Joanna Wilder - (she/her/ella)
DNP, CNM, CPM
Joanna is a mom, a midwife, a nurse practitioner, a teacher, consultant, and mentor. She has welcomed babies in many settings. She was first a nurse: 3 years in the hospital and 14 in a freestanding birth center. Joanna initially trained in a midwifery apprenticeship and became a certified professional midwife (CPM). She had an AZ homebirth practice for eight years. After 40 years in the desert, she returned to her Oregon roots for seven years, then circled back to Arizona. Joanna attended Frontier Nursing University to become a nurse practitioner with a specialty in midwifery (Certified Nurse Midwife), graduating in 2022. Joanna finished her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2024. Her quality improvement project was “Implementing Individualized Patient-Centered Postpartum Planning in the Third Trimester in a Rural Midwifery-first Practice.” The QI project piloted a planning tool created by Kestrel Gates and licensed through Build Your Nest.
Joanna is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces for individuals to feel at home in their bodies. She loves seeing folks own their journey and experience the power of inclusive, respectful care. Joanna’s midwifery model is grounded in a shared decision-making model, utilizing informed consent as the individual owns each choice. One passion, birthed from her own story, is walking with folks healing from childhood sexual abuse, as they reclaim and integrate their body story. Joanna loves to teach nurses and midwives, speak, write, and consult in addition to her clinical practice.
Joanna’s work is grounded in principles of community development. Thirty years in an immigrant neighborhood in Phoenix have created a deep love for the Latinx community, and her Spanish was learned “de la gente.” She fights for justice, engaging her own internal anti-racism work and identifying unexamined privilege. She actively speaks out to legislators and community leaders. To pass on her passion to the next generation, she has taught both nursing and midwifery students since 2016, from an associate’s to a master’s level.
Joanna is a lactation counselor and worked with a breastfeeding program focused on empowering Latinx women. She is an herbal counselor through Dr. Aviva Romm’s program. She completed a trans-pregnancy course and continues to learn how to accompany all pregnant individuals. Currently, Joanna is pursuing her PMH-C coursework to be certified in perinatal mental health.
Photo credit: Noleen Thurman Birth Photography
Photo credit: Noleen Thurman Birth Photography
Photo credit: Noleen Thurman Birth Photography
Photo credit: Noleen Thurman Birth Photography
When she is not wearing her midwife hat, Joanna enjoys walks in the forest, desert, or by the ocean. She likes puzzles, tea, board games, and gluten-free recipes. Most of all, she loves her family, a tapestry of six kids and one brave man woven together through pregnancy, foster care, and adoption.