Schedule

Dr. Arrington previously served as a maternal health advisor for Jhpiego, where she provided technical support for global health projects in Southern, West, and East Africa. She is a 2025 Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity and Gender+ Justice Initiative Fellow. She is the co-editor of a maternal health equity toolkit for Maryland hospitals, developed through the Maryland Maternal Health Innovation Program (MDMOM). She co-led a community of learning to support Maryland birthing hospitals implement the toolkit. She serves on the Board of Commissioners for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health. Her work leading a hospital-based quality improvement initiative to reduce peripartum racial and ethnic disparities was recognized with an award from the Alliance on Innovation and Maternal Health. She has been a nursing educator for over ten years and joined the faculty of Georgetown University in 2021.

She is the immediate past Chair of the NJ Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the past Chair of the NJ Maternal Care Quality Collaborative and serves on the NJ Board of Medical Examiners Midwifery Liaison Committee. As the Principal Investigator on the New Jersey Midwifery Education Project, she has made significant contributions to the body of research related to midwifery clinical education and to innovative training of midwifery preceptors in the state. Additionally, as Co-PI on the Rutgers Reproductive Training and Education Initiative she has collaborated with an interprofessional team at Rutgers and community partners across New Jersey to develop and implement programs to train advanced practice providers to broaden access to abortion care in the state. Dr. Blumenfeld is active in the American College of Nurse-Midwives and serves as Chair of its Government Affairs Committee and Legislative Chair of its New Jersey Affiliate. She is the recipient of the A.C.N.M Foundation’s 2025 Dorthea M. Lang Pioneer Award presented to midwives who have demonstrated exceptional vision, leadership, and innovation and the American College of Nurse-Midwives 2023 Policy Award in recognition of her work to expand access to midwifery in New Jersey.

After 17 years working at the birth center attending hospital and birth center births, she left to pursue her DNP and work as clinical faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, educating medical students, residents, and midwifery students in an urban teaching hospital and a rural community hospital. In 2024, she began work as a full-time Regional Clinical Faculty at Frontier Nursing University.

Emily served as Associate Clinical Director from July 2020- December 2021 and at the end of 2021, she became the Clinical Director of the Midwife Center. She is committed to providing a variety of birthing options to individuals and families from various backgrounds. She is grateful to be practicing at TMC where midwives are able to provide truly client-centered care that empowers women and individuals here in Pittsburgh. Emily is active with the Pennsylvania Affiliate of the ACNM (PA-ACNM), serving as President from 2012 till 2018 and now in the role of Legislative Committee Co-Chair, assisting PA-ACNM in furthering midwifery through modernization legislation. Emily is a member of the Nominating Committee, Workforce Committee, and is the secretary of the State Government Affairs Committee for ACNM National. Additionally, Emily is adjunct faculty in both the Masters and Doctoral programs at Jefferson University.

Committed to bringing high quality and well informed Queer & Trans fertility care to mainstream healthcare systems, Ray educates health professional through online courses and in person at institutions including UC Davis, Mainline Health, Vanderbilt, and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

She has precepted more than 25 midwifery and nurse practitioner students over the years and is thankful that both of her sons were born into the loving and skilled hands of a midwife.

She has worked in both independent clinics and large organizations, including Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern NJ, where she served as the first ever procedural abortion nurse practitioner. Cathy is the co-founder and executive director of Luminosas Wellness Collective, a community-rooted reproductive health clinic based in Hudson County, NJ. Luminosas is poised to become the first all-trimester abortion provider in the state, with a mission to center holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally grounded care for marginalized communities, including immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and patients seeking later abortion care. She also serves as a guest lecturer and clinical educator across several platforms and institutions, including Rutgers University, where she teaches in the “Abortion Provision and Management for Advanced Practice Clinicians” course — New Jersey’s first academic training pathway for APCs to become abortion providers.

Cathy is proudly queer, bilingual (English/Spanish), and the daughter of South American immigrants. She brings a reproductive justice lens to all of her work and is deeply passionate about building supportive training pipelines, healing-centered leadership, and sustainable clinical models for future abortion providers.

