Julie Bosak, Program Director – The Business of Being Born: Classroom Edition grew from Julie’s initial proposal to revise and reissue the film as a vehicle to raise awareness among young adults. Julie’s interest in educating young adults stems from over 10 years as a practicing certified nurse-midwife in a variety of cultures and birth settings around the world. She has witnessed first-hand how different medical systems and social norms impact women’s views of childbirth.
Julie graduated from New York University’s School of Nursing and Georgetown University School of Nursing with a Masters in Midwifery. For several years, she delivered full-scope women’s midwifery services via a freestanding birth center near Washington, DC. When her family moved to Auckland, New Zealand, Julie became the first American midwife certified to practice in New Zealand. She later lived outside London for two years with her young family, returning to the US in 2005. Julie now lives in central New Hampshire, where she works in a collaborative practice providing full-scope Midwifery services.
Julia Katz, Program Manager
Julia, a native New Yorker, has been interested in women's rights and choices since focusing her bachelors degree on women and gender studies and serving as the President of Students 4 Choice at Washington University in St. Louis. She went on to work as the Coordinator of Special Initiatives at Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW), where she developed programs for blue collar tradeswomen in New York City.
Julia enjoys being active and occasionally works as a bootcamp instructor in addition to her responsibilities with
CiC. Travel and a love of the outdoors led her to spend a year as an
apprentice organic farm worker, which took her to the Czech Republic and
Hawaii, among other locations around the world. As Program Coordinator at
Choices in Childbirth, Julia assists in the development and implementation of
programs aimed to improve maternity care for women and families.
Elan McAllister, Choices in Childbirth Partner
Elan is the co-founder and Executive Director of Choices in Childbirth (CiC), a consumer advocacy organization whose mission is to improve maternity care by providing women and families with the information necessary to make fully informed decisions relating to how, where, and with whom they will give birth. She serves as editor of The Guide to a Healthy Birth, annual publications which inform the public about women’s rights and options in childbirth. The guides provide information about current obstetrical trends as well as providing listings of Mother-friendly maternity care practitioners, services and resources. Elan is also Co-leader of the Grassroots Advocates Committee of The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services and is on the committee which has created The Birth Survey. In addition, Elan is a DONA-Trained Labor Doula who has been attending home births as well as births in hospitals and birth centers since 2000. As a Broadway Producer, Elan’s credits include Cry-Baby, Coram Boy, Spamalot (Tony Award), Hairspray (Tony Award), Metamorphoses, The Crucible, and The Iceman Cometh. Her London producing credits include Spamalot, Rent and Michael Moore Live!
Grace Rice, Choices in Childbirth Partner
Grace Rice, originally from North Dakota, is an avid world traveler and is new resident of New York City. Grace has been committed to making a difference through service to others in all aspects of her career, recently exemplified through her experiences in the United States Peace Corps in Bulgaria; her work as the Family Team Specialist with the March of Dimes and her maternal/child health research at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. Grace has also served as the Assistant Director of the Peace Corps Fellow Program at the University of Arizona, where she recently completed her Master of Public Health.
Grace lives through
her inspiration to create and develop effective health systems and synergizes
her background in business management and health and human services to that
end. Her passion to work with mothers and babies was awakened by her
observations and experiences of maternity care in her own hometown. As the
Program Manager at Choices in Childbirth, Grace implements and develops
programs that are dedicated to improving maternity care for all women and
families.