Nicole Heidbreder is an educator for the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA) and brings to her teaching extensive experience as a hospice and labor and delivery nurse—work she still does on a per diem basis. She serves as a faculty educator for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and as a DONA International birth doula trainer. Prior to her nursing career she served as a production manager for projects in New York City that focused on the intersection between art and politics.
In 2016 she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honors Society, in recognition of her role as a leader in the field of nursing education. She also is a Level I Reiki practitioner and a student of the Buddhist teacher, Thich Naht Hanh. When she is not serving the dying or a birthing woman, she can be found playing with her two cats, Hermes and Apollo, or out dancing to live music.