GOLD Learning Speakers

Camie Jae Goldhammer, MSW, LICSW, IBCLC, (Sisseton-Wahpeton) is a Clinical Social Worker and Lactation Consultant. Camie received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington in 2006, specializing in Maternal Mood Disorders and the affects of complex/Intergenerational trauma on attachment, bonding and the parenting practices of Native families.

Camie is the founder and chair of the Native American Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington. She is also a founding mother and President-Elect of the National Association of Professional and Peer Lactation Supporters of Color. In 2013 she became Washington state's first Native American IBCLC. Camie is a consultant with CHEER and is also a part of the Center for Social Inclusion’s First Food Racial Equity Cohort. Recently she worked as a Campaign Director with MomsRising working to bring paid family and medical leave to Washington State which was signed into law in July 2017. She is now a member of the MomsRising breastfeeding team. She is a National leader on topics of racial equity and first food justice and recently launched the Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor training.

Dr. Camila Palma obtained her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC), Mexico City. She also holds a Master of Science in Dentistry in Pediatric Dentistry (MSc) from the University of Barcelona, Spain and was certified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2019. Dr. Palma is Associate Professor in the Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Department, Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia, and Vice-president of the Peruvian Society of Pediatric Dentistry (2021-2023). She also has her own Pediatric Dentistry dental practice in Lima, Peru (Chis Dental). Dr. Palma is the author of several scientific articles, especially in caries prevention and infant oral healthcare. She is also a lecturer in Latin American and European Dental and Lactation Conferences and content creator on children´s oral health for parents through her YouTube channel (Dra. Camila Palma), instagram and Facebook accounts (@chisdental).

Dr. Cara graduated from Arizona State University of with Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. She is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner in addition to having her IBCLC certification. Dr. Cara is also a diplomate of the American Board of Laser Surgery, specializing in “Oral Surgery in Infants, Toddler, and Adults. Dr Cara describes her career as a diversifying adventure: research, teaching, nursing, and now breastfeeding medicine specialist. She strives to provide meaningful, evidence-based care to mother-baby dyads. Her mission is to support mothers where they are at and help them journey into the breastfeeding relationship they desire. She strives to make sure that each patient is able to reach their desired goal and have an amazing breastfeeding relationship.

Dr. Caraciolo Fernandes is an academic neonatologist whose clinical experience and training spans three different countries/continents and over three decades. He received his medical degree from Grant Medical College in India, and did Fellowships at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Australia and Baylor College of Medicine, USA before joining the faculty at the Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor in 1998. He recently acquired a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee in 2018.

A clinician-educator and practicing neonatologist, he is actively involved in teaching Baylor College of Medicine medical students, pediatric residents and neonatology fellows. At Texas Children's Hospital, he has served as the Medical Director for Neonatal Transport since 2008, and is involved in multi-disciplinary clinical research, and quality improvement initiatives. He also is a QI Coach at Baylor College of Medicine Institute for Continuing Professional Development in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.

Nationally, he is a past member of Executive Committee of the Section of Transport Medicine of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and an editor of the inaugural edition of the Field Guide for Air and Ground Transport of Neonatal and Pediatric Patients that was introduced at the AAP National conference in Orlando, FL in November 2018. He is a senior editor of "Guidelines for the Acute Care of the Neonate," currently in its 28th annual revision, a handbook that has served as a resource for health-caregivers at Baylor-affiliated institutions for over two decades, and, currently via free online download, for practitioners in over 50 countries.

Carlos González was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1960. He is married and is the father of three children. In 1983 he graduated in medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and between 1984 and 1987 he studied pediatrics at the Hospital of Sant Joan de Déu in that city.
He is founder and president of ACPAM (Catalan Association for Breastfeeding) since 1991. Since this association he has directed and taught in more than 100 courses on breastfeeding for health professionals. He is the author of several books, including My child won’t eat, Kiss me!, and Breastfeeding made easy. He has lectured for professionals or general public in Germany, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Spain, United States, France, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Russia, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Since 1994, he has been a regular contributor to Ser Padres magazine , where he attends a nursing and child feeding office. He has also collaborated with other publications, such as the magazine Tu Baby, Mente Sana, Lecturas, the disappeared Solaica and the newspaper in Catalan Ara.

