Laura Manns-James, PhD, WHNP-BC, CNM, CNE, FACNM is a women's health nurse-practitioner, a certified nurse-midwife, a certified nurse educator, a Fellow of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), and a Professor at Frontier Nursing University. Laura earned her midwifery and WHNP certificates from Frontier, a master's degree in nursing from Case Western Reserve University, and a PhD in nursing research from Kent State University. Currently the Department Chair for women's health at Frontier, Laura has taught women's health and midwifery students since 2004, specializing in gynecologic care. Her clinical experience as a full-scope midwife and practice director centered on underserved populations in rural areas, and she helped establish one of the first integrated MAT and group prenatal care services in the country.Laura's published dissertation research was funded by the ACNM Foundation Graduate Education Fellowship and the March of Dimes Graduate Nursing Scholarship. She has served on a multidisciplinary, Black-led research team to improve pregnancy outcomes for urban Black mothers and babies. She has additionally published papers on research methods relevant to health equity, including the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and hair cortisol collection in Black women. Most recently, she has written about health equity in birth center outcomes, and nursing ethics in the post-Dobbs era.Laura was an Associate Editor for the text Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery and Women's Health, Sixth Edition, and served on the ACNM Racism in Midwifery Education Task Force. She was a developer of the ACNM's'Addressing Racism and Advancing Equity in Midwifery Education: A Program Content Toolkit for Action. She has presented to national and international audiences on clinical, education, research, and health equity topics. Her current focus is on improving access to high-quality women's and gender-related healthcare by increasing the women's health nurse practitioner workforce nationwide.