A Message from the Founder
Meet Streams of Life’s founder and owner, Lisa Vance. She is a certified Nurse-Midwife and mother of six. Having had personal and professional experience in both the hospital and homebirth setting, she has a unique lens that allows her to appreciate physiologic birth in all settings.
“Homebirth and hospital birth can be very different experiences, but I always strived to educate the mom and help her to have the birth that made her the most comfortable.” - Lisa
Lisa has over 12 years of experience with hundreds of births, embraces physiologic birth and has delivered mothers in various positions that are comfortable for them, such as squatting, in water, hands and knees and sitting in beds semi-reclined.
Meet the Nurse-Midwives
Lisa Vance, CNM, MSN, PMH-C
“As a Certified Nurse-Midwife, I am trained to talk with women and guide them through the journey of womanhood- pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and beyond. One major component that I realized is that women and moms need each other to navigate through the changes of life. My passion to serve women and moms led me to found Streams of Life Birth & Wellness. I’m here to take you on the journey, to lessen the burden, answer questions and to provide community with other moms and offer access to products that have been vetted by me.
As a mom of four girls and then boy/girl twins, I have experienced childbirth in a variety of scenarios - including two hospital unmedicated, two water home births, and a hospital with an epidural and vaginal/c-section delivery (twins). They were the hardest and yet most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. One of the reasons I became a midwife is because I enjoy teaching moms about childbirth, setting expectations and empowering them to have all the knowledge possible to make educated decisions and ask important questions of the labor team or medical staff.
My education includes a Bachelors in Biology from NC State, Bachelors in Nursing from Duke University and Masters in Nursing from Radford University with Midwifery concentration from Shenandoah University. I have worked in the home setting delivering babies and most recently, two local hospitals, where I was honored to be a part of introducing midwifery in the hospital setting within the Tri-Cities of Tennessee.”
Jamie L. Pelaez, CNM, DNP
“I have been a birth worker for the past seven years, first as a labor and delivery nurse and now as a certified nurse midwife. I chose midwifery because it is rooted in the values of patient autonomy, respect for physiologic birth, and evidence-based care.
My personal mission is to serve the beautifully diverse women of the eastern Tennessee during pregnancy, labor, and delivery promoting optimal health outcomes through culturally competent and evidence-based care. I am most passionate about empowering women through education. I believe that this is your body, your baby and your birth! My job is to partner with you in your care, provide with you all the information, and support you in making decisions for yourself.
As a military wife, I have had the unique opportunity to work with women all over the country. I completed by Bachelors in Science in Nursing at the University of South Carolina and my Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Nurse Midwifery & Women’s Health at the University of Utah. I have practiced as a midwife in both a high-risk hospital setting, as well as in a low-risk, midwifery-led birth center. I believe that midwifery can serve all women in all settings and am thrilled to be joining the Streams of Life Birth and Wellness team.”
Meet the Nurses & Birth Assistants
Nicole Joslyn, RN, BSN
Nicole is a wife, mama of 4, and a registered nurse. She majored in Exercise Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she met her husband. This is when her interest in the benefits of exercise for pregnant women began. She and her husband James learned about the Bradley Method when she was pregnant with her first baby 10 years ago, which was the beginning of her fascination of the birth world. She went to nursing school and became a neonatal ICU nurse. She has a passion for birth, wellness, babies and educating new parents. She is an avid babywearer, enjoys baking and hiking, and can usually be found outside with her family. You will mostly find Nicole working on the Women’s Health side of Streams of Life and helping with newborn follow-ups. We are so honored to have her!
Laura Funderburk, CBD, CBA
Laura is a wife, mama of 5, and a Certified Birth Doula and Midwifery Assistant. She grew up in Louisiana and attended Louisiana College, where she met her husband. Her interest in birth work began with the birth of their first child and the incredible care she experienced with her doula. From that experience, the birth of four more children, and the need she saw around her grew her passion to provide compassionate, respectful and knowledgeable care to mothers and families. She began teaching parents and attending births in 2005 in the Memphis area, then moved to the Tri-Cities and began supporting families as a doula in 2017. She has also taught parents as an Evidence Based Birth Instructor and began assisting midwives to help keep community midwifery care an option for families.
Outside of births, you can find her almost always with family, homeschooling or cheering on their many varied endeavors. In this full season of life she still tries to find time to enjoy a book and blanket with a cup of tea, a sewing or knitting project, or some time outdoors in the gardens and woods.
Kayla Albright, CBD, CBA
As a little girl, I was obsessed with pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. It had a hold on my heart that has now manifested so beautifully in my life. I married my college sweetheart, Scott, in 2008. We started our family pretty much right away. While I was beyond in love with our first gorgeous baby girl, my birth experience more than fell flat, I felt traumatized and aghast, wondering how something I had expected to be so wonderful, intimate, and spiritual came so short of the mark. After educating myself, experiencing a myriad of different labors and births, I hired a doula for my fifth pregnancy, and finally achieved my dream labor and birth. The experience was so amazing, I felt I had cracked some secret code to birth, and I wanted to share this with other women. Thus began my own birthwork journey. I certified as a labor and birth doula in 2020. It has been an honor and divine privilege to attend and serve mamas and babies in my home town and surrounding area. As I became emerged more in our local birthworker community and discovered the role of a midwife assistant, I was immediately intrigued and eager to expand my knowledge and better serve women. When I am not at a birth as a doula or Midwife Assistant, I am homeschooling my six children, doing home renovations, or immersing myself in a good book.