Carlota López-Peredo has a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Special Needs Education from Madrid Complutense University. She is an inspirational trainer, the owner of a clinic in Madrid, and the Program Liaison for Breakthroughs International. As a certified International Faculty for both the Brain Gym® and Movement Based Learning programs, Carlota provides experiential training worldwide for educators, families, caregivers, developmental specialists, and others, providing a large range of tools focusing on early intervention, developmental delays and disorders, as well as learning disabilities.

After working in the classroom for five years, she opened a clinic for developmental delays and learning difficulties. At her clinic, parents appreciate her commitment, connection with the children and professionalism. In her classes, her students enjoy the passion she communicates when teaching, and her ability to make learning a fun process. Carlota's passion is helping families and educators using designed movements to enhance the individual developmental foundation and reach a higher functioning level.

Carmela is a family medicine MD, bachelor´s degree in Public Health Education, and IBCLC since 2005. She is also a BFHI Evaluator and the co founder and past president of the Spanish Lactation Consultant Association (AECCLM). She works in a private Family Wellness Clinic, Raices, as person in charge of the lactation program, which includes two IBCLCs attending breastfeeding families and an extensive offer of breastfeeding training for health care professionals and breastfeeding peer counsellors. The team has trained over three thousand doctors, midwives and nurses from both the Spanish National Health Service and the private sector in Spain. She is a frequent lecturer at national conferences, and has also lectured internationally, both on-site and online. She is the author of several scientific papers on breast pain, mastitis and tongue tie. She is also the author of a breastfeeding/parenting book, “Amar con los Brazos Abiertos” (To Love with Open Arms). She is married to Carlos and they homeschool their four children.

Carol has been a therapeutic bodyworker in Portland, Oregon for over 26 years. She is a retired home birth midwife. She specializes in infant and maternal Craniosacral Therapy.
Carol is convinced that if women are appropriately supported in growing, birthing and nurturing their babies, their lives will improve. When women's lives improve their children's health improves. Healthy children grow up to be healthier adults who create healthier communities and a saner, more peaceful world. Carol believes that when things are out of balance even the smallest intervention can bring about great healing. Our need for it is so great. Carol is passionate about using her CST skills to gently make space in maternal bodies so babies can assume ideal positions for gestation and birth. She is currently developing specialized prenatal yoga classes to support and enhance the maternal bodywork techniques she practices and teaches.

Carol Smyth is an IBCLC and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist working in a busy private practice in Northern Ireland. With a background in psychology she is driven by a passion to promote attachment based and trauma informed care to families and babies. She is the author of the Why Infant Reflux Matters book, both an HCP education resource and a self-help book for families worried about their baby’s reflux symptoms. Her interest in fertility while breastfeeding began when breastfeeding and wanting to grow her own family, and finding that research on the topic was very scant. Pulling together what was available she created a series of resources on her website, which are highly viewed.

Dr. Wallman is an Assistant Professor at the Loretto Heights School of Nursing and the Coordinator of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program. She has over 30 years’ experience as an NNP with clinical experience ranging from low to high risk neonates including air transport. She has had a particular interest in perinatal substance use disorders and the impact on the neonate and family. She has been the co-chair of the Perinatal Substance Abuse Advisory Panel for UCHealth North and on the Colorado Substance Exposed Newborn Steering Committee since 2008. In 2015 she was the recipient of the Colorado Nightingale Award and in in 2006 the Distinguished Service in Neonatal Nursing Award from the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. She also served as the only nurse in the nation on the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn where best practice standards for the care of neonates are developed and she currently serves on the Editorial Board of NeoReviews for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Carole Hervé is a private IBCLC (since 2011). She helps breastfeeding mothers at home or location of their choice, mostly in Paris and in the nearest neighborhood.

