GOLD Learning Speakers

Dr. Pamela Douglas MBBS FRACGP IBCLC PhD is Medical Director of the Possums Clinic in Highgate Hill, Brisbane, Australia www.possumsonline.com, a charitable organisation whose multi-disciplinary services include specialised clinical care for mothers and babies, and education programs for both parents and health professionals. Pam is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Maternity Newborn and Families Research Collaborative at Griffith University, and Senior Lecturer at the Discipline of General Practice, The University of Queensland. She publishes research focussed on innovative clinical strategies for the support of parent-baby neurohormonal synchrony across the domains of feeds, sleep, crying and mood. Possums Education’s evidence-based programs for Neuroprotective Developmental Care (including the Gestalt Breastfeeding Online Program and The Possums Sleep Film) are rapidly influencing early life care both in Australia and internationally. Pam is also author of The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying (UQP).

Pamela Morrison has worked with breastfeeding mothers and babies for 30 years. She served as a La Leche League Leader in Harare, Zimbabwe from 1987 before certifying as the first IBCLC in the country in 1990. She worked in private practice until 2003, before moving to Australia and then to England. She served for many years on the Zimbabwean National Breastfeeding Committee and on the BFHI Task Force. She has subsequently served as Co-coordinator of the WABA Task Forces on Infants Nutrition Rights and on Breastfeeding and HIV. Pamela continues to write and speak for the preservation and protection of breastfeeding in challenging situations.

Pamela Spivey is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and founder of Spivey Consulting, LLC. She shares her 34 years of expertise in neonatal nursing and leadership development as a national speaker, author and certified leadership coach. Pam launched her own business in 2015 to support individual clients and corporate teams through professional coaching, leadership development, and consultative services. Her unique experiences and passion for caring, drives her to “help nurses away from the wall and toward their possibilities”.

Johanna Sargeant is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, teacher and writer based in Zurich, Switzerland. She is passionate about utilising her background in education, biological science, psychology and language to empower parents with empathetic support and evidence-based information through her private practice, Milk and Motherhood. Originally from Australia, Johanna provides much-needed English-speaking support to many thousands of parents throughout Switzerland and across Europe, and has recently been contracted to create the new education modules for the European Society of Paediactric Research and the European Society of Neonatology. She has taught at the University of Zurich, has spoken as a panelist for the WHO’s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative congress in Geneva, has been an expert speaker and facilitator for Google, and has presented at a wide variety of international conferences. The complexities of her personal feeding experiences have led her to the establishment of the sole peer-to-peer milk-sharing network in Switzerland, and fuels her passion for providing knowledgeable, guilt-free infant feeding support globally.

Kathryn is mum to 4 boys, twins and 2 subsequent singletons. She trained as a breastfeeding peer supporter and volunteered in the groups for years in and around Harrow, NW London, UK.

Kathryn caught the breastfeeding support bug and decided to further her knowledge training as a Breastfeeding Counsellor with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and then qualifying as an IBCLC 3 years ago.

Kathryn started Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets Facebook group almost 6 years ago and it now has over 6500 members. It has recently been made into a UK charity. Kathryn is passionate about delivering high quality breastfeeding support to as many twin and triplet families as possible, creating resources and educating health care professionals and breastfeeding supporters. She runs a small private practice and continues to teach music part time, her original career path.

Sejal is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in private practice and an infant massage educator in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA. She combines her professional expertise with her personal instincts as a mother and a supportive team member.

She holds a Bachelors in Microbiology and Clinical Laboratory Science.

She also brings with her the following comprehensive toolkit: Certified Educator of Infant Massage Formerly Certified in skin-to-skin care for full term infants from the United States Institute of Kangaroo Care Certified Provider of Innate Postpartum Care

She has presented nationally and internationally for GOLD lactation, ILCA, community colleges, local lactation organizations.

As a lactation consultant, she believes that every individual needs to be educated about breast health, optimal infant feeding and how breastfeeding support is a basic human right and can impact world health globally.

She strives to help each family by continuing to learn all she can about breast health, breastfeeding ecology, breastfeeding movement and parent-infant connection using the neurobiological and infant mental health lens.

