Meet Our Staff

We would like to introduce you to the staff of Trillium Midwifery Services. Every member of our staff strives to provide every person that Trillium touches with comprehensive, compassionate care. Together we have the experience, education, and passion to assist you and your family.

Our Midwives

Alison Spany, Tabitha Kropf, and Eliza Higgins are Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and maintain current licensure from the state of Wisconsin. Our midwives, along with our birth team staff, hold current certifications in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP) and CPR and Alison, Tabitha, and Eliza maintain training in Birth Emergency Skills Training (BEST), Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO), and Breech Without Borders (BWB). Alison also holds certification in S.T.A.B.L.E (post-resuscitation/pre-transport stabilization of a compromised infant). They have also attended doula, fetal monitoring, ultrasound, breastfeeding, and various other birth related training.

Alison Spany, Owner - CPM, LM (2014 to present)

Alison is a mother of three teenagers. The birth experiences of all three – one a surprise home birth, one a planned hospital birth, and one a planned home birth – all helped shape her outlook on how birth should be treated and honored. She believes that the peace, safety, and minimal interventions that out-of-hospital birth can provide all greatly improve the birthing experience and deeply wishes all women could experience the joy that comes with a natural childbirth. The great privilege of seeing women surrender to a power greater than themselves throughout pregnancy and birth, and then of seeing that mom falling in love with the baby in her arms, is a blessed calling.

Alison is fluent in Spanish and looks forward to providing midwifery care to those who might benefit from this service.

Tabitha Kropf, CPM, LM (2019 to present)

Tabitha is a wife and new mother with her first being born at home with Trillium midwives in early 2024. Tabitha began studying midwifery in 2015, and after apprenticing with five different midwives (including Alison and Heather for a short time) became a midwife in February 2019. After assisting other midwives and then starting her own midwifery practice in Kentucky, she moved back to Wisconsin and joined Trillium in March of 2023. Tabitha is passionate about health in general and when she isn’t working, you will often find her in the kitchen creating new recipes or making some type of herbal remedy.

Tabitha is excited to be a part of the Trillium midwife team. She loves supporting mothers in their own personal pregnancy and birth journeys.

Eliza Higgins, CPM, LM (2024 to present)

Eliza joined Trillium in 2022 as a midwifery student and we are pleased to now call her a fellow midwife. She graduated with honors from Mercy in Action College of Midwifery in June of 2024 and became a certified and licensed midwife in July 2024. She has additional training as a birth assistant and doula. Eliza is from the beautiful state of Wyoming where she gained five years' birth experience assisting a CPM in a small rural practice. She expanded her training with a six-month placement at another small practice in Corpus Christi, Texas prior to the completion of her training here with Trillium. Eliza is excited to start her midwifery career while continuing to serve families here in WI. Eliza loves the holistic nature of midwifery care and supporting women in the physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of pregnancy and birth.

 

Additional Staff / Birth Team Members

Our additional staff helps us to complete our commitment of providing families with the best care possible. Trillium has been blessed with a wonderful group of women on that journey. Each member of our staff brings something exceptional. You may see one of them during a clinic appointment, visiting you at home for a postpartum visit or assisting at your birth. Our goal is to have 3 staff members present at your birth to help ensure the safety of you and your coming baby. We are all continually learning as we strive to provide you and your little one with the best care possible.

Kadie DiTocco, Student Midwife

Kadie is working towards becoming a Certified Professional Midwife. She graduated from Charis Midwifery School in 2021 and is currently attending SWTC in Fennimore to complete her midwifery training. Kadie was born and raised in Florida where she herself was delivered by midwives. It wasn’t long before she realized midwifery would be her calling as well. Kadie gained her first experience as an assistant at the age of 17 working with small midwifery practice in the Blueridge Mountains of Virginia. In 2022 she moved to Northern Kentucky and began working as birth assistant in a busy home birth midwifery practice and then transitioned in 2023 to working as an official student midwife. Kadie is eager to continue to learn from every family she has the privilege to serve.

