Nurse-Midwifery Leader Is Honored for Work in Maternal and Child Health
Julie Blumenfeld of Rutgers Health receives the 2025 Dorothea M. Lang Pioneer Award for her trailblazing work in education and advocacy
Julie Blumenfeld, a clinical associate professor and the nurse-midwifery program director at Rutgers School of Nursing, has received 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.
Blumenfeld has dedicated her career to improving maternal-child health and expanding equitable access to midwifery care throughout New Jersey and beyond.
She received the award – the foundation’s most prestigious – in October during the American College of Nurse-Midwives annual meeting held at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif.
Foundation President Lisa Kane Low 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 Health, Blumenfeld leads New Jersey’s only nurse-midwifery education program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Under her direction, the program continues to expand clinical partnerships and educational pathways that aim to strengthen the midwifery workforce and improve maternal and child health outcomes.
Blumenfeld also oversees Rutgers’ initiatives as the education-focused anchor of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center – a $75 million state-funded project that broke ground in July 2025 in Trenton, N.J. The center will serve as a statewide hub for clinical care, education and research aimed at reducing racial disparities in maternal and infant outcomes.
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.
Angela Starkweather
Dean, Rutgers School of Nursing
She also directs statewide initiatives funded by the New Jersey Department of Health and Division of Consumer Affairs – including the New Jersey Midwifery Education Project and the New Jersey Reproductive Training and Education Initiative – that broaden access to midwifery education and strengthen reproductive health-care capacity.
Blumenfeld’s record has earned her several 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, dean and professor of 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, Blumenfeld continues her clinical practice at Capital Health in Trenton, where she provides midwifery care – from pregnancy through childbirth and the postpartum period.