When she’s not with her clients, you can find her at home in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, listening to bollywood music, hanging out with friends and spending time with her family.

Ruth Patterson is Cloud Nine's P I O N E E R & Most Sought Lactation Specialist with 33 years of rich experience - currently practicing at Jayanagar C9, Bangalore-India and a visiting Lactation Consultant with 9 other Cloud Nine branches locally. She also heads the 24 Pan India Cloud Nine Hospitals as the Manager Lactation.

Ruth's 30+ years of rich experience includes maternity, allied health and nursing care, both in rural and urban sector in India & Abroad. Her exclusive 18 years of experience in Lactation services, she has acquired immense practical knowledge in the last decade to identify most critical disorders of mother and babies during breastfeeding stage. She is acclaimed to have expertise in a lesser-known art of re-lactation and induced lactation.

Ruth is known for her ability to identify the most critical issues in Breastfeeding and restore/re-initiate feeds. She is acclaimed for the use of Dynamic Taping (only available at Jayanagar C9) that arrests/prevents breast surgery/abscess. This Dynamic Taping practice, alongside, a Gynecologist, Pediatrician and Physiotherapist at Cloud Nine, is patented.

Ruth is a well sought out person for patient hearing and provides her expert comments in News columns/Media and also delivers guest lectures.

Allyson Wessells 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.

Meghan McMillin holds a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) since 2013 and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2019

Meghan spent 5 years working clinically in the NICU, pediatric floor and women’s units of a local hospital. In 2019, Meghan started her own private practice and consulting company, Mama & Sweet Pea Nutrition, with a focus on postpartum and infant care. The mama to two young kids with food allergies, helping other families manage food allergies, whether it’s while breastfeeding, during the introduction of solids, or later in childhood, is her passion.

Meghan is a member of the International Lactation Consultant Association and the United States Lactation Consultant Association. She enjoys sharing her knowledge through social media, freelance writing and public speaking. Meghan is the coauthor of the eBook What To Eat When Your Baby Can’t Tolerate Milk, Soy, or Egg Protein; Nutrition guidance for avoiding milk, soy, and/or eggs while lactating.

Meghan has presented both nationally and internationally including for GOLD learning, the National WIC Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In 2020, Meghan was awarded the Emerging Professional in Women's Health Award from the Women's Health Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Meghan lives with her husband and two children outside of Chicago, IL. In her spare time she enjoys working out, allergen-free baking and having dance parties with her kids in the kitchen.

Felisha Floyd, BS, CLC, IBCLC, is currently Lactation Coordinator for Hospital Corporations of America system in Florida. She also offers infant feeding support, mentorship, and education to her local community via her private practice, Beyond Breastfeeding. Felisha is the founder of Our Brown Baby, a community based breastfeeding support group, which serves to provide specialized culturally sensitive breastfeeding support to families of color. In addition to these roles, Felisha is one of the founding mothers and current President of the non-profit The National Association of Professional and Peer Lactation Supporters of Color, affectionately known as "NAPPLSC". She is also a Center for Social Inclusion First Food Equity Cohort member. Previously, she worked as a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Breastfeeding Peer Counselor and Breastfeeding Coordinator.

Fueled by her professional and personal passions to ensure that all mothers have access to quality breastfeeding support and resources, Felisha has fervently pledged to reduce breastfeeding disparities in the African American community. To this end, she continually makes efforts to help increase breastfeeding rates in the African American community by unapologetically fighting that which contributes to racial health disparities. Fearlessly obsessive, she is affectionately known as the social media guru "Blactavist!" (Black Lactation Activist). This online community consists of approximately 38,000 supporters on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and is dedicated to empowering African American families to breastfeed.

Dianne Cassidy, MS, IBCLC, ALC, CCE, is a Lactation Consultant in Rochester, New York with Advanced Lactation Certification.  Dianne works in Private Practice, and in a busy Pediatrician office supporting mothers and babies. She also teaches prenatal breastfeeding and childbirth in the hospital setting.  In the fall of 2013, Dianne completed her MA in Health and Wellness/Lactation.  She is dedicated to serving mothers and babies, and has the unique ability to identify with the needs and concerns of new mothers.  Dianne has worked extensively with women who have survived trauma, babies struggling with tongue tie, birth trauma, milk supply issues, attachment, identifying latch problems, returning to work and breastfeeding multiples.

