Marla Shauer received her BA in Sociology while living in Jerusalem, Israel. She then completed her BSN at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, before going on to midwifery school at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been practicing in women’s health care since 2000, and has spent the past 7 years in the District of Columbia working especially with HIV infected pregnant women, HIV/AIDS research, and taking care of pregnant patients from around the world.She speaks French, Spanish, and some Hebrew, and is excited to be joining the Physicians and Midwives Collaborative practice. She enjoys spending outside time gardening, reading, hiking and traveling, and experimenting with vegetarian cooking! She also spends much of her time chasing around her toddler, Emmett, and her two teenage girls. She is married to Brian who works at George Mason University in the Office of International Student Programs, and they enjoy living in the area and working on their house most weekends. Marla is a Northern Virginia local who also attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology and is a proud member of the second graduating class. She greatly enjoys humor and the beauty around her, and is happy to have many diverse skills, languages, and experiences to bring to her care.