Dr. Heffernan is a nurse-midwife, parent, and faculty in the midwifery DNP program at the College of Nursing. Her research interests sit at the intersection of migration and reproductive justice, including the impact of detention on families and the experiences of pregnant migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. She draws on her personal experience with migrant justice activism and asylum accompaniment to write and think about accompaniment as an engaged social justice practice. Her teaching interests primarily focus on supporting midwifery students through the intense and transformative journey of midwifery education.