Dianne has 3 biological children, including twins, 3 step children and a wonderful husband.  Dianne is an author and public speaker and enjoys teaching caregivers how to support new families through breastfeeding struggles.

Carmela Kika Baeza, MD, IBCLC, is a family medicine MD, bachelor´s degree in Public Health Education, and IBCLC since 2005. She is also a BFHI Evaluator and the current 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.

Paulina Erices, BS, IBCLC, RLC, is the mother of three children, a bilingual Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in private practice and Maternal Child Health Specialist for the Jefferson County Health Department in Colorado. She is originally from Chile and has lived in the US for almost 15 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from PennState and is currently completing her Masters of Science in Leadership and Organizations from the University of Denver. She has been a La Leche League Leader for 12 years where she has held different mother and Leader support roles across the US. She is a member of several groups working to improve child health and well-being, including the Early Childhood Colorado Partnership, the NICU Consortium, and the Community Leaders in Health Equity. Paulina's goal is to elevate and empower the voices of the community to effectively improve systems of care through advocacy and policy. Paulina lives in Littleton, Colorado where she spends her free time birding with her family and training her dog Aussie.

Fiona Lang-Sharpe, IBCLC, NAMCM, is a Birth Doula and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Fiona has over 20 years of experience attending births, supporting mothers post partum, and offering lactation case management services. Having studied in England under the National Association of Maternal and Child Welfare, Fiona moved to Canada in 1989 and after having her first born son was accredited through La Leche League Canada as a Leader and went onto obtain her certification as an IBCLC. Fiona's experience in perinatal health along with her interest in technology and social media and passion for quality education makes her an excellent fit for GOLD Conferences International. Fiona is one of the first voices you'll hear as one of GOLD's online Master of Ceremonies, and is also often one of the first faces you'll see, online and in person, as she represents GOLD at industry events and via social media. Fiona is highly anticipating an expanding role with GOLD, as GOLD increases it online offerings.

Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA, is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of two peer-reviewed journals: Clinical Lactation and Psychological Trauma. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology and Past President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology. Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women's-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology, and has won many awards for her work including the 2017 President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma Psychology. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has authored more than 460 articles or chapters and is author or editor of 38 books.

Amy Brown, PhD, Professor, is based in the Department of Public Health, Policy and Social Sciences at Swansea University in the UK. With a background in psychology, she has spent the last thirteen years exploring psychological, cultural and societal influences upon infant feeding decisions in the first year. Her research seeks to understand how we can shift our perception of how babies are fed away from an individual mothering issue to a wider public health problem – with societal level solutions. Dr Brown has published over 60 papers exploring the barriers women face in feeding their baby during the first year. She is a mother to three human children and three book babies: Breastfeeding Uncovered: Who really decides how we feed our babies, Why starting solids matters, and The Positive Breastfeeding Book: Everything you need to feed your baby with confidence. She is a regular blogger, aiming to change the way we think about breastfeeding, mothering and caring for our babies.

Nekisha Killings, MPH, IBCLC, LLLL, is an experienced marketer, writer, equity strategist, and international board certified lactation consultant. After spending years in consumer-packaged goods marketing and community partnership building, followed by a decade of public relations and ghostwriting, she found her life’s work in lactation support and maternal and child health equity through her personal experiences with birth and breastfeeding. Nekisha contributed the chapter on Cultural Humility in the latest Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care. She acts as equity strategist for lactation-related organizations that seek to better reach underserved communities. Recently, she co-founded Nikki & Nikki: Lactation Career Consultants, an organization dedicated to equipping aspirants of color to sit the IBCLC exam. In addition to being spouse to an active duty United States Air Force member, Nekisha also homeschools three little future world changers and enjoys writing and research on the impact of historical trauma on families’ breastfeeding experiences today.

