Neonatology Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Michelle has been a respiratory therapist for 23 years. Working in the neonatal population for approximately 22 of those years, she was the Neonatal Respiratory Care Specialist for a large organization, where she enjoyed bringing evidenced based practice to the bedside.

Angela Lober has been an educator and clinician for over 19 years. She has been an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 2005 providing evidence-based care within an academic medical center and within her community. Angela is the Director of the Arizona State University Lactation Education Programs offering on-line and academic elective on breastfeeding and lactation. She completed her PhD at Arizona State University's College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation focused on the breastfeeding complexities of late preterm infants.

Kara Wahlin is a licensed marriage and family therapist and art therapist who resides in the Coachella Valley of southern California. After going through the preterm birth of her twin sons William and Elliott, and the subsequent loss of William, Kara made the promise to dedicate her clinical work to helping other families coping with the trauma and loss often wrought by the NICU experience. She developed the website NICU Healing in order to provide free information, couples and individual therapy, and online support to NICU families. Kara uses strengths-based, neuroloscientifically-informed and creative practices to empower her clients to picking up the pieces of their lives and moving forward with their new life stories. She speaks frequently at conferences discussing best clinical practices, and writes for her own as well as other blogs about new ways of coping with mental health issues that come up after traumatic experiences. In her free time, Kara and her son Elliott are art machines and expert hikers, and also spend their time at home with their menagerie of small animals.

Dr. Souvik Mitra is an Assistant Professor and neonatologist at the Division of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He completed his medical school and pediatric residency from Calcutta Medical College, India. Dr Mitra went on to complete his neonatal fellowship at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada and is currently pursuing his Masters in Clinical Epidemiology from the same institution. Cerebral oxygenation and cardiovascular physiology in premature infants are his primary clinical research interests. He also has extensive epidemiological research experience having published a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. He has shared his research through webinars across Canada and the United States as well as through platform presentations at various international conferences. He has special expertise in targeted neonatal echocardiography and is a member of the Pan-American Hemodynamics (TnECHO) Collaborative.

Alice Farrow is an IBCLC, writer, speaker, and infant feeding and health equity advocate. Parent of a child born with a cleft lip and palate, Alice has worked extensively, since 2006, with parents, parent organisations, cleft teams health providers and lactation specialists in order to increase awareness of the specific challenges faced by cleft affected infants and their families and to imprve access to adequate lactation support for this community.

Currently based in Rome, Italy, Alice advocates for, and teaches regularly on, the topic of breastfeeding/chestfeeding with an oral cleft via presentations, courses, articles, booklets and handouts and supports parents and professionals wordwide via their Cleft Lip and Palate Breastfeeding website and associated online support group, and in person and distance consultations.

Kate White is and award-winning craniosacral and massage therapist, prenatal and early childhood educator. She is trained in somatic therapies, prenatal and perinatal health, lactation, brain development, infant mental health, and has specialized in mother-baby dyad care using somatic prevention and trauma healing approaches for nearly 20 years. She is a mother of two children, holds a BA and MA in Communication, is a Registered Craniosacral Therapist in the Biodynamic Craniosacral method and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her work combines somatic therapy with brain development to help give families with babies and small children the best possible start. She is Founding Director of Education for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health from 2013 – 2018 where she managed a large online educational program for professionals. She currently co-directs this program, administering an online program for parents and parent professionals, runs a private practice and offers her own seminars through the Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs, ppncenter.com.

Kathie, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of CT School of Medicine, is a neonatologist, member of the Human Milk Research Center at CT Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT, and graduated from Cornell University and Cornell University School of Medicine, completing postgraduate training in Pediatrics, Pediatric Nephrology and Neonatology at Children’s National Medical Center, George Washington University, Washington DC USA. In the inaugural group of physicians designated “Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine” (FABM), she served twelve years on the ABM Board of Directors, chaired the Protocol committee, and chaired the United States Breastfeeding Committee 2013-14. Elected to the International Lactation Consultant Association Board July 2014-17, she is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding, serves as the AAP Connecticut Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator since 2000, and Chairs the Baby-Friendly USA NICU Initiative. Initially founding Medical Director of the New England Mother's Milk Bank she is currently co-Medical Director of the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes and has authored many chapters, monographs, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and ABM protocols. Her research centers on breastfeeding and the use of human milk in the NICU, cup feeding, donor milk/donor milk banking, the Baby-Friendly NICU, global maternal-child issues and the education of medical professionals. Lecturing extensively in the United States and abroad, she resides in Glastonbury, CT, her greatest accomplishment her 4 amazing young adults, 19 to 29 years of age.

Dr. Joana Torres received her medical degree from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and completed her fellowship in Gastroenterology at the Hospital Center of Coimbra, Portugal. She spent 3 years at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, USA working on research projects in the field of IBD. She is currently working in Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, Loures, Portugal as a Gastroenterology Assistant and she is Adjunct Assistant Professor at Mount Sinai, NY. She is the President of the Scientific Committee of the Portuguese IBD Group and an active member of the European Crohn and Colitis Guideline committee (GuiCom). Her research focuses on populations at risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease with the goal of better understanding events taking place before the disease is diagnosed.

Amber Valentine is a Speech-Language Pathologist who graduated from the University of Kentucky with her MS in Communication Disorders. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, as well as a Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT). She worked for Baptist Health Systems, Inc for 8 years before moving to Florida where she worked for Wolfsons Children’s Hospital and Mayo Florida. She is now back in Kentucky working for Baptist Health Lexington. She has experience in adults and pediatrics with feeding and swallowing difficulties including: bedside swallow evaluations, Modified Barium Swallow studies, FEES, and pediatric feeding evaluations including NICU. She has experience with head and neck cancer patient including evaluation and treatment of swallowing difficulties, PMV use, and voice after total laryngectomy including TEP. She has provided guest lectures for the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Louisville on feeding and swallowing topics. She has presented at the hospital, local, state, national, and international levels on pediatric feeding/swallowing and breastfeeding.

Amber Valentine is a Speech-Language Pathologist who graduated from the University of Kentucky with her MS in Communication Disorders. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, as well as a Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT). She worked for Baptist Health Systems, Inc for 8 years before moving to Florida where she worked for Wolfsons Children’s Hospital and Mayo Florida. She is now back in Kentucky working for Baptist Health Lexington. She has experience in adults and pediatrics with feeding and swallowing difficulties including: bedside swallow evaluations, Modified Barium Swallow studies, FEES, and pediatric feeding evaluations including NICU. She has experience with head and neck cancer patient including evaluation and treatment of swallowing difficulties, PMV use, and voice after total laryngectomy including TEP. She has provided guest lectures for the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Louisville on feeding and swallowing topics. She has presented at the hospital, local, state, national, and international levels on pediatric feeding/swallowing and breastfeeding.