After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2000 with a BS in comparative religion, Kendra attended the Lexington Healing Arts Academy and became a licensed massage therapist. For nine years, she was a labor doula and childbirth educator.
In 2012, Kendra earned her MSN at Frontier Nursing University. At graduation, she was awarded the Kitty Ernst Leadership Scholarship. Kendra works as a certified nurse-midwife and is actively involved in the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM). At the ACNM conference in 2011, Kendra won the Helen Varney Scholarship. She is currently the vice-chair of the Midwives Political Action Committee.
Her research interests are in gathering workforce data on Kentucky midwives and investigating attribution of deliveries to midwives on birth certificates. She will investigate barriers to midwifery practice and explore ways in which policy changes can improve access to midwifery care.