Our Team
Colleen Sahy, MS, APRN, CNM
Colleen has been practicing nursing for almost 30 years. After graduating from Lewis University in 1992 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, she served in the United States Navy. After separating from the Navy, she went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago to obtain her Master of Science in Maternal Child Nursing and became a Certified Nurse Midwife. 20 years of practice later, and countless happy memories, she left her longtime affiliation with St Mary Medical Center and is focusing on growing MomSense with the amazing women who work here.
When she is not working, Colleen reads books with complete absorption, travels as often as possible, and treasures the time she spends with her husband of 27 years, two adult sons, her daughter-in-law, and her first grandchild.
Katie Beeson, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Katie earned her ASN in nursing in 2011 after working for 10 years as a stay-at-home mom, a nanny, a CNA, and volunteering as a doula. After finding her nursing “home” in OB, she realized that she had a passion for helping moms who were struggling with breastfeeding. Not being impressed with the breastfeeding education that the formula reps were offering, she began seeking more education and was lucky enough to be mentored by an extremely experienced IBCLC who taught her what she needed to do to assist these moms as well as encouraged her to become an IBCLC. Katie returned to college to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Maternal Child Health with a focus in human lactation at Union Institute and University in Ohio and became an IBCLC shortly after. She offers an incredible depth of knowledge related to the physiology, physical act, and emotional aspects of infant feeding, oral restrictions, and overall infant care. Katie is a strong advocate for supporting families in reaching their feeding goals and has helped countless women overcome obstacles in achieving breastfeeding success.
Katie is a founding member of MomSense and works to support the patients in our clinic with a very relaxed and “zen-like” approach — making sure that parents are empowered to make choices that work for the overall health and wellness of their family.
In recent years, Katie reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Tim, and the two joined families when they married in August. Together, they have four children spanning in ages from 7 to 20 years old. They enjoy spending time at their lake house and with their family and friends. Katie is also working towards becoming a certified yoga instructor and would love to bring prenatal and postnatal classes to MomSense — stay tuned!
Allison Fuerst, MS, RN, FNP-BC
Allison graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse from Ivy Tech in 2009 and went on for her Associate degree in nursing in 2011. She decided to go back to complete her Bachelors Degree in Nursing at Purdue Calumet in 2015 and ultimately decided to pursue her Masters degree in nursing from Ball State University in 2020.
Allison started her nursing career working with dementia patients in an assisted living facility. As a registered nurse she worked in pediatrics for a year, but soon found her passion in labor and delivery and special care nursery, where she worked for eight years. Allison came to MomSense as a nurse practitioner and has had continued educational training on tethered oral tissue through The Breathe Institute and Dr. Lawrence Kotlow. She is board certified as a family nurse practitioner through the American Nursing Credentialing Center.
Allison is married to her best friend, Jeff and they live in Portage with their 4 children, two dogs, three cats, and rabbit. In her free time, she loves attending White Sox games, watching her oldest son play soccer, and just spending time with her family.
Racquel (Jean) Krause RN, IBCLC
Racquel attended Nursing School at Purdue Calumet in Hammond, IN where she graduated with an Associate Degree in Nursing. She started her career in nursing as a Labor and Delivery Nurse where she continued to provide care to new families for 20 years. During that time she worked as a Labor Nurse, a Postpartum Nurse, a Nursery Nurse, and a Level 2 Nursery Nurse. After having worked with breastfeeding moms and babies her entire career, she decided to become certified as an IBCLC so she could specialize in helping mothers with infant feeding — especially breastfeeding. Her own struggles, failures, and successes with breastfeeding were the driving force behind the decision to become an IBCLC. She realized that the difference between not achieving her breastfeeding goals and surpassing them was a good support system, that was led by an IBCLC, who also became her mentor and friend.
She has continued to educate herself in all areas of infant feeding, including oral restrictions, such as tongue-tie, and the benefits of good supportive care and treatment. She believes strongly in Evidence-Based Care and parent choice.
Racquel has been an IBCLC at MomSense since the day we opened our doors and was passionate about providing better resources in Northwest Indiana for moms, babies, and families. She recently became Co-Chair of the NWI Breastfeeding Coalition with her coworker and friend, Katie Beeson, IBCLC.
Racquel has been married to her husband, Bob, for 30 years and they have four boys (all of whom are very tall and you might even see some of them hard at work at MomSense). When she isn’t taking care of patients at MomSense, she enjoys spending her time hanging out with her family, going to her children’s sporting events (she is definitely a soccer mom, even had the soccer mom car for a while), spending time at the lake and snuggling with her cute little dog.
Karen Mannino, MSN, RN, FNP-BC
You know Karen — even if you have never met her. She has certainly never met a stranger. Her friendly, outgoing personality makes her an instant favorite with friends, family, and patients alike. Add to that the intelligent, practical mind behind those vivid blue eyes, and MomSense has scored another win by adding Karen to our staff. Since finishing nursing school, she has amassed a number of accomplishments, including a Masters Degree in Family Practice Nursing, and an MBA. Karen has spent a large majority of her 22-year nursing career in OB. As an RN, she worked LDRP, helping women through their labors and early postpartum days and all of the struggles that come with each. As an FNP, she has worked in the Women’s DiagnosticCenter, coordinating breast health care, in oncology, and ultimately back to her roots in OB/Gyne, providing gynecological and perinatal care to her lucky patients.
Crystal Morgan, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Bio coming soon!