Catherine Collins-Fulea is an Assistant Professor in the doctoral program at Frontier Nursing University.

As a certified nurse-midwife who practiced for 38 years in Detroit Michigan, Dr. Collins-Fulea developed a practice that promoted an equal and shared model of care with physicians. This focus on collaboration rather than competition significantly changed the legislative and practice landscape for midwifery, serving as a model for other practices around the country.

Her leadership in the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) spans over 3 decades, most recently as President. Her greatest impact has been to effectively use her seat at the table to advance the practice environment for all midwives. This includes development of the ACNM national benchmarking program, re-alignment of the volunteer structure, and development of a strategic plan focusing considerable attention on the effect of racism on students, practitioners, and the people we serve.

Serving on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Task Force on Collaborative Practice allowed her to advocate for replacing the ‘captain of the ship’ mentality with the concept of shared power and decision-making. Her work with the USMERA workgroup brought together nurse-midwives, direct-entry midwives, and obstetricians to establish common ground and produce a template for legislation for direct-entry midwifery on the state level, protecting the role of nurse-midwives from confusion with other types of midwives, while ensuring the quality of care.

Dr. Collins-Fulea received her MSN from Oakland University and her DNP from Frontier Nursing University.