Meet the Midwives

Sharon evans LDM, CPM, LM (she/her)

Sharon is a Filipina American who grew up on the coast of Florida. She spent her childhood reading books high up in the giant Sweet Gum tree behind her home, unadulterated freedom (until the neighborhood street lights came on), and the summer months living in a pop-up camper with her family while traveling all over the United States in their station wagon.

Her compassionate nature led her pursue an undergraduate degree from Emory University. She had a pre-medicine focus, but medical school did not align with her values. Instead, she spent a few years traveling the world, mostly in less developed areas, before the age of social media, influencers, and smart phones. This life changing experience widened her awareness of social, politicial and economic injustices. It was the spark that fueled her desire to help people find empowerment, safety, and respect and promote their sense of agency. Midwifery, therefore, became her calling. In 2011, she came to Portland to earn a Bachelor of Science in midwifery. Afterwards, she traveled to the Philippines and provided maternity care at multiple birth centers, serving some of the poorest of the poor. Whether abroad or at home, her hope is to humanize birth again, reducing the medicalization of it.

Sharon is a Certified Professional Midwife and is licensed in Oregon and Washington. While the life of a midwife makes it difficult for her to travel internationally, she finds adventure in surfing, downhill longboarding & hiking the Pacific Northwest. She still loves to read, but now under the bough of a Douglas Fir.

Linda Glenn CNM, PMHNP, MPH, MN (she/her)

Linda is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and began practicing midwifery in 1975 in the deep South. She worked in rural areas in several southeastern states (the Mississippi Delta, the Appalachian region of Kentucky, and North Carolina). In North Carolina, Linda helped write and successfully pass legislation establishing a separate licensing board for nurse-midwives. She also developed the first birth center in North Carolina as well as establishing a safe system of care for patients choosing home birth. In 1985, Linda moved to Gallup, New Mexico, and worked with Native American populations. During those years, she worked with the University of New Mexico School of Nursing to establish a B.S.N. completion program for Registered Nurses and steered the nursing program into its first accreditation review by the National League for Nurses. Linda arrived in Portland in 1988 to pursue post-graduate education and has remained here since, working as a faculty midwife at a local teaching hospital and attending home births. She provides mental health services to her clients as well.

For relaxation, Linda loves to read and work on needlework projects. She is an excellent cook and a decent carpenter. She also shares a love of outdoor activities with her adult son.

sarah lax, CHN
certified holistic nutritionist (she/her)

Sarah has been a midwife for over a decade, many of those years with Vivante, but in 2015 she shifted her focus from midwifery and began offering nutrition and wellness services as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist. In addition to supporting Vivante families, she helps others to optimize their pregnancy and early parenting experiences through Beginnings and Born Together; two outstanding organizations that focus solely on the transition into motherhood and the support that is needed in the postpartum. Sarah also teaches at Bastyr University. She is an adjunct faculty member teaching Perinatal Nutrition in the Department of Midwifery.

Sarah was born and raised in Portland, the oldest of three children and part of a large extended family. She lives with her husband, Brendan, and their three children, who were all born at home with Vivante.  She can be found on walks with her dog Jubei, cooking and exploring new foods, practicing yoga, playing piano, traveling the world, and adventuring around Portland with family and friends.