Medical Assistant, graduating with honors from Southern Technical College. In addition to her medical skills, she has years of knowledge and experience in the childcare industry. The Birthing Cottage and our patients are blessed by her dedication and hard work.
Vanessa is a proud mother of a beautiful young girl and a great teenage boy.

“It's an awesome feeling to be present at a baby's first moments of life.”

Annette Luke, RN/MPH is a valuable addition to our Birthing Cottage staff. Annette brings with her a passion for obstetrics and pediatrics and more than 40 years nursing experience, the bulk of which is in Maternal Child Health.
Also a native of Trinidad and Tobago, Annette trained and worked in the nursing field for 7 years while in England. She received her certifications as a Registered Sick Children's Nurse, a Registered Nurse, and a State Certified Midwife from 1966-1968. In 1969, Annette moved to Canada. She worked as RN in Montreal for 9 years and received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Community Nursing and Psychology in 1973. From 1978-1989 she worked as a Community Health Nurse/Nurse Practitioner among Canada's Inuit Population. In 1989, she received her Graduate Diploma in Health Administration. Later that year, Annette moved to the United States and worked as an Obstetrical and Labor & Delivery Nurse. In 1993, she received her Masters Degree in Public Health while in Hawaii. She returned to Canada in 1994 and worked with Canada's Aboriginal First Nation in Public & Community Health Nursing for nine years. In 2005, she returned to The United States and joined our staff in 2007.
Annette is an avid reader. She loves to travel and has visited numerous exotic place within Europe, Asia and the South Pacific.