American College of Nurse-Midwives Announces its 2019 Fellows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2019
Contact: Maura Christopher
240-485-1822; [email protected]

On Sunday, May 19, 2019, the American College of Nurse-Midwives honored 27 midwives with Fellowship in the college. ACNM Fellowship is an honor that distinguishes a select group of midwives whose demonstrated leadership within ACNM, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship, and professional achievement merit special recognition both within and outside of the midwifery profession. ACNM is proud to recognize and welcome the following midwives as its 2019 Fellows:

Erin Biscone, CNM, DNP practices full-scope midwifery in Houston, TX, providing care to underserved women. She is President of the ACNM Texas State Affiliate. She is also a member of the ACNM Workforce Committee and the State Government Affairs Committee, and served 5 years on the board of the Midwives Political Action Committee.

Mary Ellen Bouchard, CNM, MS serves at the state and national levels of ACNM as an advocate for mothers, babies, and women’s health in legislative and policy arenas. She also served as nurse-midwifery faculty, is a Workforce Committee member, and promotes respectful dialogue as Chair of the Midwives in Support of Life Caucus.

Nancy Brannin CNM, ND has practiced full-scope midwifery in inner city Cleveland, at the Indian Health Service, and at an independent midwife-owned practice in rural New Mexico. She is currently on the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) as head of the subcommittee working to update the Social Security Act to require full medical staff privileges for midwives in hospitals nationwide.

Christie Bryant, CNM, MSN is a leader at the state and national levels. A past Chair of the Colorado ACNM Chapter, she chairs the ACNM Business Committee and serves as an ad hoc member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee. In addition, she is a member of the ACNM Leadership Committee and chairs the Midwifery Works Planning Committee.

Nicole Carlson CNM, PhD is an assistant professor at the Emory University School of Nursing. She received the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health Best Research Article Award in 2018. Dr. Carlson served as President of the Georgia Affiliate of ACNM, as a contributing editor for JMWH and column author for the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing.

Desiree Clement CNM, FNP-BC, DNP is an assistant professor and Coordinator of the Dual Specialty Family Nurse Practitioner & Midwifery Program at Emory University. She is a Navy veteran who serves on the ACNM committees for National Government Affairs, Continuing Education Program Review, and Program Planning. She also served as Vice President and Secretary for the Georgia Affiliate.

Celina Cunanan, CNM, MSN is System Chief for Nurse-Midwifery at University Hospitals of Cleveland, managing 28 midwives at 4 regional hospitals, and she is a presenter on how racism and unconscious bias affect maternity outcomes. Her leadership positions include serving on the First Year Cleveland’s Executive Board, co-chairing the Centering Coalition and the Community Action Council, and being a past Thatcher Fellow and past President of the Northeast Ohio ACNM Chapter.

Diana Dowdy, CNM, DNP, MN, RDMS has practiced midwifery for 39 years, teaches in the Midwifery and WHNP programs at Vanderbilt University, and has been involved in women’s health projects in developing countries. Her service in Alabama included 3 terms as Affiliate Chair and 2 terms on the Joint Practice Committee of the Boards of Nursing and Medicine.

Michelle Dynes, CNM, PhD, MSN, MPH is an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a Lieutenant Commander in the US Public Health Service. She has received awards for her work in the Syrian crisis, post-earthquake Haiti, and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Her research on quality of maternity and newborn care in low-resource settings informs programs and policy globally.

Elois Edge, CNM, APRN, DNP, MSN has been in full-scope midwifery practice for more than 20 years and has been a preceptor for many student nurse-midwives. She is the Region III Representative to the Board of Directors and serves as the board liaison for the Division of Global Engagement. Her efforts to improve disparities in health care include participation in the Improving Birth Outcomes Coalition of Southwest Georgia.

Karen Trister Grace, CNM, PhD, MSN recently completed doctoral studies on reproductive coercion and pregnancy intention. She is a co-editor of Prenatal and Postnatal Care: A Woman-Centered Approach, second edition. She was instrumental in building Georgetown University’s innovative, online, midwifery education program and received ACNM’s Graduate Education Fellowship Award in 2017.

Barbara Hackley, CNM, PHD currently on faculty at Thomas Jefferson University, launched the first discipline-specific doctoral degree program in the United States. She has received numerous awards for her teaching abilities, scholarly work, and clinical expertise in expanding critical services such as mental health care, immunizations, asthma care, and obesity management to pregnant and postpartum women.

Sally Rollow Hersh, CNM, DNP, MSN has worked in clinical practice since 1987. She teaches and advises masters and DNP midwifery students in her capacity as an assistant professor of clinical nursing at OHSU and was awarded the OHSU Excellence in Teaching Award for graduate education in 2016. Dr. Hersh served on the Exam Writing Committee and the CMP Committee for the AMCB, is currently an ACNM representative to the ASCCP Consensus Working Groups.

Margaret Holcomb, CNM, DNP is the President and Department Chair at the Burdett Birth Center in Troy, NY, the first non-physician to hold this position. She is a past President of the Service Director’s Network. Dr. Holcomb has started 3 midwifery practices in her 20 years of practice and owned an independent private practice for 7 years. She has been a member of the ACNM Business Section and is the recipient of ACNM Outstanding Preceptor Award (2014).

