L to R: Michela White, CNM, and Denise Wilks, DNP, CNM
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented community of students, graduates, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.
Guided by a deeply personal calling and a commitment to compassionate care, FNU graduate Denise Wilks, DNP, CNM, has built a career dedicated to supporting women and families while building a collaborative and forward-thinking practice focused on the advancement of reproductive and maternal health.
Dr. Wilks began her nursing career in 2005 as a labor and delivery nurse after graduating from Methodist Hospital Nursing School’s diploma program. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix before being encouraged by two colleagues to pursue midwifery. She completed her master’s degree in Nurse-Midwifery at Frontier Nursing University in 2015 and continued her academic journey by earning a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Drexel University in 2019.
Dr. Wilks’ path to becoming a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) was deeply personal. After experiencing her own first childbirth with her son, an experience that left her feeling isolated, she felt called to ensure that women receive compassionate, supportive care throughout labor and delivery.
“I didn’t have the support I needed, and I remember feeling overwhelmingly alone and afraid from the moment labor began until the moment it ended,” she said. “That experience stayed with me. It shaped me. And it ultimately became the reason I chose to step into maternity care—because I never wanted another woman to feel the way I felt in one of the most vulnerable moments of her life.”
Dr. Wilks said upon becoming a labor and delivery nurse, something in her “came alive.”
“I fell in love with the work: the quiet intimacy of the birthing room, the raw beauty of watching individuals transform into families, the incredible strength women summon from somewhere deep within themselves,” she said. “Every birth reminded me of the resilience and power that lives in women.”
Over time, Dr. Wilks said she realized her calling wasn’t just to support women through labor, but to walk alongside them throughout their lives.
“I wanted to build relationships that lasted, to be a steady presence through every chapter and to offer the kind of support I once needed so desperately,” she said.
Main Line HealthCare’s Riddle OB/GYN CNM Team with Dr. Brooke A. Flinders and Dr. Heidi Loomis
Dr. Wilks decided to become a nurse-midwife, and looking back at her time at Frontier, she describes it as both the most challenging and the most rewarding experience of her academic journey.
“Despite being a distance program, FNU excels at creating a strong sense of connection, support, and community,” she said. “When I graduated, I felt truly prepared to step into my role as a new provider.”
This preparation has served Dr. Wilks well in her role as a Certified Nurse-Midwife with Main Line HealthCare’s Riddle OB/GYN practice in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She joined the practice in 2019 as its first CNM, integrating midwifery care into an already well-established physician group. Since that time, the practice has grown into a fully integrated model that includes six OB-GYNs, two gynecologists, and seven CNMs working collaboratively. The practice is currently recruiting an eighth CNM, as well as a per diem midwife, to further strengthen the team.
Main Line HealthCare’s Riddle OB/GYN practice provides full-scope midwifery care, including 24/7 labor and delivery coverage, outpatient services, and group prenatal care. All midwives practice at the top of their license and are credentialed to perform circumcisions and serve as first assistants in the operating room. In addition, all providers and nurses are trained in physiological birth and skilled in techniques taught through Birthing Bundles and Spinning Babies, approaches that have helped maintain a low primary cesarean rate and consistently high maternal satisfaction with the birthing experience.
With the closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa., Riddle Hospital is now the only facility offering maternity services in Delaware County. Dr. Wilks and her team care for a highly diverse patient population with a wide range of health needs. Their integrated physician-midwife model allows providers to work closely together to promote safe, healthy outcomes while honoring each patient’s desired birth experience, even when medical complexities arise.
Dr. Wilks is not the only Certified Nurse-Midwife at the practice educated at Frontier Nursing University. In fact, five of the practice’s seven CNMs are proud FNU graduates. Together, she said, they share a vision of a community where midwives and physicians collaborate seamlessly, blending the wisdom of physiologic birth with the strengths of modern medicine to create safe, joyful, and transformative experiences for patients and families.
“We aim to reimagine maternity and gynecologic care as a place of dignity, connection, and possibility,” she said. “We believe every individual deserves to feel seen, heard, and empowered throughout their reproductive health journey, from adolescence to menopause and every stage in between.”
One of these FNU graduates is Michela White. While the team’s work is grounded in their education, White said a significant part of their role is also centered on educating patients.
“A lot of our day is spent explaining what a midwife is,” she said. “I don’t think people are always seeking a midwife when they meet us, but we do find that once they establish care with us, especially in pregnancy, they keep coming back. We get to spend a lot more time with our patients.”
Dr. Wilks said her team is dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence‑based care that honors autonomy, celebrates diversity and supports the whole person.
“With skilled hands, open hearts, and unwavering advocacy, we strive to ensure that every individual receives respectful, equitable, and personalized care, whether they are welcoming a new life or seeking support for their gynecologic health,” she said. “Our commitment is simple: to elevate the experience of care, uplift the families and communities we serve, and help shape a future where person‑centered reproductive healthcare is the standard rather than the exception.”
Dr. Wilks also serves as a preceptor within her practice, a role she describes as an essential investment in the future of reproductive, maternal, and newborn health. By mentoring emerging clinicians, she said, experienced midwives help ensure that the art and science of midwifery continue to evolve with skill, compassion, and integrity.
“When seasoned midwives open their practice to learners, they not only shape competent providers but also expand access to high‑quality, person‑centered care for communities everywhere,” she said. “Supporting new midwives is ultimately an act of stewardship, safeguarding the profession and elevating the standard of care for generations to come.”
Thank you, Denise, for your commitment to uplifting families, communities, and the next generation of midwives.
To read more graduate stories, visit the FNU Alumni stories page.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).