The Team

Mary Esther Malloy is a certified Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting teacher who has supported thousands of families through early parenthood as a coach, doula, birth educator, lactation counselor, and parent group leader.  Since founding MIndful Birth NY in 2005, she has offered families an expansive, holistic approach to childbirth preparation, labor support and parenting.

Havening Techniques have revolutionized how she coaches families to move through fears, negative emotions, blocks and limiting beliefs as they navigate childbirth and the first years of parenting. She has been profoundly moved to see how Havening Techniques alleviates the burdens of chronic stress, efficiently resolves prior birth and other trauma, and boosts resilience for the emotional, mental and physical work of childbirth and parenting. Havening Techniques are unquestioningly helping Mary Esther’s clients experience greater joy and presence on the parenting path. 

Childbirth related coaching topics include: Healing birth trauma, Birth trauma prevention, Fear of childbirth, Miscarriage/Pregnancy loss, Fertility challenges, Mindfulness for childbirth and parenting, Cesarean healing, and VBAC readiness. 

For parents, coaching topics include: Getting off to a low-stress start to parenting, Parenting overwhelm and anxiety, Shifting intergenerational patterns, “Mama-rage,” Parenting high-emotion toddlers and older children, Setting limits, Breastfeeding challenges, Sleep challenges, Relationship change with parenthood, and more.

The mother of three children, Mary Esther holds a M.A. in Anthropology from New York University and publishes regularly on birth and parenting.

MBNY: Mindfulness-base Childbirth and Parenting Classes; Doula; New Moms Talk Group; Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love; Toddler & Up Moms Groups; White Parents Taking on Racism; Parenting Clinics and more. Available for one-on-one coaching.

Dr. Aisha Williams is a clinical psychologist, consultant, group leader and mother of two, who is dedicated to helping people develop sound approaches to building emotional health and resilience. She has expertise in varied wellness disciplines such as Mindfulness, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, and Energy Psychology. She integrates these modalities in her work facilitating growth and helping clients to deepen their connection with their inner resources, particularly during periods of transition or heightened challenge. Aisha holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Fordham University, with a research focus on identifying ways in which mindfulness, meditation, and prayer can help buffer mothers against the deleterious psychological impact of multiple forms of stress. She received a B.A. in African American Studies from Yale University.

MBNY: Mothering in Color, Sisters Supporting Sisters in Raising Healthy Black Children, Toddler & Up Moms Groups Listen 1 & 2, Available for one-on-one coaching.

Kristin Lawless is the author of Formerly Known As Food: How the Industrial Food System Is Changing Our Minds, Bodies, and Culture, which won the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature in 2019. Her journalism and columns have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and VICE.

Kristin is also a Certified Nutrition Educator and believes in the healing power of real food nutrition for optimal health. She offers individual and group counseling at special rates for the Mindful Birth NY community. She lives with her husband and son on the Northern California coast.

MBNY: Feed, Sleep, Poop, Love, our back-to-work-friendly course for new parents. Kristin is also a beloved and frequent guest speaker at MBNY parenting clinics and webinars on a range of topics from food and sunblock to sleep. Available for one-on-one coaching.

Dedicated to fathers and families, Jeremy Hopwood focuses on creating a safe environment for men to process emotions that society tells them to keep down. His background includes extensive work in the twelve-step recovery process, peer counseling, and meditation in the Buddhist tradition. In a support group setting, Jeremy works to identify the forces in our culture that challenge men to lead healthy, proud lives. He strives to give participants a free, authentic space to be heard and share their feelings, helping men discover a path towards their true selves.

The father of three wonderful children, Jeremy is a loving partner with Mary Esther Malloy in raising their family. Jeremy is dedicated to the mission of Mindful Birth NY to promote healthy, thoughtful lives for families of all kinds. He enjoys working in a group setting as well as one-on-one sessions that focus on new fatherhood, partner strategies, pre-natal father prep, and addiction. Jeremy was raised Buddhist in the Tibetan Kagyu lineage and is an awareness and compassion meditation practitioner.

MBNY: Dads Parenting Group. Available for one-on-one coaching.

Laura Wolfe brings 20 plus years of peer counseling experience to her coaching and a deep commitment to creating a safe, inclusive space for parents to remember our own and each other’s goodness.  As the child of activists, her passion is looking at both societal oppressions, and the triggers that keep us from being fully present and connected to our children.

MBNY: Queer Parenting Group, White Parents Taking on Racism, Adoptive Parents, Parents of Children with Special Needs, Listening Partner Project. Available for one-on-one coaching.

Jackie Stewart is a meditation teacher and mindfulness advisor based in NYC. She can be found teaching meditation and training teacher trainees at MNDFL, online with Alo Moves, and on your smart device through the Journey LIVE app. She is also a faculty member of Dharma Moon’s Yearlong Buddhist Studies Program. She is currently a student of Mingyur Rinpoch, and serves as a practice leader in his international community, Tergar.

Jackie has an MA from NYU’s school of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and has taught for companies like Microsoft, Reebok, Live Nation, Ralph Lauren, and many others. She is a mother and wife, and has found the practice of meditation an invaluable tool to parenting (and partnering) with awareness and compassion.

Sarah Manton-Hollis was introduced to Mary Esther’s work after she attended an Inwood new mom’s group in 2016 with her daughter Gwen.  She loved it and repeated the class so many times that Gwen was walking around the newborns by the end!   Sarah found Mary Esthers work so vital and important that she begun training re-evaluation counselling and has been counselling and attending workshops since 2019.  She is delighted to be helping Mary Esther facilitate the parent support groups and is committed to helping parents get the support they need.  Sarah lives in Inwood with her husband Richard now six-year-old daughter Gwen.

MBNY – Listen: Toddler & Up Parenting Groups