Geneva Woods Women's Wellness Providers and Staff

Barbara has been a nurse since 1978, a nurse practitioner since 1985, and a midwife since 1994. She became a Menopause Society Certified Provider in 2022, and has been specializing in menopause and women's sexual health since stepping back from 'catching' babies. She still provides some OB services such as early ultrasound, 'post-dates testing,' IV infusions for HG and anemia, medication management for perinatal mental health, and 'a la carte' postpartum care. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of California, San Francisco. Barbara worked as a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner for 9 years (1985-1994) before becoming a midwife. During that time she worked in a variety of settings honing her skills in contraceptive management, menopausal counseling, and irregular menstrual bleeding. She opened her own private midwifery and women's health care practice in Anchorage in 1995, but left that practice in 2015 to start a smaller, more cozy and intimate practice. She was a recipient of the 2016 YWCA Women of Achievement award and in 2017 she won the Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award for her business acumen and for mentoring other women to be successful in business. Barbara has been affiliated with the University of Alaska, teaching nurse practitioner students, and has served on many community boards, including the Board of Certified Direct Entry Midwives and the Alaska Women’s Gold Nugget Triathlon. She currently serves on the American Association of Birth Center board as Secretary. She has been married to Bradley Cruz since 1979 and has two daughters who both live in Anchorage, and three grandchildren, all born at Geneva Woods Birth Center Barbara enjoys traveling, hiking, trail running, triathlon, reading, cooking, and spending time with her kids and their families.

Jordin has lived in Alaska for more than 20 years. She graduated from Chugiak High School where she met her now husband. She then obtained her RN from UAA and worked as a nurse in internal medicine before returning to UAA to obtain her FNP degree. She has worked as a nurse practitioner for 10 years, primarily focusing on urgent and primary care. However, she worked in a vein clinic caring for patients with venous insufficiency and varicose veins. She always enjoyed the women's health aspect of her past practice and is excited to bring that more into focus at Geneva Woods Midwifery. She has a love for the Alaskan outdoors and spends her spare time snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, and relaxing at home with husband, three children aged 12, 8, and 7, and their two energetic springer spaniels.  She can see women and men for routine primary care here at Geneva Woods, including managing chronic conditions, assisting with weight loss, and some urgent care-type concerns. She can also see children for some common illnesses and seasonal vaccinations, though not any of the routine pediatric care that should be done through the child's pediatric provider's practice.

Joanna Austin graduated with her doctorate in physical therapy from Regis University in 2011 and received her Orthopedic Certified Specialist certification in 2015. While her early career was spent in ortho, she has spent the last 9 years pursuing advanced training in pregnancy, postpartum, and pelvic health, and seeing clients for the problems that can arise in these areas. She is a Certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist, and enjoys helping clients exercise safely in pregnancy and after childbirth. She also finds it very rewarding to help her clients resolve conditions such as diastasis, pelvic organ prolapse, pain in SI joints, back and pelvic girdle pain, dyspareunia, and urinary incontinence. When she's not providing PT care she enjoys spending time with family, reading, and getting outdoors. She has two children.

With 22 years of experience in outpatient orthopedics and sports physical therapy - and 15 years devoted to pelvic health - Susie blends deep clinical knowledge with creative problem-solving. She's a specialist in dry needling, including advanced pelvic floor techniques, and has training in the Graston technique for soft tissue mobilization. Susie is known for her ability to treat complex conditions with empathy, precision, and a whole-body perspective. When she's not helping clients move and feel better, Susie is out on the trails - running, hiking, or unplugging at her family's remote cabin with her husband, twins, and dog. The love exploring the backcountry and remote corners of this beautiful state.

Jennifer Allison is our lactation consultant, and is also a childbirth class instructor, teaching our “Fourth Trimester” class, which focuses largely on breastfeeding but touches on many other postpartum and newborn topics, as well as her own “Hypnosis for Birthwork” curriculum for natural childbirth preparation. She is passionate about breastfeeding (as well as 'chestfeeding') and loves to help families navigate their infant-feeding journey. When not in a pandemic, she looks forward to resuming home visits for lactation, between Anchorage and the Valley. She has 4 children and lives in Eagle River.

Jasmine Porter has worked and lived in Alaska for 15 years. She has worked in the field of mental/behavior health throughout this time including at residential treatment centers, outpatient settings, and in the private sector. She enjoys working with women and couples, supporting in the navigation through life's journey, and has focused her work on womens' issues, sexual trauma/abuse, attachment, family systems, parenting, and LGTBQIA+ issues. She has received her PMH-C certification, and has joined the team at The Nest to focus on reproductive mental health care for women, particularly perinatal mood disorders. Jasmine uses a flexible and dynamic approach when working to meet each individual need of a client including treatment approaches such as EMDR, DBT, CBT, Filial therapy, etc. When not working, Jasmine enjoys playing with her twins, nordic skiing, camping, gardening, and travelling to find the sunshine during Alaskan winters.

Mariah is a registered dietitian who obtained her BAS in Dietetics and Nutrition and graduate certificate from the University of Anchorage Alaska. Mariah has a background in clinical nutrition offering services for a variety of conditions to include diabetes, liver and kidney disease, eating disorders, cardiovascular health, gastrointestinal conditions and weight management to name a few. She also has experience in outpatient nutrition counseling specifically for diabetes and eating disorders. She is currently working towards becoming a certified eating disorder specialist (CEDRD). Mariah is excited to empower clients with the knowledge and tools to make informed, sustainable food choices that enhance their health and well-being. She enjoys taking a holistic approach to nutrition that supports clients’ lifestyle and health needs to stay nourished. Outside of work, Mariah is a mom to two littles who were both delivered with the help of the midwives at Geneva. She loves staying active outside with her family and of course, loves to cook, bake and eat food!