Co-Founder and President of the Nursing & Midwifery Development Foundation

I began studying the center as part of my academic research.

After interviewing Eva and Carolyn for 18 months, in May 2023, I traveled to Erbil to see the work for myself. That trip changed my life. I saw the hospitals where nurses are doing their best, but often without the training they need. I saw the patients, and I recognized how different their outcomes might be with even basic training.

I started to reflect and remember the times nurses have been consequential in my own life. I am a mother of four healthy children. Soon after my first child took her first breath, she began to suffocate on fluid left in her lungs from the womb. Feeling terrified, I called my labor and delivery nurse who quickly used a routine procedure to clear the fluid from my baby’s lungs, enabling her to breathe normally. I am forever grateful to that nurse whose training and expertise saved my baby’s life.

As I witnessed the situation in Iraq, it became clear to me how much I had been given, and how many mothers do not have that same chance. Then my academic pursuit changed to a personal commitment.

As soon as I returned home to Maryland, I worked with Carolyn and Eva to establish the Nursing and Midwifery Development Foundation. Together, we have worked to expand our circle of supporters. I hope you will join us.

All who visit the NMDC feel the great importance of what is happening there. I am committed to helping sustain and grow this work.