About the Project | Kardinal Collaborations

In 1995, Joann Bautti, Founder of Kardinal Collaborations, was 26 years old and happily pregnant with her first son. She spent the first six months under the care of a female OB and the numerous other doctors in that practice. It felt like assembly line care, and not all the doctors welcomed her questions and intention to have her baby naturally. During her 7th month of pregnancy, one OB was so rude and dismissive about reviewing her birth plan with her that she never went back. She switched to the CNM in their practice, and it was the best decision she ever made.

Her son’s birth was so fast that she could have easily had him at home if she hadn’t been so afraid to consider that option. Joann arrived at the hospital with minutes to spare before she pushed him out. Aside from the fact that he was almost born in the car in the middle of winter in Cleveland, Ohio, it was perfect – no drugs, tearing, or unnecessary interventions. Her doula made it just in time to hold him. In the moments following his birth, she described feeling like Superwoman - so strong, capable, and empowered, as if she had climbed Mt. Everest, as if she could do anything. And as she held him, she was overcome with the purest sense of peace that she had ever known. Her son’s beautiful birth, on her terms, defined her as a woman and set the path for her journey into motherhood. Joann and her son went home that same day.

All women deserve to feel that way after giving birth – strong, empowered, capable; it didn’t take Joann long to learn that her experience was not the norm. So, she set out to change that: She started a business teaching pre- and postnatal fitness classes when her boys were young; she volunteered for Birth Network, advocating for mother-friendly childbirth; and she went to graduate school, when her youngest son was 2, all to one day open a freestanding birth center. Her three sons are grown now, pursuing their own dreams; her one day is now.

Kardinal Collaborations was born on April 11, 2025. It’s named after Joann’s Dad, who passed in 2019. His favorite color was red, and he often sends Joann cardinals to remind her that he is still with her. And after her sons, whose births changed her life and helped lead her on this amazing journey. The first letters of their names are K, A, and N.

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Meet the Team

Each team member brings unique strengths and experiences to the table. The “Collaboration” in Kardinal Collaborations reflects the shared commitment of building the infrastructure for a birth center that will serve families with respect, compassion, and choice.

Founder of Kardinal Collaborations

Joann Bautti, MPA

She/Her

Joann has been promoting the midwifery model of care as an educator and advocate for the past 30 years. Her professional career has included working in higher education at the director level, focusing on women’s health, gender equity, LGBTQ+ equity, primary prevention education and response for sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. Her grant writing achievements include successfully co-writing the U.S. Department of Justice Campus Grant to reduce sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking, and serving as the Project Director of the awarded grant.

Empowering and advocating for women has been a lifelong passion for her. Her awards related to this passion include: the YWCA Leila Robertson Award for outstanding service and dedication to women and girls; the EVMS 2021 President’s Champion of Diversity and Inclusion Award; the Girl Scout Famous Formers Award; and successfully directing eleven benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, with ticket donations going to local nonprofit organizations working to end violence against women.

Joann is now ready to take her grant writing and business experience, combined with her years of serving women and the LGBTQ+ community, and her passion for the midwifery model of care, to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a freestanding birth center.

Her formal education includes a BA in English from Ursuline College in Cleveland, Ohio, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Her most significant and informal education comes from birthing and mothering her three boys, who are now young men.

Team Memeber

Chrissy Owens, CPM, LM

She/Her

Christina (Chrissy) Owens has been a CPM in Virginia since 2013 with a private Community Birth practice in Hampton Roads. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director at a free-standing birth center in Florida. She also spent 12 years working in a local, family-centered OB practice as a medical assistant in many roles. She works with folks desiring HBAC, vaginal breech birth as well as twin births in her community and aspires to one day travel the world doing the same. Chrissy has been a preceptor for many midwifery students over the last 10 years, is a certified instructor of ALSO (Advanced lIfe Support in Obstetrics) for the AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians), and volunteers as a CEU reviewer and Accreditation Review Committee Person for the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council. She is also a volunteer for the local Medical Reserve Corps through the Virginia Department of Health. Chrissy is the current Treasurer and Director of Education for her state midwifery alliance as well as the past President, Vice President and Public Relations Director. She is a firm believer in the necessity for Interprofessional Collaboration on behalf of all birthing families and their newborns and aims to maintain those types of relationships among Maternal and Newborn Care providers. Chrissy has also been a regional Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Learning Community co-facilitator in the past and a member of several workgroups surrounding both this and Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Teams.

Team Member

Kayla Wamsley, Birth Doula

She/Her

Kayla Wamsley’s own birth experience revealed the power of support and informed choice, inspiring her to dedicate her work to helping families feel confident and cared for in every stage of birth. Born and raised in Hampton Roads, Kayla has also lived in other states, but her heart and home have always drawn her back here. She has seen firsthand how birth can be both powerful and vulnerable, and how the right support can make all the difference. As a doula, she is devoted to serving families with education, encouragement, and hands-on support that honors each woman’s choices and voice. Her work is grounded in the belief that birth is not something to endure, but something to embrace—an opportunity for strength, confidence, and connection. Since stepping into this role, Kayla has had the privilege of supporting countless families and collaborating with other birth professionals to broaden options for the community. Her vision is rooted in empowerment, respect, and collaboration, and she believes this is only the beginning of a greater movement to transform maternity care in Hampton Roads.

Why Now, Why Here?

The combination of women’s declining autonomy in healthcare, a maternal health crisis in our country, and the lack of birth choices has led us here today. Women had so few choices of where to give birth when Joann was having her sons, and that dilemma has not improved in the last 30 years; in fact, in many ways, it has gotten worse. Hampton Roads has been Joann’s home since 2009 and is rich with diversity and opportunity. Since deciding that now is the time for the birth center, she has had the enormous pleasure of meeting Kayla Wamsley and Chrissy Owens. Kayla is a doula and Chrissy is a CPM. The Collaboration part of her business name means it is taking all three of them, as a team, to build the infrastructure to make this happen. And they will welcome many more along the way to build this right along with them. The unique model of this birth center will include a director of business operations and a director of clinical operations, which will enable one to successfully run the business side of the center, while the other can lead the clinical staff, allowing them to focus on caring for our clients.

Vision & Values

Visions: Every woman has a story of what led them to motherhood, if only we take the time to listen. The power of voice becomes evident when we work together to offer options, access, and a model of care that reflects our belief in birth.

Values: advocacy, autonomy, access, compassion, collaboration, choice, community, connection, empowerment, education, passion, safety, voice