Acorn Community Birth & Wellness Center

Jules is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) & a newly licensed California midwife (LM) who joins Acorn Birth & Wellness Center after 25 years as a licensed home birth midwife in rural Colorado. She believes in providing personalized care while supporting families in their magical year of pregnancy & postpartum, & encourages women to be active participants and empowered decision-makers in their own health journey. Jules is honored to walk alongside families during this beautiful, transformative time, & is passionate about supporting birthing women as they step into their power with a full ‘knowing’ of all that their body is capable of.

Jules’ awareness of birth & midwifery began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Guatemala in the mid-1980’s, where she worked with women and children to improve health through nutrition, seed-sharing, home gardening & plant-based medicine. It was Doña Lucia, her neighbor & the local midwife, who first invited her into birth, bringing only a bar of Irish Spring soap, a roll of dental floss, and a razor blade! Witnessing women birthing their babies in their homes, surrounded by supportive community members, and guided by the skilled hands of the village midwife, changed Jules’ worldview forever and drew her onto her midwifery path.

After living in Guatemala for 5+ years & learning about low-resource community midwifery in isolated rural communities, Jules returned to the U.S. and attended graduate school, followed by a 3-yr post-graduate program at the Seattle Midwifery School (from which she graduated in 2000). While a student, she had amazing opportunities to work with home, birth center and hospital-based midwives in Colorado, Ohio, Washington, Guatemala & the Philippines. She is certified in Neonatal Resuscitation and Infant, Child & Adult CPR, is trained as a Doula, and is an accredited preceptor for midwifery students. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to becoming a midwife, Jules was the Assistant Director of Maternal and Child Health Programs for Project HOPE (an international health organization), where she facilitated training for community midwives & health workers around the world, with the goal of improving access to basic health care for mothers & children. Before that, Jules was a health educator for Save the Children Foundation, working in economically-challenged areas of the United States to facilitate conversation and connection between teen mothers & community ‘grandmothers’ to promote healthy role models & parenting skills, and strengthen community resources.

Jules has one magnificent daughter, born at home, in water, just after her 42nd birthday. Welcoming her daughter into her arms was the most powerful & miraculous experience of her entire life! In her free time, Jules loves all things outdoors, including hiking, biking, rafting, snowboarding and walking long stretches of beach!

Dara DeSoto has dedicated over 13 years to supporting families across Orange County and San Diego as a birth and postpartum doula. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of attending hundreds of births, honoring each family's unique journey across hospital, home, and birth center settings.

Driven by a lifelong dream to practice midwifery, Dara enrolled at Mercy In Action College of Midwifery in 2021 — coincidentally, the same year her daughter began her own university journey. Her path serves as a personal testament to her belief that it is never too late to pursue one’s heart’s desire. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Midwifery, Dara completed intensive training at a high-volume birth center and is now a Licensed Midwife in both California and Idaho.

Dara is deeply committed to the safety of community birth and the power of collaborative care. She approaches every family with compassion, clarity, and respect, rooted in a firm belief in the innate strength of birthing people. A longtime friend of Acorn Community Birth and Wellness Center, she finds immense joy in serving the families of its community.

Today, Dara balances her time as a Clinical Midwife at Acorn with her own private home birth practice. Outside of her midwifery work, she has been married to her husband for 30 years; together, they share the joy of four young adult children and one grandchild.