Paulina Erices 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.

In 2014, Ghanaian-American mother and photographer, Vanessa Simmons authored the Normalize Breastfeeding™ movement to address the taboo of public breastfeeding in modern society. Her mission was to document diverse variations of normal infant feeding, across cultures and delivery methods of human milk. Through Simmons' viral blog, her photographic speaking tour, philanthropy, and artistic inspiration; she mobilized and motivated thousands of women to share their breastfeeding photos on social media. After a very successful first year, she reached out to the Mayor of San Diego to proclaim June 27th the International Day to Normalize Breastfeeding, in support of the worldwide anniversary event! Lactation educator and activist, Vanessa Simmons, is now speaking out at conferences and events across the country to eliminate general miseducation around the topic. On the Normalize Breastfeeding podcast, she interviews guests about experiences, advocacy, and activism within the infant feeding community worldwide. As a public speaker, Simmons is focused on transforming the modern mindset around the natural, yet difficult task of breastfeeding. Vanessa trains lactation professionals to better understand and connect with millennial families online. She creatively motivates and inspires families to be mindful that this is a time to be cherished, and although fleeting, it is also a time to reinvent what will be acceptable for feeding generations of the future. Simmons is an aspiring author and resides with her supportive husband and three children in San Diego, CA.

Lucy Ruddle is an IBCLC in the UK. She has a thriving private Practice on the South Coast and a busy Facebook page known for it's funny, relevant, and informative memes about breastfeeding and parenting. Lucy qualified in 2018 after 5 years of volunteering as a peer supporter and later as a breastfeeding counselor for a national breastfeeding helpline. She has written a book on relactation, called "Relactation - A guide to rebuilding your milk supply." which was published by Praeclarus Press in January 2020. Lucy's interest in relactation started after she went through the process herself for her eldest baby, and her drive to qualify as an IBCLC came from a second challenging breastfeeding journey with her younger son who was unable to latch for several months. Aside from lactation, Lucy holds a diploma in Child Psychology and worked for 15 years in early years settings, both with the children and in roles supporting parents. She prides herself on her listening focused approach to lactation support, and sees it as the key to good practice in her own work.

Annette Leary is a registered nurse with over 33 years of experience working in Maternal Child Health. She became an IBCLC In 1995. She works as a Maternal Educator in a large tertiary care hospital (14,000 deliveries a year) that is Magnet designated, JCAHO certified, and BFHI awarded. Her responsibilities include providing outpatient lactation virtual and in-person support, staff education, and inpatient consultations. She began her Upledger Craniosacral training in 2015, taking advanced maternal and pediatric specialty classes. Her most special efforts to date include her marriage of over 33 years, four adult children and being nana to two grandchildren.

Naomi Hull as a Registered Nurse, an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and has a Master of Public Health (Nutrition). Naomi is mum to two teenage young adults, a Rhodesian Ridgeback and three chickens. Since 2006 Naomi has been a volunteer Breastfeeding Counsellor (Cert IV Breastfeeding Education) with the Australian Breastfeeding Association, and she qualified as an IBCLC in 2010 and has worked in a small Private Practice in Brisbane. While completing her MPH at the University of Queensland (UQ) she focused her dissertation on a qualitative review of stakeholder’s perceptions of the implementation of the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy (2010-2015). Since then she has gone on to lead and coordinate a national team in the assessment of Australian breastfeeding policies and programs using the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) Assessment Tool. Naomi is the Senior Manager for Breastfeeding Information and Research at the Australian Breastfeeding Association, where she is responsible for the provision of up to date, evidence-based information for the general community and health professionals.

