Meet the Board Members

• Bridget Howard, DNP, MSN, CNM, FACNM (President)

  Since 1990, Bridget Howard, DNP, MSN, CNM, FACNM has cared for families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and helped educate a generation of midwives, nurses, advanced practice providers, and physicians to support strong collaborative working environments and patient care. She is committed to health equity, education, and helping women and families find their voices. She seeks to increase a midwifery presence and philosophy, supports physiologic birth, healthy family structures, and quality of life for her patients, and her profession as a Certified Nurse Midwife. She has dedicated over 24 years of service to her professional national organization, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), and the A.C.N.M. Foundation promoting funding for awards and scholarships to aid students to complete their basic midwifery education and for midwives to further research in Doctoral studies propelling the profession forward. Dr. Howard chaired the ACNM Midwives of Color Committee for six years, the ACNM Friends of the Midwives of Color Committee Diversity & Ethnicity Caucus for four years, was the A.C.N.M. Foundation Board of Trustees Secretary for six years, and the ACNM Board of Directors Secretary for six years. She spent a three-year commitment formally addressing anti-racism within midwifery educational programs and practice, with formal workshops for midwifery educational programs and podium presentations nationally.  Bridget is an avid champion for advanced practice providers within the Department of Women’s Health and throughout Penn Medicine. She continues to advocate for causes surrounding race and health equity, quality and safety project development, education and research development, funding and philanthropy investment for those in need, and collaboration for mental health resources. Bridget looks forward to continuing to foster opportunities for positive professional change and reflection in the profession of midwifery, nursing, medicine, and advanced practice. She lives in rural NJ and enjoys gardening and traveling. 
  
  

  ---

• Barbara W. Graves, CNM, MN, MPH, FACNM (Treasurer)

  
  Barbara Graves has been with Baystate Midwifery and Women's Health since 1994. She provided full-scope care throughout this time. Barbara was Assistant Director of the Baystate Midwifery Education Program from 1994 through 1998, when she became the Director. She retired as Director in 2014. She has authored many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Barbara has a long history of volunteering with AMCB, beginning as a founding member of the CMP Committee, then Treasurer, and most recently President from 2007 to 2012. Her hobbies include travel and hiking.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  ---

• Elle Annalise L. Schnetzler, DM, CM, FACNM (Secretary)

  Elle Schnetzler currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and is a Certified Midwife who is committed to reducing racial and ethnic healthcare disparities among women. She received her commission as an officer in the United States Army through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Program as a Medical Service Officer in 2004 from Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, where she obtained a degree in biology. Elle continued her education earning a master’s degree in midwifery from Philadelphia University in 2014 and made history alongside seven fellow midwives as one of the first graduates to earn a Doctor of Midwifery in the United States.
  
  Her doctoral work was focused on developing pipeline programs and initiatives from undergraduate programs at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to graduate midwifery programs, thereby growing the profession and increasing the number of midwives of color, a vital strategy to dismantling healthcare disparities among women. Elle is a member of the ACNM Committee of Midwife Advocates for Certified Midwives (C-MAC). She is Founder of Midwifery In Color, a foundation for the preservation and perpetuity of the legacy of midwives of color and the midwifery profession.
  
  

  ---

• Sarah McCullough, CNM, FNP-C (Examination Committee Chair)

  
  

  Sarah McCullough practices as a full scope midwife at Hennepin Healthcare in the oldest nurse-midwife service in Minnesota, opened in 1971. She has grown from her experiences in hospital, birth center, and community health center settings, and enjoys working in a diverse urban area. Fluent in Spanish, Sarah takes pleasure in providing care for patients who come from different cultures and working with their families. She also appreciates the opportunity to precept the next generation of midwives and educate others about midwifery.

  In 2012 Sarah graduated from Vanderbilt University and holds certifications in midwifery and in family practice. Sarah has served as a member of the Exam Committee since 2017 and previously served as co-president for the Minnesota Affiliate of ACNM.

   
  
  

  ---

• Ronald Fancher, CNM, (Certificate Maintenance Program Committee Chair)

  
  
  

  Ron is a dual board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Midwife.  He has served in a number of nursing and healthcare leadership roles and recently retired from the United States Navy as a CAPT after 30 years of service.  He has participated in numerous humanitarian missions around the world and he has served as a member of the Certificate Maintenance Committee most of the past 13 years.