Prior to opening her private practice, she has been a La Leche Leader since 2008. Carole is passionate about information-gathering, education, articles writing, communications and training to provide lactation consulting and sensitive support to the families she works with.

She has been trained to support families with Sensory Food Aversion issues by Catherine Senez, a speech therapist in 2013 and is also BNCLC (Biological Nurturing Certified Lactation Consultant®).

She has been a speaker at the GOLD Lactation Online Conference in 2012, and in 2013 she translated 20 presentations from the GOLD Lactation Online Conference into French.

Carole has been strongly involved in the coordination of the International Breastfeeding Day (Journée Internationale de l’Allaitement), an event organized by La Leche League France. Carole is the mother of three children born in 2001, 2003 and 2006.

For over 25 years, Caroline has had the pleasure of advising new mothers, growing families, and breastfeeding babies. Along with being a certified lactation consultant in private practice, she leads a weekly parenting and breastfeeding support group for moms and their babies through six months of age. For nearly two decades at a community hospital, she taught prenatal breastfeeding classes. She works among a team of lactation consultants in a thriving postpartum unit. Caroline also practices as a nurse practitioner at a pediatrician’s office. As a provider, she enjoys integrating her knowledge and skills from pediatric nutrition and lactation into primary care. Currently working on a breastfeeding book for new moms, she remains passionate about using various means to teach breastfeeding and help families get off to a great start.

Caroline Kruger read notarial civil law at Groningen University (NL) and worked in Rotterdam (NL) for one of the biggest law firms of The Netherlands, practicing family law and estate planning for close to ten years. Then she started a family. Her own journey in breastfeeding led her to read up on breastfeeding a lot. She began the VBN training for peer-to-peer breastfeeding counseling and also volunteered at a local hospital. She went to Artevelde Hogeschool in Ghent (BEL) to follow lectures by Gonneke Veldhuizen-Staas (amongst others). She then assisted the start up of the only milk bank in The Netherlands (while still in Rotterdam). After the milk bank moved to Amsterdam, she started her private practice Nultien Borstvoeding.

Carolyn Lund has been a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the NICU at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland for over 30 years, and is also an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

She has contributed to knowledge of neonatal skin care through original research in the areas of skin maturation, skin integrity and adhesive damage, and bathing. Under her leadership, the first evidence-based Neonatal Skin Care Guideline was developed and evaluated in 51 nurseries in the US in 2001. She then served as team leader on revisions of guideline in 2007 and 2013 and is currently working on the 4th revision due in 2018.

In addition to neonatal skin care, Carolyn has lectured extensively on surgical care and vascular access for neonates.

Carrie Sue Halsey is a Clinical Nurse Specialist located in Houston, Texas. She earned her advanced nursing degree from the University of Cincinnati and her BSN from the University of West Florida. She is NCC certified in inpatient obstetrics and is an NRP and AWHONN instructor. She is a Trained Breastfeeding Educator and enjoys assisting parents with their breastfeeding goals. Carrie is a natural birth and breastfeeding advocate. Carrie advocates for education and empowerment for nurses and parents through on her blog, PerinatalEmpowerment.com and YouTube Channel. Her experiences of pregnancy, labor and birth as a mother, nurse, writer and educator have made her a passionate crusader for perinatal empowerment.

Dr. Briere is a Nurse Scientist and Postdoctoral fellow with a joint appointment at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing. Her clinical background is as a nurse in a level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. As a nurse in the NICU, Dr. Briere was passionate about getting mothers to hold and feed their babies, and be directly involved in the care and decision making during their infant’s hospitalization. During her doctoral program Dr. Briere’s research focused on the importance of direct-breastfeeding in the NICU. Towards the end of her program, she learned about the presence of stem cells in breastmilk. Since then, she has transitioned into a bench to bedside translation research trajectory where she is studying breastmilk stem cells. Her work is focused on breastmilk stem cells from mothers of preterm infants and their involvement in infant growth and development, specifically their protective and regenerative mechanisms.

