Julie Blumenfeld (DNP, CNM, FACNM, FAAN) has dedicated her career to improving maternal-child health and expanding equitable access to midwifery care across New Jersey and beyond. As a clinician, educator, and policy advocate, she is a leader in the drive to reduce health disparities.

Nationally recognized for advancing midwifery, Blumenfeld is a clinical associate professor and the nurse-midwifery program director at Rutgers School of Nursing. Her most recent honor: the 2025 Dorothea M. Lang Pioneer Award from the A.C.N.M. Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. She received the award—the foundation’s most prestigious—last month at the ACNM annual meeting in Palm Springs, Calif.

Foundation President Lisa Kane Low (PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN) said Blumenfeld is “one of our most cherished midwife pioneers,” whose leadership “embodies the Foundation’s mission to promote excellent health outcomes for all people and communities through the support of midwifery.”

At Rutgers, Blumenfeld leads New Jersey’s only midwifery education program, which offers master’s, post-master’s, and doctoral study options and marked its 50th anniversary in 2024. She is spearheading the program’s growth through expanded clinical partnerships and academic pathways that strengthen the midwifery workforce and advance maternal-child health across the state.

Blumenfeld also oversees Rutgers’ role as the education-focused anchor of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center (MIHIC), a $75 million project funded by state and federal sources and led by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The center, which broke ground in July, will serve as a statewide hub for clinical care, education, and research to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.

She also directs additional state-supported initiatives, including the New Jersey Midwifery Education Project, funded by the New Jersey Department of Health, and the Reproductive Training and Education Initiative, administered by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs—both aimed at expanding access to midwifery education and strengthening reproductive health-care capacity across the state.

Her distinguished record has earned numerous honors, including induction as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American College of Nurse-Midwives, as well as the American College of Nurse-Midwives Public Policy Award in recognition of her work to expand access to midwifery in New Jersey.

“Congratulations to Dr. Blumenfeld on this well-deserved national recognition,” said Angela Starkweather (PhD, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN), dean and professor at Rutgers School of Nursing. “Her leadership and advocacy have elevated midwifery education and practice not only in New Jersey, but across the nation. Through her dedication to workforce development, policy advancement, and equitable maternal health, she continues to improve outcomes for countless families and set a standard of excellence that inspires nurses everywhere.”

A certified nurse-midwife for more than 25 years, and a proud graduate of Rutgers School of Nursing, Blumenfeld continues her clinical practice at Capital Health in Trenton, where she provides comprehensive midwifery care—from pregnancy through childbirth and the postpartum period. Working within an interprofessional team, she emphasizes culturally responsive, patient-centered care and evidence-based practices to improve outcomes in communities disproportionately affected by maternal health inequities.