Virtual Conference via Zoom
Thursday, July 23, 2026  | 9:45 a.m - 6:15 p.m. CST

Hosted by Grow Midwives LLC

REGISTRATION

Licensed Professionals - $150
Students: $75

Cancellation notice:

Cancellation deadline is 5 p.m. on July 9, 2026. 

Cancellations received at least 14 days prior to the event will be eligible for a refund of 50% of the registration fee. Refunds are calculated based on the amount paid at time of registration, regardless of pricing tier. Cancellations received fewer than 14 days prior to the event will not be eligible for a refund, and the full registration fee will be retained as a cancellation fee. Registration fees are not transferable to any other attendee or to future events. Registrants who do not attend the program and do not cancel their registration at least 14 days prior to the event will be considered no-shows and will not be eligible for a refund.

Agenda:

9-9:50 a.m. CST
Pre Conference Presentation by The Doctors Company (optional-no CE credit)

10-11 a.m. CST
Keynote Presentation: What is Possible in this Time of Conflict Across Healthcare Delivery?
William Ury, Ph.D.

11 a.m.-12 p.m. CST
Regulatory Issues that Intersect the Delivery of Full Scope Midwifery Care
Jamie Cavanaugh, J.D.: Pacific Legal Foundation

12-12:30 p.m. CST
Lunch break (stay logged on the call)

12:30-1:30 p.m. CST
A Midwifery Toolkit to Navigate Policy and Payers
Ellen Breslin, MPP

1:30-2:30 p.m. CST
Midwives as Agents of Change: Leadership, Teamwork, and Transformation 
Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM

2:30-2:45 p.m. CST
Break (stay logged on the call)

2:45-4:15 p.m. CST
Yes You Can: Midwife/Physician Models That Work
Denise Fryzelka CNM, Ph.D., APNP, FACNM; Kimberly Bannon, M.D.;
Jessica Mitchell, MD; Luis Castellanos, MD; Emily Yeast CNM, Amanda Shafton, DNP, CNM

4:15-4:25 p.m. CST
Wrap Up
Ginger Breedlove, Ph.D., CNM

4:30-5:15 p.m. CST
Post Conference Presentation by Natera (optional-no CE credit)

5:15-6:15 p.m. CST
Open Mic/Social Hour with the Grow Midwives Team
Speakers and Registered Participants (optional-no CE credit)

Speakers:

William Ury, Ph.D.

From the halls of Harvard to the depths of Kentucky coal mines, from the White House Crisis Center to the deserts of Botswana, from corporate boardrooms to war zones in the Middle East, Korea, and Ukraine, William Ury has devoted his life to answering this one question that first sprang to his mind as a boy growing up under the shadow of the atomic bomb and amidst quarrels at the family dinner table.

Trained originally as an anthropologist, Ury went on to cofound Harvard’s Program on Negotiation and coauthor the world’s all-time bestselling book on negotiation, Getting to Yes, which popularized the concept of “win-win” agreements everywhere from business disputes to family feuds to partisan political battles.

Ury sought to test his theories as a negotiator in the world’s toughest conflicts. During the Cold War, Ury served as a consultant to the White House, helping the US and Soviet governments reach agreement on crisis centers to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear war. He co-founded the International Negotiation Network with former president Jimmy Carter, working to end more than a dozen wars around the world. More recently, he served for seven years as a senior advisor to Colombian president and Nobel peace laureate Juan Manuel Santos to bring an end to a fifty year civil war widely thought impossible.

In the work world, Ury has negotiated bitter labor disputes as well as what the Financial Times called “the biggest cross-continental boardroom showdown in recent history.” Ury has taught negotiation to tens of thousands of executives, government officials, military officers, teachers, lawyers, union officials, diplomats, and others. He has consulted for dozens of Fortune 500 companies at the highest levels. 

Ury’s hallmark is looking for creative, unconventional solutions to age-old problems. Noting that no one seems to fight while they walk, he spearheaded the creation of the Abraham Path, a long-distance walking trail across the Middle East which Christiane Amanpour called “an unprecedented initiative to break down barriers and foster communication in the most divided region of the world.” His TED talk “The Walk from No to Yes” has millions of views.

Jaimie Cavanaugh, J.D.

Jaimie Cavanaugh is Senior State Policy Counsel at Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), where she manages PLF’s healthcare opportunity policy portfolio. Before turning to policy work, Jaimie was a litigator for 11 years and worked to end unreasonable government barriers to entrepreneurship. This work included representing healthcare entrepreneurs. She has studied and written extensively about certificate of need (CON) laws and is a national CON policy expert.

Jaimie earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Colorado.

Diana Jolles, Ph.D., CNM, FACNM

Diana Jolles has 26 years of public health midwifery experience serving primarily in Texas, Colorado, and Arizona.  Most recently, Jolles works with multiple clinical teams to provide hospitalist coverage with Virtua Health in New Jersey and Cleveland Clinic on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Dr. Jolles served as the lead midwife initiating the expansion of Denver Health Medical Center's intrapartum team-based midwifery program. She also served as the general director for the Family Health and Birth Center, providing community-based programming, grant writing and management, and quality assurance and improvement programming. Additionally, Jolles served as a full-scope nurse-midwife in Tucson, Arizona, with El Rio Community Health Center, Tucson Medical Center, and the Midwifery Center at TMC, one of six accredited alongside midwifery units.  Dr. Jolles is a health science researcher emphasizing levels of care and Medicaid populations. She serves as faculty for Frontier Nursing University and is credited for developing the Doctor of Nursing Practice program planning, implementation, and evaluation curriculum, forming the structure for over 700 Rapid Cycle Improvement projects nationwide. Dr. Jolles graduated from Texas Women's University with a Ph.D. in Nursing Science, from the University of Colorado with the Master of Science in Nursing, and the University of Maryland at Baltimore with a bachelor’s in nursing. She is previous past chair of the Quality Section for the American College of Nurse-Midwives as well as the Research Chair for the American Association of Birth Centers.