I studied Biology at the University of York (UK) before training as a midwife in Norwich (University of East Anglia, UK) I have been a stay at home parent for the past few years but continue to read on the physiology of birth which is my passion and have written for MIDIRS midwifery magazine. I am a member of AIMS (Association for the Improvements in the Maternity Services) UK and an Associate member of the Royal College of Midwives.

Dr. Pound is a Clinical Investigator at the CHEO Research Institute, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa, and the Resident Research Coordinator for the Pediatric Residency Program at the University of Ottawa. She is a specialist in the field of Consulting Pediatrics and has presented at national meetings, and published in the area of breastfeeding, and has authored a position statement on breastfeeding for the Canadian Pediatric Society.

Catherine Watson Genna BS, IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in New York City. Certified in 1992, Catherine is particularly interested in helping moms and babies breastfeed when they have medical challenges and is an active clinical mentor. She speaks to healthcare professionals around the world on assisting breastfeeding babies with anatomical, genetic or neurological problems. Her presentations and her writing are enriched by her clinical photographs and videos. Catherine collaborates with Columbia University and Tel Aviv University Departments of Biomedical Engineering on research projects investigating the biomechanics of the lactating nipple and various aspects of sucking and swallowing in breastfeeding infants. She is the author of Selecting and Using Breastfeeding Tools: Improving Care and Outcomes (Praeclarus Press 2009) and Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants (Jones and Bartlett Learning 2008, 2013, 2017) as well as professional journal articles and chapters in the Core Curriculum for Lactation Consultant Practice and Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. Catherine served as Associate Editor of the United States Lactation Consultant Association’s official journal Clinical Lactation for its first seven years.

Cathy Carothers is co-director of Every Mother, a non-profit organization providing lactation training for health professionals. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1996, she has provided more than 600 training events and conference presentations in every U.S. state/territory and several countries. She is past president of the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), a fellow of ILCA, and past chair of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. She chairs the design team for the equity initiative in the lactation consultant profession, and chairs the Monetary Investment for Lactation Consultant Certification (MILCC), which works to reduce financial barriers to the IBCLC exam. She has directed several national breastfeeding promotion and support initiatives for the U.S. federal government, including the national USDA WIC peer counseling program, and national workplace support initiatives through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She was honored with the 2014 National Leadership Award from the National WIC Association.

Cecilia Jevitt is the Midwifery Director and a tenured associate professor at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine. From 2013 to 2018, she directed the Yale School of Nursing’s Midwifery and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner master’s degree programs. She has done capacity-building teaching and curriculum consultations in Switzerland, Laos, China and Ghana.
Jevitt studied midwifery at Emory University. Her 1993 doctorate in applied medical anthropology is from the University of South Florida. She established an academic division of midwifery with the University of South Florida College of Medicine while jointly appointed to the Colleges of Nursing and Public Health.
She is an elected Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and is the At Large Member of the FACNM Board. Jevitt was a Florida Nurses Association Great 100 Nurse in 2009, the 2010 Reviewer of the Year for the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, the University of South Florida Department of Anthropology’s Distinguished Alumni in 2012, and a 2014 Connecticut Nightingale Excellence in Nursing Award winner.
Jevitt’s scholarship focuses on perinatal weight gain optimization and integrating obesity prevention and management into women’s health especially the perinatal and lactation periods.

Cecília Tomori is Associate Professor and Director of Global Public Health and Community Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing with a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a Hungarian American anthropologist and public health scholar whose work investigates the structural and sociocultural drivers that shape health, illness and health inequities. Dr. Tomori is an internationally recognized expert on breastfeeding, infant sleep and maternal child health.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has supported numerous organizations focused on maternal child health and health equity and advocated for equitable pandemic policies. She has authored three books on breastfeeding and reproduction, and published numerous articles on a range of public health and anthropological topics.

