The Matrescence Collective 

Sul Choi MSOM, L.Ac From her struggles with severe eczema since early childhood and having undergone countless medical interventions with little relief, Sul was compelled from a young age to find a cure for her ailments and others suffering similar conditions. She was first drawn to the poetic language and nature-based concepts of Chinese medicine, distinct from what she knew in Western medicine. The more she learned, the more she realized a tremendous depth of wisdom and reverence for the body and an understanding of nature’s patterns and cycles mirrored in and affecting the human body. While still in school, she undertook advanced herbal studies in Chinese Medical Dermatology with Mazin Al-Kafaji, the world expert on this topic. She graduated valedictorian of her class and gave birth to her first child in the same month, which is one of her proudest moments. Sul specializes in treating pain, skin conditions, allergies, pediatrics, and women’s health. She is also trained in cosmetic acupuncture, which increases collagen production, diminishes fine lines, and restores overall skin health from within. She believes that lifestyle, diet, and supplementation are also crucial to the healing process and incorporates these into her treatment plans when appropriate.

Dr. Gabriela Rivera, or Gaby, is a pelvic floor physical therapist and birth doula that has a deep passion for serving the Philly birthing community. Gaby is originally from Long Island, NY and loved Philly so much when she was in PT school that she decided to stay and establish roots. Gaby is passionate about helping all individuals with pelvic floor dysfunctions at Restore Physical Therapy and Pelvic Health but has a special place in her heart for helping mama’s through the entire spectrum of perinatal care (including birth!) Her mission is to ensure that they have the best possible outcome and recovery through preventative exercise and education. She has been absolutely delighted to support families through many types of births including hospital, birth center, and c-section experiences. In her spare time, Gaby and her fiancé, Bobby, love traveling the world to experience new cultures and connect with her relatives in El Salvador. At home, you can also catch Gaby hiking and in a Pilates or yoga class!

Laura Heaney-Burcher is a doctor of clinical nutrition providing holistic health care for the whole family. She began practicing in 2018 and has since opened her own practice in 2020. Ranging from chronic health concerns to acute care, Dr. Laura helps you find the root cause of your symptoms and supports your body’s innate ability to heal. She specializes in fertility, perinatal health, and pediatrics, offering comprehensive support through every stage of life. Dr. Laura provides personalized care to enhance reproductive health, support healthy pregnancies, and ensure optimal growth and development for children. Her expertise in these areas helps families achieve and maintain optimal health, ensuring a solid foundation for future well-being.

Kikis journey with postnatal training and Pilates began in 2022 after hitting a roadblock from giving birth to her firstborn son. She was determined to gain her physical strength back and through the process became passionate about wanting to help other moms in her position. Her approach to teaching Pilates is based in the classical format and is also inspired by yoga, barre, calisthenics and a variety of balance / core strengthening exercises and movements. Aside from a 15+ career in competitive sports,she is a certified swim coach, is obtaining her IBLCE and plans to complete her Birth and Post-Partum Doula training by 2025. She pledges to continue her education via workshops and all training methods related to pilates, pelvic floor health, perinatal care and other recourses pertaining to women’s health

Justine is a Pennsylvania licensed acupuncturist practicing in Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and excited to now add Delaware County on to this list of areas served. Justine graduated from the Won Institute in 2016, having also completed the 2 year Chinese Herbal Medicine certification program there. She has spent the last 8 years fortunate enough to work in a busy office within a highly diverse community that has allowed her to gained extensive hands on experience with treating a wide spectrum of health conditions, including pain and injuries, digestive imbalances, fertility and reproductive health concerns, prenatal care, emotional regulation, and more. Using tools like Acupuncture, Cupping, Gua Sha, and Moxibustion, Justine loves helping people build greater body awareness to ultimately feel better and more balanced in their body. Health coaching from a combined knowledge base of Eastern and Western medicine perspectives is always an available part of her treatments and she is happy to discuss and recommend things like dietary changes, supplements, herbs, and other lifestyle adjustments that may be beneficial to achieve a more complete treatment effect. Justine especially loves working with, providing resources for, and empowering the pregnant and trying-to-get-pregnant community. As a mother of two, Justine knows well the joys and challenges that come with pregnancy, birth, and motherhood and fully believes in the paramount importance of this work. She is thrilled to be joining the community at The Matrescence Collective where she can continue to grow both her professional and personal goals of supporting moms and moms to be.

