Mary K. Collins received a baccalaureate in nursing from Memphis State University in 1984 and a masters in nursing in nurse-midwifery from Emory University in 1986. In 2003, after twenty years of providing health care for women and children, she took a brief sabbatical to obtain a juris doctor from Nova Southeastern University. She has worked as an attorney and a nurse educator, as well as clinical instructor for medical students and nurse practitioner students. She has over twenty-five years experience in women’s health care.