Chauntel Norris is a native of Birmingham, AL. She attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned her B.A. in African American Studies & her B.S. in Psychology.
Chauntel is a DONA trained Birth & Post-Partum Doula, a Lamaze trained Childbirth Educator and a Certified Lactation Counselor. She is the Co-founder of Baobab Birth Collective and currently serves as the Mother's Milk Initiative Coordinator for the Alabama Prison Birth Project.
Chauntel is the mother of two brilliant children Amaiya and Ozell.

Cheri Grant RN, ICCE, CLC, ICD, CLD, CD BDT(DONA). Is the Coordinator of LifeStart Program at St John Owasso Hospital. Childbirth Graphics named her “The Peanut Ball Lady” She is the founder and consultant for Premier Birth Tools a website that has resources for peanut balls and its mission is to get peanut balls in every hospital in the United States with resources for everyone in the world, and to teach how to use it correctly. She continues to guest lecture to OU, OSU residents and nurses on maternal and child health topics such as the "Secrets of Labor Support." She spoke on the peanut ball at the National LAMAZE convention “The Peanut Ball- New Tool for Your Doula Bag and Its Effect on Laboring Women “She has also published several an articles on the peanut ball including " The Peanut Ball: A Remarkable Labor Support Tool " in the DONA international magazine and the "Peanut Ball, Improving Options for Women Laboring with an Epidural" in Australian Midwifery News. She has recently been featured on the Podcast “How do Peanut Balls Support Labor? “ for Evidence Based Birth. She is an Authorized Peanut Ball Trainer and has developed many educational tools for the peanut ball. She also has given over 100 in-services on the peanut ball. She is the Founder of Tulsa Doulas Inc. Doulas of Northeastern Oklahoma which she started 25 years ago. She is a Birth DONA Doula Trainer her certificate number is #2 as a trainer for DONA. She is certified as a Doula through DONA, ICEA and CAPPA. She is an internationally certified childbirth educator through ICEA for over 30 years. Cheri is an author of “Labor Support Forms – A Guide to Doula Charting” which is in its Third edition and on the app Mobile Doula . Several of her articles have been published in ICEA and DONA Journals. She has lectured at DONA international conventions and AWHONN State conventions “. The Peanut Ball" and Implications for Women Health”. She also produced and directed a Video on “Comfort Measures for Labor.” She teaches and coordinates training workshops for Birth Doulas and nurses talking about the profession of doulas around the country. She previously was a lactation consultant IBCLC for over 10 years. She also maintains her lactation educator. Previously she was also AWHONN certified in-patient obstetrical nurse for many years. She was also featured on the front page of the Tulsa World for her 42 years of work with pregnant and laboring women. Teaching and speaking about how to correctly use the peanut ball is her passion.

Cheryl has been a practicing educational psychologist for 37 years. She has spent the last 34 years of her career providing psychological, neurodevelopmental and infant mental health services in neonatal intensive care units and developmental follow-up clinics. Cheryl currently is working with NICUs to provide staff professional development and self-care education. This work nurtures the NICU professional team so they can nurture and support infants and their families. Cheryl is the National Perinatal Association’s Director of Development and Outreach. Cheryl is a member of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, The Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health. She advocates for families with substance use issues during the perinatal period.Cheryl’s passion is helping families and staff to give optimal care to infants and young children. This care provides the infant or child with the foundation they need to live full, rich and healthy lives.

Dr. Beck is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing. Her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing is from Western Connecticut State University. She received her Master’s degree in maternal-newborn nursing and became a certified nurse-midwife at Yale University. Her Doctor of Nursing Science degree is from Boston University. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She has received numerous awards such as the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nursing’s Distinguished Professional Service Award and the Distinguished Alumna Award from Yale University. Over the past 30 years Cheryl has focused her research efforts on developing a research program on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. She developed the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) which is published by Western Psychological Services. She is a prolific writer who has published over 140 journal articles. Cheryl’s textbook, Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, received both the 2007 and the 2011 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award. Her book entitled Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Clinician’s Guide received the 2006 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award. She recently published another book, Traumatic Childbirth.

Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., is an innovator, author, organizational executive and educator. Throughout her career, Cheryl has focused on the well-being of children, families, communities and the environment that supports us all. Cheryl is the Co-Founder, President and CEO Emerita of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), www.childrenandnature.org. She currently is Adjunct Faculty and Executive Director of the Nature-based Leadership Institute at Antioch University New England, an elected local school board member, a member of the Steering Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication and Co-Chair of IUCN’s #NatureForAll, www.natureforall.global. She served as founding National Director of the pioneering K-12, interdisciplinary environment education programs, Project Learning Tree and Project WILD. Cheryl is author, editor and designer of a wide variety of publications. She lives in Vermont, USA, a short walk through the woods from her son, daughter-in-law and two nature-loving grandchildren.

Chesney Willis, MHS, CCC-SLP, IBCLC is a certified speech language pathologist and lactation consultant from the University of Missouri Women’s and Children’s hospital. She earned her master of health sciences degree from the University of Missouri in 2008 and obtained her IBCLC in 2017. Chesney has over 13 years of experience working across outpatient rehabilitation, home-health, inpatient care for pediatrics and neonates in level II and III NICU settings. Clinical expertise includes evaluation and treatment of disordered swallowing and feeding in special neonate populations. Experience includes the development and dissemination of education for best feeding practices for late preterm and preterm infants to families and inter-disciplinary health care providers. She is passionate about supporting mother-baby breastfeeding dyads with special feeding considerations from hospitalization through the transition to home.

Dr. Christina Hibbert is the bestselling author of This Is How We Grow, Who Am I Without You, 8 Keys to Mental Health Through Exercise, & the forthcoming Mastery of Motherhood (www.MasteryOfMotherhood.com). She is a clinical psychologist specializing in women’s and maternal mental health, parenting, grief/loss, self-worth, and personal growth, and host of the weekly web radio/TV show, “Motherhood.”.Dr. Hibbert is a popular speaker, founder of the Arizona Postpartum Wellness Coalition, and producer of the internationally-sold DVD, Postpartum Couples. A mother of six, Christina was named “Mother of the Year” AZ, 2018, and lives in Flagstaff, AZ, with her husband and family. Learn more about Dr. Hibbert through her award-winning website and blog, “The Psychologist, The Mom, & Me,” at www.DrChristinaHibbert.com.

Dr. Smillie is an American pediatrician who founded in 1996 the first private medical practice in the USA devoted to the specialty of breastfeeding medicine. Board certified by both the American Board of Pediatrics in 1983 and by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners in 1995, she values her continuing education from colleagues, research, and breastfeeding babies and their mothers. She’s been a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine since 1996, and an ABM Fellow since 2002. She serves as an advisor to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding and on La Leche League International’s Health Advisory Council. Dr. Smillie speaks nationally and internationally about the clinical management of a wide variety of breastfeeding issues, always stressing the role of the motherbaby as a single psychoneurobiological system, and emphasizing the innate instincts underlying both maternal and infant competence.

Christine Bishop is a neonatologist, bioethicist, medical educator, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. She founded and directs the Brenner Children’s Hospital Care Always ™ Neonatal/Perinatal Palliative Care Program that provides holistic care for infants with life-limiting and complex medical conditions. Dr. Bishop received her MD from The Ohio State University School of Medicine and Public Health and completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio. She completed a Master of Arts in bioethics at the Wake Forest University Center for Bioethics, served as the lead clinical ethics consultant for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, chairs the Clinical Ethics Consultation Committee, and co-directs the undergraduate medical humanities course at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Christine is both a General Practitioner and senior lecturer in the Dept. of Paediatrics at The University of Auckland. She has taken a career long interest in Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy and is now a doctoral candidate with Prof. Ed Mitchell. She also has a Primary care liaison role at her local district health board and is a clinical editor for primary care web-based Auckland Regional HealthPathways. Her current programme of research involves implementing and evaluating a web-based SUDI risk assessment tool with wrap around care planning for babies at higher risk, in the Counties Manukau Health District Health Board area in Auckland, New Zealand.

