Kara Boeldt

Kara Boeldt is the Founder & Director of EndPreeclampsia.org and its global patient support network. After suffering a traumatic first pregnancy in which she developed severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and a silent placental abruption at 31 weeks gestation, followed by a NICU stay and subsequent surgeries for her infant daughter, she began seeking out others who had been through something similar. She realized that there was limited support available where women could share their experiences.

In order for no woman to feel alone, as she did after her preeclampsia experience, Kara and a small group of dedicated volunteers from across the world began operating Preeclampsia, Eclampsia & HELLP Syndrome Survivors Global Support Group.

Kara is a Certified Trauma-Informed Professional, a Patient Advisor for several organizations and research studies, including the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative, Patient Advisor for the $10 Million HRSA Grant partnership between the University of Iowa Health Care and the Iowa Department of Public Health to improve maternal outcomes for women in Iowa which supported the development of the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, and a member of several other PQC's, as well as a Patient Advisory Board Member for Comanche Biopharma. Kara is a member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, and Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses, and a Stakeholder Advisory Board member of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Iowa. Kara has given talks at Perinatal Conferences, Grand Rounds and Postgraduate Courses for the University of Wisconsin, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and UnityPoint Health, and at the Annual Conference of The Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She was the HOPE Award Recipient for Maternal Health Volunteer of the Year in 2009, and the Champions for Change Maternal Health Champion of the Year award recipient in 2019. She has led charitable giving initiatives raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Maternal Health causes over the last 17 years. Kara resides in Chicago, IL.