SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

I have a long-standing commitment to improving women’s health. My passion for women’s health started during my time at Brandeis University when I counseled peers on reproductive health issues and studied family planning campaigns in Latin America. Working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger and witnessing maternal deaths confirmed my interest, the importance of clinical experience, and getting my BS and MSN/MPH. I realized that I would need these tools to make an impact in the field. As a Returned Peace Corps Fellow and Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar, I earned my degrees at The Johns Hopkins Schools of Nursing and Public Health. I have worked as a nurse educator, faculty, program manager and clinically in labor and delivery. My interest in research grew from these experiences and I am now a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. My specific area of interest is reducing the primary cesarean section rate, by examining how admission decisions and practice affects or possibly predicts cesarean delivery (CD). My research will focus on admission of low-risk pregnant women to the labor unit, since admission in latent labor often leads to a cascade of interventions with a higher likelihood of a CD.