Ellen Breslin, MPP

Ellen Breslin, MPP, founder of Breslin Health Consulting, LLC, a woman-owned business, launched in 2026 to advance health equity and better outcomes for all populations, with a special focus on people covered under Medicaid and/or Medicare. She has more than 35+ years as a leader at the state and national levels, working in government and as a health care consultant in the Medicaid and Medicare space. Breslin focuses on states, providers, community-based organizations, and foundations.

Breslin’s previous roles include being a principal at Health Management Associates (HMA), the first director for Medicaid managed care payment and analysis for MassHealth (Medicaid), and a principal at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), where she conducted analyses and prepared reports, and testimony for the Congress. Breslin got her start in health and human services as a budget analyst at the Massachusetts State House Ways and Means Committee, and as a policy analyst for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, where she developed policies, budgets, and legislation to advance community living and recovery goals for people with disabilities.

Breslin is experienced in conducting quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, developing strategic plans, conducting assessments, engaging Medicaid populations, providers, and health plans, and designing and developing financial provisions including capitation rates, risk sharing, and value-based arrangements. She has written reports and articles on many topics such as: health equity, managed care payment models, disability and chronic conditions, rural health care access, integrated care, and community-based services for those with mental health and substance use needs.

Breslin is a volunteer for the Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium, and a former board member. She received the DPC 2019 Mary Lou Maloney Award for “bringing about social change to further the rights of persons with disabilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Breslin is co-founder of Lifting Voices to advance mental wellbeing for every child and family. Breslin received her Master of Public Policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. 

Kim Bannon, M.D.

Kimberly Bannon, M.D., is a UW Health obstetrician and gynecologist and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health since 2023. She graduated from residency in Chicago in 2015, and has had experience in both academic and employed settings.  Dr. Bannon provides care for women throughout their lifespan in both general obstetrics and gynecology. She works closely with UW Certified Nurse Midwives in a shared care format—providing co-management services for high risk prenatal issues, while encouraging collaborative pregnancy and postpartum care. She enjoys the outdoors, biking, and spending time with her family.

Denise Fryzelka, CNM, Ph.D., APNP, FACNM

Denise Fryzelka, CNM, Ph.D., has over 25 years of experience providing midwifery care, education, and partnerships across many models of care. Being a midwife takes tenacity, courage, and advocacy for those they care for, those they educate, as well as for themselves and no one is more aware of the challenges and the opportunities this presents. She has practiced in diverse roles and settings, including birth centers and hospitals such as Haiti, Guatemala, Europe, and the United States.

Currently Dr. Fryzelka works in a clinical hospital-based midwifery practice at UW Hospitals and Clinics in Madison Wisconsin and also brings a unique blend of practice and evidence-based consulting, strategies and coaching as a Coach and consultant with Grow Midwives LLC. She also centralizes diversity, equity and inclusion by providing not only tools for caring diverse populations, but also equity-minded frameworks and action-based results. Her doctoral research focused on Healthcare Provider Influence on Health Behavioral Modification in Gestational Diabetics and prevention of Diabetes. Recently she was also inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse Midwives.

Amanda McPherson Shafton, CNM, DNP, FACNM

Amanda McPherson Shafton, CNM, DNP, FACNM (she/her) is the National Midwifery Director for Obstetrics Hospitalist Group. She joined OBHG in 2022 working as a midwifery hospitalist in Austin, Texas before taking on the role of CNM Director at North Austin Medical Center. In 2024, Amanda joined OBHG’s Clinical Leadership Team in the role of National Director of Midwifery. This role allows Amanda to grow and expand midwifery services across the country, advocating for continued integration of midwifery and APP services. Dr. Shafton earned her Executive Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Johns Hopkins University focusing her education on healthcare leadership and administration. She is a passionate advocate for individualized healthcare that meets the needs of each patient and each community. Amanda is a board member for The Midwife Foundation and recently served on the research committee of the Society of OB Hospitalists (SOGH). Additionally, Dr. Shafton educates current and future healthcare providers throughout the country with lectures focused on implicit bias, racism, caring for the LGBTQ+ community, and trauma-informed care.

Emily Zeno Yeast, CNM

Emily Zeno Yeast is a Certified Nurse-Midwife at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Oregon. She has been in full-scope clinical practice for 12 years, working in an integrated midwife/OB practice where midwives provide care to patients of all risk levels with OB collaboration and consultation, as needed.

Emily also serves as a board member of the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative and a member of Oregon’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee. She is the Legislative & Advocacy Committee Chair and the immediate past President of the Oregon Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Emily’s specialty interests include quality improvement, legislative advocacy, perinatal program development, and improving the care of people with substance use disorder and other marginalized populations.