Lactation & Breastfeeding Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Eithne Murray developed a passion for breastfeeding as a result of her own experience as a mother – a passion she did not know she had. She initially trained as a breastfeeding counsellor with NCT in the UK and, upon moving back to Ireland, trained as a breastfeeding counsellor with Cuidiú-the Irish Childbirth Trust, later becoming a tutor. She qualified as an IBCLC in 2009, and worked privately for a while. She now works predominantly in education. This presentation was based on the research undertaken for a dissertation on transition to motherhood as part of her studies for a Masters degree.

Dr. Bond is a trained laboratory and social scientist currently studying the social and public health impacts of shared human milk. Specific areas of interest include development of the microbiome of the infant, immunological responses from the parent and infant, impacts of non-parental human milk on development of the immune response and microbiome, and risk abatement practices by participants in private arrangement milk sharing. She has been specifically trained in health disparities sciences and engages in research with a perspective on social justice, gender equity, and health equity. As a Hawaiian and Cherokee heritage scholar, she has a particular passion for colonial impacts on infant care and feeding practices.

Allyson is a physical therapist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and co-owner of Nurture Columbus, in Columbus, Ohio. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Ohio University in 1997, and Master of Physical Therapy degree from Northwestern University in 1999. After having a child in 2007, she volunteered as a La Leche League leader. She discovered a love for supporting new parents but a gap in lactation care, which led her to become an IBCLC in 2014. Her clinical approach to identifying and overcoming feeding challenges is unique with physical therapy foundations in posture, movement and reflexive function. Through presentations she endeavors to engage IBCLCs to know more about movement as related to human lactation, and PTs to learn about breastfeeding/chestfeeding as related to human development. As past-president (2019-2021) of the Ohio Lactation Consultant Association, she also advocates for equitable access to and health plan coverage for lactation care.

Ellen is the lactation services manager at Intermountain Healthcare Primary Children’s Hospital. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health Nutrition, is a Registered Dietitian and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Ellen has the unique advantage of using her nutrition knowledge as a lactation consultant. She has a passion for providing human milk for patients with nutritional challenges such as chylothorax and colitis. Her work on fat free human milk is published and has received national review. One of her career goals is to increase knowledge of nurses and healthcare providers regarding human milk immunology and breastfeeding thus improving lactation duration. Ellen has worked with the special needs breastfeeding dyad for the past 20 years at Primary Children’s Hospital to promote breastfeeding and human milk feeding. She designed, set up and manages the Mothers Milk Center at Primary Children’s hospital which opened in 2015. Ellen has presented at local, state and national meetings. She also has experience working at a corporate level with lactation consultants developing breastfeeding policies and protocols as well as lactation education programs for nurses and health care professionals.

Dr. Valérie Lavigne graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College  in 1998. In July 2005, she became an IBCLC, the first chiropractor in Quebec with the title. She has her fellowship in pediatrics from the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and has graduated in November 2014 with a Master of Science  in Pediatric Musculoskeletal Health from the Anglo-European Chiropractic College.    She is working in private practice in her chiropractic clinic in Kirkland, Quebec.

Dr.Fayrouz Essawy Pediatrician, Neonatologist, IBCLC • Neonatology Consultant ‎ • Bachelor of Medicine and surgery - Cairo University 2004‎ • Master degree of pediaterics - Ain shams University 2012‎ • Egyptian neonatology fellowship 2015‎ • IBCLC 2015 ‎ • LCCC course instructor & developer 2016‎ • Breastfeeding medicine specialist.‎ • Baby friendly coordinator.‎ • Harvard Graduate of Training of trainee program 2020.‎ • Member of the Egyptian Society of Pediatrics • Member of the Egyptian lactation consultant association (ELCA)‎ • Member of the academy of breastfeeding medicine (ABM)‎ • Member of the international lactation consultant Association (ILCA)‎

Dr. Gerner has been a Maternity and Pediatric Specialist in private practice for over 17 years with an additional focus on functional infant cranial work. She teaches other professionals to support breastfeeding across the USA and internationally. She is a wife, mother of 3 grown children, and lives in Northern CA with her husband and their 2 rescued dogs.

Paulina is the mother of three multicultural Latino children and Project Director for Lifespan Local. Paulina earned her BS in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University, a MS in Organizational leadership from the University of Denver and is completing her PhD in Health and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Colorado - Denver. Paulina has over 18 years of experience working with families with young children. As a Maternal Child Health specialist for Jefferson County Public Health, she developed a NICU follow-up home visitation program and the pediatric emergency preparedness plan, co-founded and coordinated the Conectando Network (former Adelante Jeffco), established community navigation and lactation support groups focused on the Latino Spanish speaking community, and lead other initiatives to support leadership and partnerships among communities and organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she managed the new program Whole Community Inclusion to ensure the pandemic response and recovery implementation included health equity practices that recognize the needs and the strengths of priority populations in the county. Her areas of current work include promoting perinatal and infant mental health along the continuum of care; building community capacity to navigate health and education systems; facilitating organizational change to embrace linguistic and culturally responsive practices; and establishing community-placed participatory programs to strengthen communities. She likes to be with people, learn from and with others, and connect passions for meaningful work.

Robin P. Glass, MS, OTR, IBCLC practices occupational therapy at Seattle Children's Hospital in Seattle, WA and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation, at the University of Washington. Her clinical specialty is the treatment of infants, with a strong focus on feeding and swallowing issues. She provides treatment for hospitalized infants including the NICU with a wide range of medical and developmental diagnoses. She is NDT trained and is a 20 year Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Robin has extensive national and international experience speaking about infant feeding.

Robin has received numerous awards including the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT) 2015 Pioneer Award and the 2018 Nancy Danoff Spirit of Service award from the Breastfeeding Coalition of WA and Nutrition First. Robin has co-authored numerous journal articles as well as the book Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Infancy: Assessment and Management.

Maya Bolman was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus. She was certified as IBCLC in 2001 and currently works as a lactation consultant at Senders Pediatrics and Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio.

Maya is well known internationally for her work promoting hand expression and breast massage to health professionals and parents. She recognizes that teaching these basic tools helps empower them to work through breastfeeding challenges including engorgement, plugged ducts, separation from the infant, and milk supply concerns. She has worked with Dr. Ann Witt to create an instructional video “The Basics of Breast Massage and Hand Expression” and conducts research on the effectiveness of Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation (TBML) both in the office and as a treatment at home for mothers.