About Us
Leadership
Erin Marten
Executive Director
Erin is a midwife and public health professional with over 10 years of experience in sexual and reproductive health. After spending some years “catching babies”, Erin began to feel dissatisfied with providing care within the typical health care setting that is productivity driven and increasingly impersonal. She left practice to develop the idea for Solace Health and Wellness and officially started offering services in 2022. Erin is committed to offering sexual and reproductive health, wellness, and justice services in a safe, affirming, and equitable way. Her goal is to restore dignity to health and wellness care for those populations that have lost trust in their care providers and in the system.
Erin lives in Maumee with her beautiful, blended family.
BreAnn Nelson
Assistant Director
BreAnn is a social worker and passionate maternal and child health advocate, making a positive impact in the City of Toledo. In the past, BreAnn worked for the WIC Breastfeeding office as a peer counselor. It was there that her passion for helping other mothers grew.
Currently, BreAnn works as a therapist at a behavioral healthcare agency and an assistant director for Solace Health and Wellness, a sexual and reproductive health, wellness, and justice space. Her goal is to obtain her Licensed Independent Social Work certification and become an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. For right now, she plans to continue learning ways to best help her clients through education, providing resources, and individual therapy sessions. Many of her clients are from the central city, in underserved areas.
Katie Garber
DIRECTOR OF MENSTRUAL JUSTICE PROGRAMMING
Katie is a fierce mother of two girls and a big supporter of human rights.
“I had been collecting gently used bras and menstrual supplies and began donating them to local shelters in 2020. I knew Erin as a midwife and through her involvement with local activism groups and wanted to donate menstrual supplies to Solace. What started as a donation turned into a wonderful volunteer opportunity to help end period poverty in Toledo!”
Lee Ring
LGBTQ+ YOUTH PROGRAM ASSOCIATE
Lee was born and raised in the Chicagoland area where they lived until moving to Bowling Green, OH in 2009 for undergrad. There they received a Bachelor of Musical Arts. Lee worked for several years in the social services field before enrolling in a Master of Social Work program through Simmons College. Upon graduation in 2019, they worked for 2 years at a non-profit providing therapeutic services to children and families impacted by child abuse. From there, they moved into private practice work. Currently, Lee lives in Toledo and works at the Ironwood Center.
Rachel Gombos
SEX THERAPIST AND PODCAST HOST
Rachel is a clinical social worker and works in private practice specializing as a sex therapist. She has a passion for comprehensive sex education and leaning into vulnerable conversations surrounding sex, desire and intimacy. She believes that pleasure is a human right and a measure of sexual health.