Medications & Herbs Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Associate Professor Luke Grzeskowiak is a clinical pharmacist and Practitioner Fellow in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Australia. He is passionate about improving health outcomes for mothers and babies through the development and promotion of more effective and safer approaches towards medicines use. Luke has been undertaken research involving the use of domperidone for 10-years. He is currently the lead investigator on a number of projects examining the use of domperidone to increase breast milk supply in clinical practice, predictors of treatment response to domperidone, and causes of low breast milk supply. He is also the lead investigator on a large clinical trial comparing the effects of different doses of domperidone in the treatment of lactation insufficiency. He has published widely on the topic of treatment for low breast milk supply, with many of these publications cited in clinical practice guidelines locally and internationally.

Melissa Cole, MS, IBCLC, RLC is a board certified lactation consultant, neonatal oral-motor assessment professional, and clinical herbalist in private practice. Melissa has been passionate about providing comprehensive, holistic lactation support and improving the level of clinical lactation skills for health professionals. She enjoys teaching, researching and writing about wellness and lactation-related topics. Melissa holds a bachelor of science degree in maternal child health and lactation consulting and her master’s work is in therapeutic, clinical herbalism. Melissa actively conducts research and collaborates with several lactation and health care professional associations. Before pursuing her current path, Melissa’s background was in education and cultural arts, which has served her well in her work as a lactation consultant and healthcare educator. She loves living, working and playing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her 3 children.

Katrien Nauwelaerts graduated as a prehistoric archaeologist in 2005. She's the mother of three breastfed children and the administrator of the Dutch breastfeeding-website Borstvoeding Aardig, https://borstvoeding.aardig.be. Katrien worked as a volunteer breastfeeding-counsellor, provincial coordinator and training manager for the Belgian breastfeeding organisation Borstvoeding vzw between 2010-2014. Up tot 2018 she was the founder and president of Aardig Leven vzw, a non profit ecological organisation. In 2013 she became an IBCLC. Since 2013 she's working as a lactation consultant at her own private practice Borstvoeding Aardig. She became a nutritionist and a herborist in 2014. Katrien shares her experiences and knowledge on lactation consulting as a public speaker since 2014.

Amy Holmes has practiced as a pharmacist for 21 years with the last 9 years being focused in neonatal critical care at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC. She holds degrees in pharmacy from University of North Carolina (BS) as well as the University of Maryland at Baltimore (PharmD). Amy serves as the Residency Program Director for the acute care PGY1 program at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. She is active in state and national pharmacy organizations including the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG) and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Philip O. Anderson, Pharm.D., FCSHP, FASHP is a Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Pharmacy at the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences where he heads the course on drug information.
Dr. Anderson has lectured and published extensively on drug use during breastfeeding including in professional journals and textbooks, including original research on drug excretion into breastmilk. Dr. Anderson founded the LactMed® database, which is part of the National Library of Medicine’s Bookshelf. He continues to write LactMed® records and to expand the database. He has authored the medication appendix to the popular handbook, The Nursing Mothers' Companion. Dr. Anderson is the Pharmacology Editor of the professional journal, Breastfeeding Medicine, and writes a monthly column on medication use during breastfeeding for the journal. He has also been a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration on the topic of drug labeling with respect to use during lactation.

Marie Zahorick, MS, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-C, IBCLC became a La Leche League Leader in 1999 and an IBCLC in 2005. After several years of working as a hospital-based bilingual Spanish-speaking IBCLC, she attended nursing school and eventually became a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. In the meantime, she continued working as a hospital-based lactation consultant doing inpatient, outpatient, and NICU lactation. She did not get much sleep.

After graduate school, Marie went to work in psychiatry and also did a post-masters certificate to became board-certified in psychiatry and mental health. She was fellowship-trained to manage patients in the acute inpatient setting, partial hospitalization, outpatient office, and OB patients in the general hospital setting.

She specializes in women's psychiatry, especially medical management of women who are pregnant or lactating. Her expertise also includes general psychopharmacology. She is experienced at diagnosing and treating mental conditions such as bipolar disorder, perinatal/postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, postpartum psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, premenstrual and perimenopausal mood disorders, and personality disorders.

She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three adult children in their 20s. Her children all breastfed for at least two years but now just make faces when confronted with that embarrassing fact.

Dr. Nour El Hoda is a dedicated lactation consultant with a profound commitment to supporting breastfeeding mothers and infants. Her journey began in 2014, initially as a community volunteer, where she witnessed the challenges mothers faced on their breastfeeding journeys. Motivated to make a lasting impact, she pursued a transformative path, eventually becoming a Certified Lactation Specialist in 2015, the an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

Dr. Nour El Hoda's approach to lactation support is rooted in her belief that each breastfeeding experience is unique. Holding a PharmD degree from Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, her background in pharmacy, allows her to provide holistic guidance, blending medical expertise with compassionate care.

What sets her apart is her extensive experience across diverse settings, including hospitals, home visitation programs, and training of breastfeeding specialists. She also offered her technical support to different organizations and helped numerous families overcome challenges and reach their breastfeeding goals.

Dr. Nour El Hoda's commitment extends beyond in-person consultations, offering online resources, follow-up care, and support groups to empower families on their breastfeeding journeys. . She is passionate about spreading breastfeeding knowledge among peers and professionals as well as through her direct work with mothers.

As a continuous learner, Dr. Nour El Hoda stays updated with the latest advancements in lactation support, ensuring her clients receive top-notch care. Her speaking engagement at the esteemed conference promises a wealth of knowledge and inspiration, sharing invaluable insights into the art and science of lactation consulting.