Laura Lucas is a Clinical Nurse Specialist with a specialty in Maternal Child Nursing and is currently the Director of the Masters Programs at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She is the faculty coordinator of the Birth Companions Program in which students are taught to be birth doulas. After completing the course, students are equipped to provide free doula-support to pregnant individuals throughout the state of Maryland and D.C. who desire to have a doula through the Birth Companion program. Dr. Lucas is also the co-chair of a sub-committee within the Maryland D.C. (MDDC) Collaborative, a large group of individuals from academia and institutions working to optimize clinical experiences and minimize barriers for students and clinical faculty in the state. Additionally, Dr. Lucas is working to place students into community settings to prepare them for providing care in outpatient settings such as clinics, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation sites, wound centers, and infusion centers as opposed to traditional acute care settings. Dr. Lucas received her DNP from Chatham University, MS from the University of Delaware, BS from Johns Hopkins University, and an AD from Essex Community College of Baltimore County.