Dr. Van Gelderen is a full professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, USA who has focused her career on supporting perinatal women, and neonates, and building family-focused caring practices. For over 24 years, she has supported clients in obstetrics, neonates, women's health, and those with family care needs.

Dr. Van Gelderen offers workshops and consultations for maternal-newborn care, nursing education, family practice, and simulation. In recent years, Dr. Van Gelderen has had special interest areas of supporting high-risk, low-occurrence obstetrical emergencies such as hypertension in pregnancy, post-partum hemorrhage, cardiac conditions during pregnancy, and infertility.

Dr. Van Gelderen is the primary author of the Van Gelderen Family Care Rubric (VGFCR) (2019, 2016) which is an evidence-based validated tool that helps healthcare professionals develop family assessment and communication skills. This tool is recognized by the renowned International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and awarded the 2018-2019 articles of influence by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. This instrument is being utilized by healthcare staff and educators in twelve countries across the globe.