Kathleen Belzer

Kathleen has been a midwife for over 25 years in the greater Bay Area. She has worked in a variety of settings, including an out-of-hospital midwifery-owned birth center, private collaborative practices with obstetricians and midwives, and community health clinics. She has also worked in an academic setting at UCSF, teaching medical students and residents. She has held numerous clinical leadership positions over the years and was recently inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. She is committed to teaching residents and nurse-midwifery students in her clinical practice. She was the Lead of a Physiologic Birth/Reducing Cesarean workgroup in which there was a significant reduction in unnecessary cesarean sections. She is also involved in Anti-Racism work on many levels. She is passionate about advocating for and ensuring respectful patient-centered care for all, within the context of the systemic racism and bias that exists. She is acutely aware of how important it is to listen to each woman and provide sensitive individualized care. Currently, she is the Past President of the California Nurse-Midwives Association (CNMA) Board of Directors. Prior to being President, she served as Secretary.

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During Kathleen’s tenure at CNMA, she oversaw sweeping changes within the organization. She spearheaded the commencement of the Reproductive Justice/Anti-Racism Advisory Committee to the CNMA Board; and the rewriting of the Bylaws to be centered on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also organized and conducted the first Anti-Racism training for CNM leaders in the state and oversaw co-sponsorship of SB 464, The Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act. oversaw an extensive public education project. She also oversaw the entire legislative cycle that led to the passage of sweeping midwifery legislation, SB 1237, The Justice and Equity in Maternity Care Act. Lastly, she realized the need for advocacy beyond what CNMA had the capacity and resources to address and, as such, she founded the California Nurse-Midwives Foundation to further the work above. She was also honored to be inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2022.

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On a personal level, she has three children. Her greatest accomplishment has been to successfully launch all of them! She also enjoys hiking, dancing, biking, paddle boarding, reading, and escaping to the mountains. As of Fall 2022, she began teaching at Dominican University of California, and oversees the Women’s Health, Maternal and Newborn curriculum.