For a half century she has been a pioneer in both the field of midwifery and in developing the best care possible for families in pregnancy and birth. An early president and active member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, she conducted the first wave of accreditation for nurse-midwifery education programs and developed the first “What is a Nurse-Midwife?” brochure. As a practitioner, she served families in capacities ranging from public health nurse-midwife in the mountains of Kentucky to the home birth service of Maternity Center Association in New York City and directed the nurse-midwifery education program at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.