Christine Morton is a medical sociologist at the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) at Stanford University where she conducts research on maternal mortality and morbidity and helps translate the findings into maternal quality toolkits.

As a sociologist, Dr Morton seeks to explore the social meanings of maternal quality among all stakeholders. Her speaking and writing connects her to nursing, obstetric, midwifery, doula, public and social science audiences.

Her book, Birth Ambassadors: Doulas & the Re-emergence of Woman-Supported Childbirth in America, documents the history and experience of the doula role in US maternity care and is on the required reading list for DONA International.

She is a long time Lamaze board member and currently chairs a Lamaze Work Group, which aims to demonstrate the value of childbirth education. She is married to an internet sociologist and they have a son and daughter, ages 22 and 17, who were born safe and healthy thanks to great teamwork.

Christine Staricka is a Registered, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and trained childbirth educator. As the host of The Lactation Training Lab Podcast, her current role focuses on training and coaching current and aspiring lactation care providers. Christine created and developed The First 100 Hours© concept, an early lactation framework designed to support lactation care providers with the knowledge and mindset they need to help families optimize early lactation. Christine worked as a hospital-based IBCLC for 10 years and has over 20 years experience providing clinical lactation care and support. She provides clinical lactation care to families at Baby Café Bakersfield and serves as its Director. Christine recently completed 6 years of service on the Board of the United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA.) She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Phoenix. She has been married for 27 years, lives in California, and is the proud mother of 3 amazing daughters.

Christine Van Den Broecke-Schneider was born in Salzburg, Austria. She worked there mainly in the graphics and printing industry. During her first pregnancy she moved to Mechelen, Belgium where she still lives with her husband and her two children. Soon she came in contact with La Leche League in Brussels and in 1997 she became the first Dutch speaking La Leche League leader in Belgium-Flanders. Since 2001 she has been a member of the Belgium Federal Breastfeeding Committee. She is active in different national and local breastfeeding projects and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. She frequently writes articles for La Leche League publications and other publications. She also gives presentations about breastfeeding through various organizations, for midwives and other maternity care workers, and she is still an active La Leche League leader.

Christy Jo has over 25 years of teaching experience. She is passionate about teaching in ways that simplify learning. She has been awarded the United States Presidential Volunteer Award for her community service, the Phyllis Klaus Founder's Award for her contribution to the Mother/Baby bond and the Above and Beyond Award for innovative projects that exemplify the mission of Public Health. She has also been named Lactation Educator Faculty of the Year from Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association and earned their Visionary Award in 2015. Christy Jo is the author of Mommy Feeds Baby and co-author of Making Milk. She created the Grow Our Own Lactation Consultant/IBCLC Prep Course which has been used to train hundreds of students to become Lactation Consultants. She currently resides in California with her husband and three children. She continues to serve her community as a birth doula, Private Practice IBCLC, Health Educator for Public Health, and faculty for the CAPPA CLE© and Childbirth Educator Programs.

Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis is a Professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Perinatal Community Health and was recently appointed the Women’s Health Research Chair at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital. She is currently the principal investigator of seven large, multi-site studies and is a co-investigator on twenty-four other research projects concerning maternal, paternal, and infant health outcomes. She holds over $23 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and has over 170 peer-review publications. She is the lead author on eight Cochrane systematic reviews and has provided over 150 invited presentations.

Cody is a Clinical Nurse II and serves as chair of a pain and palliative care committee in a level 4 NICU at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, CA. He switched careers to nursing as a result of experiencing the death of his newborn daughter, Quinn, in the NICU. Cody is an experienced educator reflected by his years teaching Chemistry at the high school level. His graduate degree is in qualitative research, which has supported his efforts in improving neonatal palliative care.