Maxine Scringer-Wilkes graduated with a nursing degree followed later on by her Master of Nursing in 2017 both from the University of Calgary. Maxine was a public health nurse in Calgary for 13 years, where providing face to face contacts with new families soon after discharge is a standard of care. Most families named feeding challenges as their biggest concern. In turn, Maxine developed a passion for lactation support, worked towards and attained the International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant designation, in order to assist families to reach their feeding goals. In 2016, Maxine made the transition from public health to acute care where she currently works in all areas of a large Children’s hospital to support dyads with a myriad of lactation concerns but is primarily in the NICU. Maxine’s responsibilities includes orienting new staff to teaching a provincial lactation education within a team. Maxine is passionate about sharing knowledge with aspiring LCs and is a mentor to many. Maxine participates on numerous committees to update lactation and feeding policies, procedures and documents. Furthermore, she volunteers on provincial and national breastfeeding committees.

Melissa Cole is a board-certified lactation consultant, neonatal oral-motor assessment professional and clinical herbalist in private practice. Melissa is passionate about providing comprehensive, holistic lactation support and improving the level of clinical lactation skills for health professional. She enjoys teaching, researching and writing about wellness and lactation-related topics. Her bachelor’s degree is in maternal/child health and lactation and her master’s degree is in therapeutic herbalism. 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.

Anna Le Grange is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Registered Paediatric Nurse, Mindfulness teacher and Author. She has worked with new families for over 20 years in a variety of clinical roles. Anna brings her passion for psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness into her lactation support work and facilitates other professionals to incorporate emotional well-being tools into their own lactation practice.

Mother to 3 children, Anna breastfed her 3rd child following breast reduction surgery and experienced first-hand, the emotional challenges that so often relate to infant feeding complexities. She used her personal experiences alongside mindfulness and lactation knowledge, to create a toolbox of techniques for breastfeeding families, which she includes in her courses and book, The Mindful Breastfeeding Book. Anna believes whole-heartedly in prioritising calm and connection within our breastfeeding support practices, both for our clients and ourselves.

Anna is currently studying for a MSc in Positive Psychology at Buckingham New University and has spoken at various events including the ILactation conference and Womanfest.

Dipti Shah is a Mother Support Group Leader - Lactation Counsellor since 1998 & Lactation Consultant since 2010. She was trained by BPNI Maharashtra Faculty & has been providing Lactation Counselling services in multiple Institutional Hospitals & small maternity homes in Mumbai for over 2 decades. She has wide experience in community advocacy & Individual Counselling in indoor, OPD, home and online settings. She is senior trainer for BPNI Maharashtra & participated as faculty in over 100 workshops in Seven States of India & for 5 batches of ’96 hrs of Lactation Specific Education’ for IBLCE preparation (2010-2021). She mentored many Lactation counsellors and consultants. She is a BFHI Assessor since 2001 & has trained two groups of ‘Traditional Massage Women’ in basics of infant feeding and childcare. She has extensively contributed to multiple training modules, presentations & videos for BPNI Maharashtra & Maharashtra Government & UNICEF. She is also office coordinator of BPNI Maharashtra since 2004. She participated in Expanded Global Breastfeeding Partners Meeting (GBPM) of WABA at Penang, Malaysia in 2010. She was felicitated with ‘Dr N.B. Kumta Award’ in 2016. She exclusively breastfed her son for 6 months and continued well into 2nd year.

Madeline Murray, CPM, is a homebirth baby, homebirth turned hospital-transfer mom, midwife on a mission to make more midwives and bring the midwives model of care to more American families. Madeline’s passion project, believe in midwifery is designed to raise awareness among midwives and mothers about the perils of the on-call lifestyle and the changes in practice necessary for making midwifery careers more attainable for students and more sustainable for practicing midwives. Through writing, speaking engagements and personalized consultations Madeline hopes to encourage midwives to begin working with one another to reduce burnout and to become aware of their own unique needs to make their midwifery careers long lasting.

Paul Golden,  RM RN PGCE (teaching) Mediator (AMINZ), is a midwife working independently and in a variety of govt hospitals in the UK NZ Australia Asia etc. Paul trained in law and mediation. He lectures on midwifery, law, human rights in childbirth globally, including: Russia, China, India, Europe, etc. He is a neonatal intensive care nurse and provides newborn feeding support including tongue tie release (frenulotomy). He has a special interest in twins as he and his sons are identical twins. He has been working with birth for over thirty years and is now writing and filmmaking on global human rights and childbirth choices.