  
  
  
  

  ---

• E. Brie Thumm, PhD, CNM, RN, MBA, FACNM (Research Committee Chair)

  
  

  Dr. Brie Thumm has been practicing midwifery domestically and internationally since 2001 when she completed her Masters in the Science of Nursing at Yale University. She obtained her MBA in health care administration at Baruch College in New York City and her PhD in health systems research at University of Colorado College of Nursing. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado College of Nursing where her primary area of research is provider well-being and perinatal workforce development to address disparities in maternal health outcomes. Prior to her current position, Brie provided care at Planned Parenthood of New York City, served as the Assistant Director of the Sexual Assault Response Team for the Manhattan public hospitals, conducted mental and behavioral health research at the Rocky Mountain Regional Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, and led the clinical and research arms of the Maternal Mortality Prevention Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. She continues to catch babies at Denver Health. She has served on the AMCB research committee since 2020 and assumed the chair position in 2023.

  
  
  

  ---

• Mary Barger, CNM, PhD, MPH, FACNM (Credentials, Administration & Reporting Committee Chair)

  
  

  Mary Barger has been a midwife for over 40 years during which time she practiced clinically as well as taught many different learners from midwifery to doctoral students. She was the director of two different midwifery education programs. Mary is currently an Emeritus Associate Professor of the UCSF School of Nursing. She served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health for 20 years. She a long association with AMCB and was the CMP Chair when requirements for re-certification were first introduced.
   
  
  

  ---

• Robert Hawkins, PhD, DNP, MPH, MS, MBA, MA, CRNA (Professional Liaison)

  
  

  Bob is a nurse anesthesia and public health leader and has served in various leadership roles in healthcare, nurse anesthesia and public health.  He currently serves in the United Navy as a Captain.   He is graduate of the Medical University of South Carolina (BSN), Webster University (MBA), Georgetown University (MS), Naval War College (MA), University of Massachusetts Amherst (MPH), and Rush University (DNP and PhD).

  
  
  
  
  
  

  ---

• Dominique Delma, MD (Professional Liaison)

  
  

  Dominique Delma is a board certified OB/GYN for the past 23 years. She has a plethora of experience from working as a private practitioner, to working in academic medicine, teaching OB and Family practice residents and lecturing in medical school in the Caribbean, AUA, to now practicing with the Institute for Family of Health as a medical director in the OB/GYN area  for the past 10 years. Dominique has worked with certified nurse-midwives since that time and her experiences has been varied. She has also served on the New York state board of Medicine as well as the Department of Health of Ulster County. Dominique also volunteers her time traveling in medical missions to Haiti, Cambodia, Cuba since 1999. In her spare time, her passion is to learn about other cultures and travel to other places in the world. She is an avid reader, adventure seeker, and enjoys getting together with family and friends. Dominique's vast experiences will be an asset to the board.
  
  

  ---

• Suzanne Staebler, DNP, NNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN (Professional Liaison)

  
  

  Suzanne Staebler, DNP, NNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN is an expert  clinician, advocate, and nationally recognized leader in the field of neonatal advanced practice nursing and maintains her clinical practice as a neonatal NP.  She currently works with the National Coalition for Infant Health as a policy advisor.  Dr. Staebler has been a member of the LACE network for APRN Regulation since 2009, currently serving as the NP role representative on the LACE Steering Committee.

  Dr. Staebler completed her DNP at Texas Christian University where her doctoral work focused on designing regionalized care systems for high-risk mothers and neonates and the policy/cost implications of regionalized care delivery models. Her scholarship is in the area of policy and advocacy, with a focus on  patient outcomes, levels of NICU care and workforce.

  Her impact in the policy and advocacy arena and her dedication to educating nurses about advocacy and policy has been far reaching and she has received many prestigious awards for this work.  Dr. Staebler has held two policy fellowships including Faculty Policy Intensive Fellow from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the inaugural Georgia Nursing Health Policy Fellowship with the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University.   She is a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing.

  
  
  

  ---

• Clarissa Huard, MPH, CLC (Consumer Member)

  
  
  

  Clarissa is the Lab Coordinator for the C.H.A.T. Lab at the University of Chicago. She has an MPH in community health education, and is a certified lactation counselor. Clarissa was drawn to public health because of its emphasis on the importance of community and justice. Her research interests focus on systemic health inequities in our society, specifically the inequities present in maternal and infant healthcare.

  
  
  
  
  

  ---

• Carrie D. Bright, IOM, CAE (Ex-Officio Member: AMCB CEO)

  
  
  Carrie D. Bright, IOM, CAE joined AMCB as the Chief Executive Officer in March 2005 after 7 years as the Deputy Executive Director with the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S.Public Health Service. Carrie is a graduate of George Mason University, attended the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) from 1997 – 2000 and earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) in 2002. She has over 30 years of association management experience working in many areas including, strategic planning, finance, membership, marketing, and even meeting planning.