Karissa Tranel, RN, BSN, Body Worker

Karissa is a nurse, wife, and mother to three. She started her nursing journey at 15 years old as a Nursing Assistant and then became a Registered Nurse in 2013. Karissa works as a nurse at a local critical access hospital in both Medical/Surgical and Labor & Delivery/Postpartum units. Karissa personally has had both in and out-of hospital births, including cesareans. Her last child was a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with Trillium Midwifery. Throughout her journey of preparing for a VBAC, Karissa became certified in Dynamic Body Balancing (DBB) which is craniosacral and myofascial unwinding. Karissa is also passionate about psychological birth, breastfeeding education, and natural approaches towards health including Spinning Babies and is a Spinning Babies Aware Practitioner. Karissa has always been drawn to helping mothers and families during this precious transition in their lives.

Karissa assists the Trillium team by providing postpartum home visits and assisting at births when needed.

Jessica Nickolauson, Office Manager

Jessica is a wonderful addition to the Trillium team as she is instrumental at keeping the office running smoothly and finding answers to all types of questions that we might throw at her! Jessica is a wife, and mother of three young children. The first was born with a midwife in a hospital setting, and the last two right here at Trillium! Growing up with a doula mom, and being a mom herself, she firmly believes that women were designed to give birth by an amazing Creator. Beyond her role as a dedicated wife and mother, Jessica enjoys music, reading, and traveling. At Trillium, Jessica is dedicated to ensuring that from the moment you step through the door, you feel not only welcome but truly cared for.

Katie Perez, Office Manager

Katie is our second office manager, sharing the job of keeping things organized and running well in the business part of things (and she’s an amazing interior decorator for us!). Katie brings 11 years of office management and client care experience, along with organizational expertise and a deep passion for holistic health to the team. Her journey into holistic wellness began after the birth of her first child in 2021 and a subsequent autoimmune diagnosis. This inspired her to explore natural approaches to health. Now, after the birth of her second baby in May 2025, she feels even more connected to this path. She is continually inspired by the incredible midwives and doulas at Trillium and is dedicated to learning more about the birth experience while supporting mothers and families during this wonderfully transformative time.

Stacy Petersheim, RN, BSN, TMBE-AP, EMT

Stacy has been a birth doula since she started working in the birth field in 1990. She raised a family of 8 children with her husband, giving birth at home in the care of midwives. She is now a nurse who has worked 3 years in emergency nursing. Stacy has a heart to empower and encourage women throughout their childbearing years. TMBE-AP is a lactation certification with The Thompson Method out of Australia which is raising breastfeeding statistics around the world. Stacy has an advanced practice certification in this method and is available for breastfeeding consultations. Stacy works as a midwife assistant/birth nurse, home visit nurse, and breastfeeding consultant. She desires to serve you both from her training and experience to make your journey a beautiful success.

 

In Memoriam

Heather Kramer, RN, BSN, CPM, LM (1979-2024)

Heather and Alison founded Trillium Midwifery Services together in 2014 and attended their first birth as a partnership in January of 2015. Heather came to this work as a midwife very naturally with a strong background of many years in obstetrics. As a new wife and mother to her husband Roy as they started their life together, she first worked as a labor and delivery nurse, and eventually charge nurse, in many local and tertiary care hospitals.

It is no exaggeration to say that thousands of women and families benefited from her compassion, experience, love, and matter-of-fact attitude over her years as a nurse, and then as a beloved midwife. Trillium would not have grown into what it is today without her business knowledge, and I (Alison) will forever be grateful for her gentle prodding for us to grow into something more than I expected it could be. She is loved and missed by so many, and her legacy and presence will without question always be a part of Trillium.

 

A Note about Student Midwives

Trillium Midwives has agreed to educate and train very carefully selected student midwives. Midwifery students combine some form of classroom-based education along with hands-on-work with a practicing midwife. Having a student midwife in our practice means that we ask if you would allow a student to be involved in your care. The goal of having a student midwife is to allow them the opportunity to be a part of an experienced midwifery team while they develop their own midwifery education and skills on their journey to becoming a midwife. Together, we would be providing the student with knowledge in everyday midwifery practice and the ability to grow in confidence and understanding on how to apply midwifery care. Having a student involved in your care is completely voluntary. Just like you interview us for our care, we would appreciate if you would be open to meeting with our students as well, and decide for yourself if she would be a possible fit for you.