Kelly Rutan is the founder and co-owner of Doulas of Raleigh.
Helping to build a solid foundation for families so that they feel supported and connected is her passion and the reason she has pursued a career as a postpartum doula. Her dedication to healthy, thriving families is what pushed her to found Doulas of Raleigh in order to expand that support to as many families as possible.
A native North Carolinian, Kelly received her BA in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kelly went on to pursue her law degree at American University's Washington College of Law in Washington, DC. She graduated summa cum laude and joined a private DC law firm where she practiced antitrust litigation. During this time, Kelly got married and started her family with the arrival of her son in 2009.
Balancing the demands of an extremely high-stress career with motherhood really opened Kelly’s eyes to the importance of a solid support network for new families. Raising her own children far from home without the support of friends or family is a challenge that she can relate to. In 2010, Kelly returned home to North Carolina, welcomed her second child, a daughter, and stepped away from her legal career.
The postpartum period can be joyous, fulfilling, and quite the adventure. It can also be lonely, vulnerable, exhausting, and overwhelming. Kelly’s experience with her own two babies taught her that many families often struggle through the latter, afraid to reach out or shamed into thinking they can do it all. She was drawn to becoming a postpartum doula, so that she could provide families with the support and connection that is so often lacking in today’s modern communities.
In early 2015, Kelly launched her solo, postpartum doula business, Motherline, and began serving families as an independent doula. After connecting with Heather at a training in 2016, she knew that they would do great things together. From their shared vision to bring professional, nonjudgmental care to as many families as possible, Doulas of Raleigh was born in 2017.
Today, Kelly is one hundred percent dedicated to providing a compassionate, supported, and professional experience to every Doulas of Raleigh family. Her position as agency owner allows her to connect with every client, mentor every doula, and deliver a birth and early parenting experience that fulfills the wishes and desires of each new family.
Kelly is an elite certified ProDoula Postpartum & Infant Care Doula, ProDoula certified Postpartum Placenta Specialist, and ProDoula certified Infant Feeding Specialist and Educator. She is also an experienced member of the ProDoula Training & Development Team and holds the title of ProDoula’s Director of Education. Through these roles, Kelly works at the forefront of the doula industry, constantly working to shape professional, up-to-date doulas and maintain the highest quality of support to families in her own community and beyond.
Providing exceptional doula care to Triangle area families, mentoring the doulas on the Doulas of Raleigh team, and elevating the role of the professional doula across all communities is truly her life’s passion and work.
In addition to her husband and two teenaged children, Kelly shares her home in Cary with two loveable rescue dogs - one three-legged super mutt and one four-legged stubborn hound dog. Sushi and softball are a few of her true loves in life. Kelly’s happy place can be found snuggling on the couch reading a good book or watching movies with her family.
Heather Clements is the founder and co-owner of Doulas of Raleigh.
Heather became a doula because of her Christian faith. She uses her gifts of encouragement, service, and mercy to support families during birth and the postpartum stage. While Heather is a follower of Jesus, she tries to compassionately support and love folks from all walks of life and faiths.
Heather has not always been a doula. She received a BA in Elementary Education and a BA in Psychology from Queens University of Charlotte. During her time at Queens she spent much of her time supporting philanthropic efforts in the Queen City.
After graduation from college, Heather was immediately employed by the Charlotte Mecklenburg School system as a first grade teacher. She also was active with RAIN, a Charlotte based volunteer group. During her 2nd year of teaching she met her husband, Casey, and they were married in 2003. In 2006 they welcomed their first child, John, and moved to the Triangle to be closer to family. Heather began teaching kindergarten and first grade for Wake County Public Schools. During her tenure with Wake County Schools she became a National Board Certified Teacher. In 2008 Heather and Casey welcomed daughter Gracie. 2011 brought the birth of Will, their youngest child. In 2018, the Clements family welcomed a Turkish exchange student into their home and Ata has been a member of the Clements family ever since!
In 2012 Heather began doula work after completing a spiritual gifts test and upon learning about the work of a doula. She became a certified birth doula and launched Tarheel Birth Services in 2014. Supporting families became a larger and larger part of Heather's life and, in 2016, she chose to step away from the classroom to focus solely on doula work.
Heather met Kelly at a training in early 2016 and immediately knew they had a shared vision. Doulas of Raleigh started as a conversation on a ride home from the training and developed into a fully formed agency in early 2017.
Heather is a ProDoula Certified Labor Doula (original certification with DONA International), a ProDoula Certified Postpartum Placenta Specialist, and a ProDoula Certified Postpartum & Infant Care Doula. She has also completed Spinning Babies training, HypnoBabies training, and is a ProDoula VBAC Specialist. Her extensive training and knowledge base helps her act as a mentor and resource to the entire Doulas of Raleigh team. She sees the potential in each doula on the team and helps create opportunites for education and advancement. Heather makes herself available to all the labor doulas on the team and it isn’t uncommon for a doula to call or text her for advice. Her postition as an agency owner allows her to connect clients to their perfect doula team and facilitates an experience that families cherish.
Along with all the people in her house, Heather has 2 dogs. Douglas is a Bernese Mountain Dog who thinks he is a lap dog but is actually 100 pounds of floof! Nina is a 10 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix who is constantly annoyed by Douglas and his shenanigans. Storm is the Russian Blue cat who really rules the roost, including Smaug, a Bearded Dragon. When she isn’t wrangling pets and teenagers, or hanging out with her husband, Heather can be found reading, drinking sweet tea or coffee, working out at the Y, planning her next international trip, and plotting ways to get to the beach as often as possible.