Margreet Wibblelink, PhD, co-Founded the Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa (www.hmbc.co.za). This is a non-profit organization committed to delivering professional private care to the most vulnerable and underprivileged women of their community. She also works as a private midwife and is known as ‘The Surfing Midwife’ (www.thesurfingmidwife.com). She is currently the managing director at Sister Lilian Centre (www.sisterlilian.co.za) and Sensitive Midwifery (www.senstivemidwifery.co.za) a national education platform for midwives and parents. She finds herself in a transitioning stage where her local, small scale operations, are developing into a national and international platform to be a voice and champion the midwifery profession as a whole. This is in line with her PhD, which is looking at strategies to scale-up clinical midwifery practices in South Africa. She can call herself a pro-surfer as she has placed herself twice at the WSL World Longboarding Championship and still compete in various surfing competitions in South Africa. She obtained her Bachelors degree in Midwifery from the Artevelde Hogeschool in Gent, Belgium (2002). She furthered her studies with a BcurHons in Advanced Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing Science (2012), a Master’s Research in Midwifery (2014) and a Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) in Midwifery, all at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Haaritha Boltman-Binkowski completed her B. Cur (Cum Laude) at the University of the Western Cape in 2003. She then gained clinical experience in both private and government institutions in the labour ward. She completed her Masters degree in Advanced Midwifery in 2005. In 2007 she started working as a lecturer at the University of the Western Cape. During the 13 years of lecturing, she has lectured various disciplines, including General Nursing, Midwifery, Advanced Midwifery, Neonatal Nursing, Research Methods, and Gender Based Violence as a Public Health Issue. She has co-ordinated both theory and clinical for many of the modules and year levels taught. Since 2015, Haaritha has been co-ordinating and teaching the Masters in Nursing: Advanced Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing. Haaritha is passionate about collaboration and has organised two international collaborative visits in 2019 from different institutions in Belgium (UC Leuven and VIVES), and has been involved with NEPAD efforts since 2012. In 2019 she graduated with another Masters degree in Nursing Education (Cum Laude). Her curriculum development experience covers micro aspects as well as developing the new graduate programme in Midwifery. Her clinical and teaching experience is as varied as her research interests but her focus areas are: maternal and child health, evidence-based practice, postpartum haemorrhage, teaching and learning and decolonisation.

Dr. Ruth Oshikanlu MBE is a multi-award winning nurse, midwife and health visitor. A nurse entrepreneur, consultant, leader and parenting expert, she is passionate about supporting vulnerable children and their families to reduce health inequalities and improve their life outcomes. Her previous roles include: HIV specialist midwife, Family Nurse at one of the first pilot sites of The Family Nurse Partnership intensive home visiting parenting programme for vulnerable families, and Nurse Leader of The Lewisham Young People’s Health and Wellbeing Service. Ruth is a Pregnancy Mindset Expert and supports pregnant women who have had assisted conception or previous pregnancy loss. She is the author of Tune In To Your Baby: Because Babies Don’t Come with An Instruction Manual. Ruth is a Queen’s Nurse, Fellow of The Institute of Health Visiting, Royal College of Nursing and The Royal Society of Arts. She is the recipient of several national healthcare and business awards; a regular columnist and has published several feature articles in numerous national nursing and healthcare journals. Ruth was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year 2019 Honours List for being an Ambassador for the Health Visiting Profession and for services to Community Nursing, Children and Families. She is a Churchill Fellow and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from London South Bank University in November 2019.

Stephanie Tillman (she/her) is a midwife at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed her undergraduate degree in Global Health and Medical Anthropology at the University of Michigan, and her graduate degree in Midwifery at Yale University. She is on the Boards of Directors of Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (NSRH) and the Midwest Access Project (MAP), is an Advisory Committee Member of the Queer and Transgender Midwives Association (QTMA), and is a member of the ACNM Ethics Committee. She is currently a Clinical Medical Ethics Fellow at the University of Chicago's MacLean Center, where she is focusing on consent in intimate exams. Stephanie blogs under the name Feminist Midwife, and through that online platform, academic and public writing, and professional speaking engagements, seeks to interact with providers and consumers in conversations about consent in health provision, queer care, sex positivity, nurses and advanced practice clinicians in abortion care, and trauma-informed frameworks. Find her on social media @FeministMidwife.