Daphne is a bilingual, Filipina-American midwife who recently relocated to Philly from Puerto Rico, where she has been in low-volume solo practice for the past 4 years as Komadrona Birth & Bienestar. She began her midwifery journey in 2016 in a birth center directed by indigenous Mayan midwives in the highlands of Guatemala. This initiation into birth work laid the foundation for trust in its physiology, reverence for its power, and respect for midwives as trained guardians of the childbearing process. Daphne graduated from Southwest Tech’s midwifery program in 2020. During 4 years of apprenticeship she had the opportunity to train in a wide variety of settings, from state-side access clinics, to rural and urban home births across the island of Puerto Rico, to a busy practice that served the Amish community of southwest Wisconsin. She became a Certified Professional Midwife in 2021 through the North American Registry of Midwives and since then has travelled to Ecuador, Mexico, and the Philippines to continue expanding her knowledge of traditional pregnancy, birth, and postpartum practices. Daphne is passionate about providing holistic, well-rounded care, that honors the mind, body, and spirit of the individual and their baby, uniting aspects of her clinical training and diverse experience of childbearing as a cornerstone for culture and community. As a long-time practitioner of Fertility Awareness, she deeply values autonomy, self-knowledge, and empowerment in reproductive health. Recently, she completed training as a practitioner of Tul’ix | Arvigo Abdominal Therapy and is excited to add this to her offerings soon.

One of our three lactation consultants- Tina Khiani is a registered nurse and certified lactation consultant with 8+ years of experience in NICUs, postpartum and birth center settings Her personal experiences help fuel her desire to be the support new parents so badly need when things may not go as expected. Her goal is to provide parents with the best evidence available and partner with them in making the right decisions for their families in a judgment free space. Marcella DeRosa is a IBCLC. In 2018 after years of birth doula work and 4 children, Marcella decided to start focusing more on postpartum care, providing day and overnight support to new parents, while simultaneously working on becoming a Lactation Consultant. In 2021 she became an IBCLC and has steadily become more busy helping clients toward their lactation goals. Veronica Briggs is a lactation consultant since 2020. She provides patients care in the comfort of their own home with personalized guidance and realistic plans to reach their goals. She acknowledges the challenges that may occur during breastfeeding, but she is ready to help support families and meet them where they are at. Veronica usually has same day availability for urgent cases.

As a college athlete Georgia was first drawn to yoga to balance high-intensity training, and yoga has been a constant thread in her life ever since. She completed her 200-Hour teacher training at Yoga Garden in Narberth, PA and her 500-Hour with Matt Giordano. Along with other trainings, she is also Chromatic Certified. Georgia earned her Pilates teacher certification from the Pilates Instructor Academy. Georgia's classes unite breath and body through mindful movement and everyday philosophy. Georgia's love for the birth community grew throughout her three home births. From that love, she started Natal Hour, a postpartum nutrition business dedicated to helping brand-new moms feel satiated and cared for. You can learn more at NatalHour.com

Mila Romero (nee Camila Carolina Romero) was born in the Atlantic Forest in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is a Kaingang native, resident of the Laklãnõ Xokleng Indigenous Reserve. Mila is a traditional healer, holistic massage therapist (AMTA and Abrath), bodyworker, birthworker, herbalist, artist and student of ethnobotany. She learned traditional healing and the medicine of the forest from nature, her family elders, and her experiences in her travels throughout Brazil and the United States. Mila is the foundress of Do Centro da Mãe Terra a Traditional Healing Arts Center, working to keep alive the wisdom of medicinal plants and ancestral healing practices, honoring the knowledge of the peoples of the Southern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. She works in community to rescue the autonomy and sovereignty of traditional life, self-care rituals and the powerful relationship between healing and nature. She also creates space for healing talk circles, as well as developing courses and experiences to share indigenous knowledge and the memory of our ancestors. Mila’s Holistic Healing sessions integrate South American indigenous knowledge and healing practices with Western/Eastern modalities for mind, body and spiritual alignment. Her sessions include guidance and support where she makes space to facilitate holistic healing and health for individuals in all of life transitions. Her practice includes indigenous massage and bodywork, traditional prenatal and postpartum massage and bodywork, plant medicines, Tuina, acupressure, deep tissue, active isolated stretching, myofascial, trigger point therapy, reflexology, Swedish, hot stones and cupping.