Jenna LoGiudice, CNM, PhD, RN is the Midwifery Program Director and an assistant professor at Fairfield University, where she developed from the ground up the midwifery DNP program. She served as Secretary of the Connecticut ACNM Affiliate, and has authored 11 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her research centers on the childbearing experience of survivors of sexual abuse.

Ebony Marcelle, CNM, MS is a staunch advocate for midwifery and its role in social justice. She is the Director of Midwifery at Community of Hope/Family Health and Birth Center and a Duke Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Fellow. Previously, as the Administrative Chief of Midwifery Service at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, she assisted in the development of their full-scope midwifery practice.

Katrina A. Nardini, CNM, WHNP-BC, MSN, MPH is the Associate Chief of the Midwifery Division at the University of New Mexico. As a consultant to the New Mexico Department of Health, she was instrumental in the revival of the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee and its involvement with Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health. For ACNM, she serves as the inaugural Section Chair for the Networking Section of the Division of Global Health and Co-President of the New Mexico Affiliate.

Kristen Ostrem-Niemcewicz, CNM, DNP, RN, FNP-BC is an assistant professor and the Director of the MSN program at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. She has served as Treasurer for the Directors of Midwifery Education, and Chair of the New Mexico Affiliate. Dr. Ostrem-Niemcewicz is Chair of the ACNM Ultrasound Education Task Force and represents ACNM as a member of the Midwife Exam Group.

Kathleen Page, CNM, MSN is the Data Center Co-lead for the Reducing Primary Cesarean’s Collaborative. She assists teams to compile, analyze, and share their data for quality improvement and leads her institution’s local team. She is the President-Elect of the Virginia Affiliate. Her extensive service includes updating and improving communication and networking, and expanding relationships with organizations for certified professional midwives and obstetricians.

Pennie Sessler Branden, CNM, PhD, CNE was the first CNM to receive hospital birth privileges in Northern Virginia. She chaired the ACNM Publicity and Public Relations Committee, which led her to health care advocacy and policy work. Dr. Sessler Branden created My Pregnancy Calculator for ACNM and was an associate editor for the Journal of Nurse-Midwifery. Her award-winning work includes leadership, advocacy, and education nationally and globally.

Bonita Shviraga, CNM, PhD, MS has been in midwifery practice for 30 years. She was 1 of 6 midwives who established a nurse-midwifery practice that served a diverse population of women, and she later assumed the practice manager role. She is currently adjunct faculty at Thomas Jefferson University Midwifery Institute and has served on the Board of Reviewers for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education and as Chair of ACNM’s Certification Council Exam Committee.

Ellen L. Tilden, CNM, PHD, MS is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, Department of Midwifery and School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University.. Tilden’s work on factors that affect the use of obstetric procedure and modifiable drivers of cesarean birth has been highlighted in national and international media, with work recently published in JMWH.

Kelly Walker, CNM, DNP, MA is an assistant professor and the Program Director of the Core in the Department of Advanced Nursing Practice at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies. She has dedicated her career to midwifery education, and formerly served as a midwifery program director. Dr. Walker is currently an active member in ACNM’s Committee for the Advancement of Midwifery Education.

Judith Wika, CNM, MSN has the distinction of being the first midwife to legally deliver a newborn in a state where midwifery was illegal. This was accomplished as a military midwife delivering in a military facility. Her career progressed from full-scope midwifery to helping to establish the first ACNM chapter in the state of Kansas. She served 3 universities and taught midwifery students for 17 years and now serves on several task forces for ACNM.

Karline Wilson-Mitchell, CNM, RM, DNP, MSN serves on the Midwives of Color Committee, the Division of Global Engagement Education Committee, and is a special topics editor for JMWH. She is the Director of the Midwifery Education Program at Ryerson University, where she launched the Canadian midwifery mentorship program for black and indigenous students and students of color. Her many peer-reviewed articles focus on topics including birth outcomes of immigrants and refugees.

Jennifer Woo, CNM, PhD, WHNP-BC, MSN has been practicing full-scope midwifery care since 2006 and started a midwifery practice in a federally qualified health center. In this setting she initiated the development of a robust CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting programs. Her national service includes work on 2012 ACNM core competencies, where she served as a member and mentor for the Midwives of Color Committee and on the Board Composition Task Force.

Erin Wright, CNM, DNP, MS, APHN-BC is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She serves nationally on the Ethics and the Clinical and Academic Educators Committees, and she is the Maryland Affiliate past President and legislative co-chair. She is an advanced practice holistic nurse. She is also the creator of the Benevolent Midwifery Project, for which she received the W. Newton Long Award.



About ACNM
With 6500 members, ACNM is the professional association that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) in the United States. ACNM promotes excellence in midwifery education, clinical practice, and research. With roots dating to 1929, our members are primary care providers for women throughout the lifespan, with a special emphasis on pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecologic and reproductive health. ACNM provides research, administers and promotes continuing education programs, establishes education and clinical practice standards, and creates liaisons with state and federal agencies and members of Congress to increase the visibility and recognition of midwifery care.