She also published a piece in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review advocating for a holistic approach to transitional justice in the United States. In law school, Sujaya served as president of the law school’s largest student organization, Virginia Law Women. She also served on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review, was a Fellow in the Program for Law and Public Service, and participated in pro bono and clinical work. Sujaya earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2022. She graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Florida with a B.A. in History in 2019. She is based in WLP’s Philadelphia office.

Kara has an educational foundation that informs her trauma-informed, equity-centered clinical and teaching approach. She currently practices as a Nurse Practitioner and Director of Outreach at Jefferson Einstein Medical Center, where her clinical focus includes first-trimester ultrasound, pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) evaluation, ectopic pregnancy assessment, and comprehensive miscarriage management using expectant, medication, and procedural approaches. She regularly performs transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound, ultrasound-guided IUD insertions, complex contraception procedures, and difficult implant and IUD removals. Kara has contributed to program development and quality improvement initiatives, including implementation of emergency department–based uterine aspiration services and development of updated early pregnancy referral pathways.

Kara is deeply involved in clinical education and workforce training. She routinely precepts residents, medical students, and advanced practice learners. She delivers regular education on early pregnancy loss, abortion and miscarriage management, and pregnancy of unknown location for interdisciplinary audiences.

She is a frequent invited speaker at regional and national conferences, including the NPWH National Conference, Jefferson APC Conference, Philly Birth Justice Summit, and University of Pennsylvania training programs, where she presents on early pregnancy loss, manual vacuum aspiration, complex contraception care, and self-managed abortion.

Kara’s scholarly work includes peer-reviewed publications in the Journal for Nurse Practitioners on early pregnancy loss and the role of nurse practitioners in abortion care. She remains actively engaged in professional leadership and advocacy through organizations including Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, ACOG, the Society of Family Planning, and the National Abortion Federation.

She was instrumental in designing and implementing interventions throughout the hospital system to improve preparation for, as well as identification and management of shoulder dystocia and obstetrical hemorrhage. he serves as the Director of Simulation for Magee-Womens Hospital where she facilitates multi-disciplinary OB crisis team training and hands-on obstetric skill development programs for residents, fellows, and obstetric care faculty/providers. She is the Course Director of the second-year medical student Reproductive Biology course at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and is an advocate for women’s health issues as an Advisory Council Member of PA-ACOG.

She has a special interest in maternal mental health and created the educational program ‘Understanding Maternal Mental Health’ and Momma Bears support group. She is a two-time survivor of maternal mental health disorders, and it was because of her own personal experience that now drives her passion of breaking down barriers related to maternal mental health conditions. Katie has presented Understanding Maternal Mental Health in various settings from statewide conferences to smaller community events. She aims to educate and break down the stigmas associated with maternal mental health conditions. Katie is a NAMI In Our Own Voice trainer, a facilitator of Family and Connections support groups, NAMI Peer to Peer, NAMI Basics & NAMI Family & Friends instructor, and an instructor in Adult & Youth Mental Health First Aid. She is a Certified Patient Family Partner with Momma’s Voices which aims to amplify individuals’ experiences with providers to bring about positive change. She advocates for bipartisan policy changes on both local, state, and national level. She completed Pennsylvania’s first Peer Leadership Fellows Academy through the University of North Carolina in 2024. Throughout her professional career, she has served on a variety of boards and committees all aiming to break down stigma and build sustainable support for individuals and families struggling with mental health conditions. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and is passionate about advocacy, community education, and storytelling. Katie now shares her story to bring awareness, spread hope and ignite change. She currently resides outside of the Scranton area with her husband, and two children.

Dr. Deihl has worked closely with Dr. Sakamoto since her fellowship in developing shoulder dystocia training for obstetric providers.

She has developed a special focus on midlife and older women’s health, with expertise in hormonal balance and sexual wellness. After pursuing advanced training through ISSWSH beginning in 2019, she became a menopause-certified provider in 2020. Heather provides full-scope, patient-centered care at Bryn Mawr Women’s Health.