Cora Beitel is a midwife and community organizer whose people are settlers of European Jewish ancestry. They work and live on the traditional and unceded homeland of the Coast Salish people. Cora is a founding member of the Strathcona Midwifery Collective, a practice located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver where they serve a diverse clientele, including many queer and trans clients. As well as provide clinical care, they run a Trans and Queer Pregnancy and Parenting group and provide education on inclusive care to diverse health care providers in the hospitals and the community setting. When not working, they are spending time with family, sharing food, on their bike or out in nature as much as possible.

Dr. Courtney L. Everson is an Applied Medical Anthropologist with a long track record of community engagement, research, teaching, and leadership in health and human services, non-profit management, and higher education. Dr. Everson is currently appointed as a Researcher with Colorado State University (CSU) in the Social Work Research Center, School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Sciences. Prior to Colorado State University, Dr. Everson was the Dean of Graduate Studies and Academic Faculty at the Midwives College of Utah, the Vice President for the Association of Midwifery Educators, and on the Board of Directors for the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council and the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health representing Direct-Entry Midwifery. As a mixed methodologist, Dr. Everson's specializations include maternal-infant health; midwifery care; evidence-informed practice; and knowledge translation. Dr. Everson is also the Director of Research Education for the Midwives Alliance of North America Division of Research, a Research Working Group member of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health, and a strategic consultant to higher education entities, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations on issues of equity, complex systems evaluation, and anti-oppression.

Courtney Polk is a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She is a native of New Orleans but currently resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and their 2 children. Since graduating from Southern University School of Nursing in 2006, Courtney began her nursing career in labor and delivery and went on to earn a masters in nursing education in 2012. It wasn’t until having her son in 2014, and experiencing breastfeeding for herself that lactation became her focus and passion. Since becoming board certified she has helped countless families in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex area meet or exceed their breastfeeding goals. Courtney is also the current president of the Dallas Lactation Consultant Association.

Cristen Pascucci is an advocate for human rights in childbirth. She is the founder of Birth Monopoly and working on a documentary film exposing the epidemic of obstetric violence and the state-sanctioned suppression of midwifery in the U.S. With a background in public affairs, Cristen has led multiple consumer-based advocacy campaigns to get birth trauma and institutional mistreatment in maternity care into the media. Today she teaches birth and healthcare workers about their patients' human rights.

Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, is a Maternal Health Specialist, Child Feeding Expert, and Food & Body Image Coach for Mothers. Crystal is passionate about helping mommas build a peaceful relationship with food & their bodies so they can confidently nourish themselves & their kids and bring joy back to eating. Crystal is committed to providing holistic, compassionate, and evidence-based nutrition care to mothers and families worldwide through her online blog and virtual nutrition coaching practice. Find more motherhood and meal time inspiration at www.crystalkarges.com

Cynthia Good, MS Clinical Psychology, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Clinical Counselor, author, consultant, and internationally recognized speaker. She is the Director of LifeCircle Consulting, LLC and is Certified in Acute Traumatic Stress Management. She is based in the Seattle, Washington, USA area, where she formerly served as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Midwifery at Bastyr University where she taught counseling skills and is a therapist at Sandbox Therapy Group where she works with children, adults, and families. Cynthia has a strong interest in the emerging field of lactational psychology. She brings the evidence and insights of psychology and lactation consulting to her presentations, providing information and teaching skills that are essential to understanding and effectively responding to the complex psychosocial realities of families living in diverse contexts. The focus of her presentations includes communication skills and counseling techniques for perinatal care providers; equity, diversity, and inclusion; infant feeding rhetoric; perinatal mental health; perinatal loss, grief, and trauma; ethics; serving as an expert witness in lactation-related court cases; cultural competence and humility; vitamin D; and more.