CJ Blennerhassett, RM, MHA, CHEStart a conversation

Healthcare leadership · Speaking · Education · Consulting

Better care begins with better systems.

I help healthcare organizations turn values into practical change—through evidence-informed strategy, engaging education, and leadership grounded in informed choice.

Explore my work Invite me to speak
Former President, Canadian Association of MidwivesMHA · CHEHalifax, Nova Scotia

How I can help

Strategy that stays connected to care.

My work sits at the intersection of clinical practice, leadership, policy, and learning. The common thread is making complex change clearer—and more possible.

01

Healthcare leadership

Values-based strategy, governance, organizational change, and cross-system collaboration grounded in the realities of care.

02

Consulting

Practical advice, facilitation, policy review, and program design for organizations working through complex health-system questions.

03

Speaking

Keynotes, panels, podcasts, and facilitated conversations that make ambitious ideas useful, human, and memorable.

04

Education

Evidence-informed learning for clinicians and leaders, designed to strengthen judgment, confidence, and care—not simply compliance.

Selected work

From principle to practice.

A portfolio organized around the challenge, the contribution, and what others can carry forward.

01

Governance · National leadership

Renewing governance for a complex national organization

Led governance modernization during a term as President of the Canadian Association of Midwives, strengthening representation, accountability, and strategic decision-making.

Leadership · Governance design · Coalition building

02

Policy · Inclusive care

Turning gender-inclusive values into clinical practice

Co-chaired the development and implementation of health-system policy and education, translating evidence and lived realities into practical guidance for care teams.

Policy · Education · Change leadership

03

Service design · Clinical integration

Bringing midwifery expertise across hospital services

Contributed to the design and evaluation of a hospitalist-midwife model connecting expertise across assessment, birth, postpartum, and neonatal care.

Program design · Evaluation · Clinical leadership

04

Workforce · System strategy

Advancing a sustainable, integrated midwifery workforce

Contributed to provincial and national work on workforce sustainability, primary-care integration, informed choice, and reproductive health policy.

Strategy · Advocacy · Stakeholder engagement

Speaking & education

Ideas people can use on Monday.

I bring clinical experience, system-level perspective, and an educator’s instinct to every room. Sessions are tailored to the audience and built for thoughtful conversation—not passive agreement.

“The goal is not simply to inspire people. It is to help them see the work—and their role in it—more clearly.”
Discuss a speaking invitation

Current topics

  1. 01

    Informed choice without moral distress

  2. 02

    Midwifery as a model for health-system transformation

  3. 03

    Gender-inclusive reproductive and sexual healthcare

  4. 04

    Values-based leadership, governance, and culture change

KeynotesPanelsWorkshopsPodcasts

Selected engagements & teaching

Media & conversations

HIROC · Healthcare Change Makers podcast

Growing Midwifery in an Area Where it’s Really Needed

Healthing

The modern midwife: Challenging convention and putting patient wishes first

The Hill Times

Midwives are key to a stronger health-care system

Birth Fund · Conversation from ICM

LGBTQ+ care in the birth space

Have another topic in mind?

These are starting points, not limits. I welcome invitations on adjacent topics and enjoy shaping keynotes, workshops, panels, and conversations around the audience, context, and decisions in front of them.

Tell me about your audience

About CJ

Clinical credibility. System-level perspective.

CJ Blennerhassett (they/she) is a healthcare leader, educator, speaker, and registered midwife based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

CJ is a practicing midwife and former President of the Canadian Association of Midwives. Their work sits at the intersection of direct clinical care, health-system leadership, policy, equity, and public advocacy, giving them a rare perspective on both the human and structural sides of health care.

With experience spanning direct care, national governance, policy, education, and advocacy, CJ helps people work through difficult questions without losing sight of the people affected by the answers. They hold a Master of Health Administration and the Certified Health Executive designation, and previously served as President of the Canadian Association of Midwives.

Their approach is collaborative and candid: use evidence well, name the values at stake, and design change that can survive contact with real clinical environments.

CJ has delivered national and international keynote addresses on health-system transformation, inclusive care, and midwifery leadership. They are recognized for advancing patient-centred, equity-driven models of care and for championing informed choice as foundational to inclusive health systems. In addition to their leadership and clinical work, CJ is a volunteer firefighter, proudly serving their community as a first responder.

01

Evidence over rhetoric

Use the best available evidence, while being honest about uncertainty and context.

02

Choice over compliance

Support excellent counsel and education without taking ownership of another person’s decision.

03

Practice over performance

Translate organizational values into the policies, relationships, and habits people experience.

Start a conversation

Have a challenge worth working through?

Share a little about your organization, audience, or project. I’ll respond with questions, fit, and a practical next step.

Email CJ Speaking inquiry

Prefer to email directly? hello@workwithcj.ca