Full spectrum birthwork training rooted in Reproductive Justice, trauma informed care, and harm reduction. Cornerstone is inclusive, accessible, and equitably priced.
Courses in English:
Our courses are all virtual and closed captioned.
Translated courses: Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Arabic. These courses are our US based birthworker trainings with english language lecture videos with subtitles, as well as translated course materials and handouts.
翻译课程：西班牙语、葡萄牙语、简体中文和阿拉伯语。这些课程是我们在美国开展的助产士培训，配有带字幕的英语讲座视频以及翻译的课程材料和讲义。
الدورات المترجمة: الإسبانية والبرتغالية والصينية المبسطة والعربية. هذه الدورات التدريبية عبارة عن دورات تدريبية خاصة بالولادة مقرها الولايات المتحدة مع مقاطع فيديو لمحاضرات باللغة الإنجليزية مع ترجمة، بالإضافة إلى مواد الدورة التدريبية والنشرات المترجمة.
Cursos traducidos: español, portugués, chino simplificado y árabe. Estos cursos son nuestras capacitaciones para trabajadores de partos en los EE. UU. con videos de conferencias en inglés con subtítulos, así como materiales y folletos traducidos del curso.
Cursos traduzidos: espanhol, português, chinês simplificado e árabe. Esses cursos são nossos treinamentos para parturientes baseados nos EUA, com vídeos de palestras em inglês com legendas, bem como materiais de curso e apostilas traduzidos.
We use the green bottle sliding scale model
to price our courses equitably.
When you sign up for an individual course, please choose the level that aligns with your needs. *There are limited bottle 3 and 4 tickets available for each course, and for every bottle 1 ticket sold, we provide a full scholarship to someone in need. We also provide discounted course bundles with payment plan options.
About the Co Founders
Cornerstone was co-founded by Nickie and Juli Tilsner, who each brought extensive experience in the birth world. Prior to co founding Cornerstone, they both practiced as doulas for six years, attended births as a mother-daughter team, underwent midwifery apprenticeships, worked at an out-of-hospital birth center, and taught childbirth education.
This extensive background revealed significant gaps in available doula training, particularly in areas such as birth justice, advocacy, community activism, mental health, and trauma-informed care. Driven by the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive approach, Nickie and Juli established Cornerstone to address these gaps. Juli also ran a homebirth midwifery practice in the San Francisco Bay Area for 18 years, further supporting the local birthing community.
Nickie Tilsner brings over 20 years of expertise in harm reduction services, working primarily within the Bay Area. Her extensive background includes syringe exchange services, overdose prevention education, community naloxone distribution, street outreach, and case management. She has also managed the implementation of a model HCV intervention targeting young people who live with substance use disorder in Sacramento, CA, and Newark, NJ.
Their shared vision has established Cornerstone as leading innovators in the birthwork community. Nickie now serves as a nurse leader, advancing trauma-informed care and harm reduction in nursing.
We give thanks to Alexis J. Cunningfolk for developing the green bottle method. "For a sliding scale to work it relies on the principles of truthfulness, respect for complexity, and accountability. I do not ask for income verification. I trust my students and clients to be honest. Community thrives when accountability is a central value, because that is where trust grows and depth work can be done. Teachers deserve to get paid and students deserve classes which recognize the multiple realities of economic access and privilege that exist."
- Alexis J. Cunningfolk
