Karline Wilson-Mitchell

Karline Wilson-Mitchell is an Associate Professor in the Midwifery Education Program at Toronto Metropolitan University's Faculty of Community Services. With over 30 years of clinical and academic experience since 1992, her work spans urban/rural U.S. settings, Canadian provinces including remote Quebec, and global leadership in midwifery education across Jamaica, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, and South Sudan.

Her educational credentials include Doctor of Nursing Practice (DrNP), Master of Science (MSc), and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), alongside professional designations as Registered Midwife (RM) and Registered Nurse (RN). She is a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (FACNM).

Professor Wilson-Mitchell's research is anchored in reproductive justice, examining health disparities through intersecting lenses of immigration, race, and gender. Her scholarship investigates respectful maternity care models, mental health of midwives, adolescent pregnancy outcomes, and trans/non-binary inclusion in midwifery education. She employs community-centered methodologies that prioritize ancestral healing traditions and spiritual wholeness alongside clinical care.

Recent publications (2021-2024) reveal a strategic focus on mental health crises among midwives, global respectful maternity care frameworks, and decolonizing midwifery education. Her work consistently connects Canadian health disparities with global south contexts through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Major recognitions include:

• 100ABC Women Award (2024)
• Dorethea M. Lang Pioneer Award, American College of Nurse-Midwives (2022)
• Viola Desmond Award (2019)
• Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (2019)
• Carrington-Hsia-Nives Doctoral Scholarship (2017)

She actively mentors through the MEP Mentorship Program (launched 2017), securing over $5 million in research funding including a $5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant for Rights for Children and Youth Partnership. Her grants consistently address structural inequities in maternity care systems through community-university partnerships across six countries.

Professor Wilson-Mitchell leads the Canadian Midwives of Colour History Project - an interdisciplinary collaboration documenting erased histories of midwives of colour - and co-founded the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour Student Collective. Her intellectual partnership model transforms how midwifery education engages with community knowledge systems and ancestral healing practices.