Angel Montfort, Psy.D., PMH-C is a licensed clinical psychologist, mother of four, and the founder of the Center for Maternal Mental Health, a therapy practice dedicated to serving women throughout all stages of motherhood. She has always gravitated toward treating women and became passionate about perinatal mental health while working in a Women's Clinic within a hospital setting. At first it was a way to meet the needs of her patients and it quickly led to an understanding of her own postpartum experiences, which deepened her connection to this work.

In her practice, Dr. Montfort addresses concerns such as postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, birth trauma, perinatal loss, infertility, and adjustment to motherhood. Dr. Montfort shares educational information on her Instagram account (@drangelmontfort) and her website (www.cfmmh.com) in an effort to validate and uplift moms who are struggling through a time that is expected to be the most joyous. Her expertise in perinatal mental health has been featured in a number of media outlets including Forbes, Healthline, and ScaryMommy. She believes that if we make space for both the highs and lows of motherhood, we set new moms up for a more balanced experience.

Alixandra Bacon is a Registered Midwife and settler living and working in Vancouver, BC on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-waututh and Tsawwassen nations. Alixandra is President of the Canadian Association of Midwives, Past President of the Midwives Association of BC, and clinical faculty at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine. Alixandra is passionate about creating equitable access to excellent sexual, reproductive and newborn midwifery services for everyone. Alixandra is the recipient of the UBC Alumni Builder Award.

Dr Kathryn Gutteridge - First and foremost I am a mother, wife and latterly grandmother, my personal life has always largely informed my practice and I am always careful to remember that the women I meet are also like me in that they belong to a family. I am a freelance consultant midwife one of the first in the UK and formerly employed at 2 very large and diverse maternity units. My career started in the 1970’s in nursing however midwifery was always my ambition and particularly the nurturance of midwifery led care. I am a practicing psychotherapist interested in the emotional impact of childbirth; in part due to my own mothering experiences and research. I have worked closely with women to understand this phenomenon and researched emotional transition to motherhood. Raising awareness for maternal mental health and particularly women surviving sexual abuse, I co-founded Sanctum Midwives campaigning on maternity care and sexual abuse. I have worked for many years raising awareness around the issues of maternal mental health and supporting both women and all those who work in maternity care situations. I believe positive mental health is the cornerstone to mothering and self fulfilment. I have published widely in peer review journals but also in many books. My latest publication is ‘Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing Women’ which I edited and wrote 4 chapters. I am currently writing on the issues of child and adult female sexual abuse and its implications. I care very deeply about women and their babies that they may come through their pregnancy and birth unharmed. I will continue to do this for the sake of midwives everywhere.

Renowned expert Elizabeth Davis has been a midwife, reproductive health care specialist, educator and consultant for over 40 years. She is internationally active in promoting physiologic, undisturbed birth and is widely sought after for her expertise in midwifery education, legislation, and organizational development. She is the author six widely translated books on birth, sexuality, and female psychology, including “Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying, and Pleasurable Birth Experience,” “The Rhythms of Women’s Desire: How Female Sexuality Unfolds at Every Stage of Life,” and the textbook “Heart & Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth,” now in an updated 2019 5th edition (see https://elizabethdavis.com for details). She served as Regional Representative and Education Committee Chair for the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), as President of Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC), and as midwife consultant to the State of California’s Alternative Birthing Methods Study. She is the recipient of the California Association of Midwives’ Brazen Woman Award, and Midwifery Today’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is Co-founder of the MEAC accredited National Midwifery Institute, and author/instructor of Heart & Hands Coursework.

Sarah Mlambo is a registered Nurse and Midwife who has international and intercultural nursing and midwifery experience in both the public and private sector. She has several qualifications from Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. Sarah Mlambo is currently finalising her PhD where she focusses on a model for midwives in the facilitation of childbirth-choices. She is a published author and Midwifery educator in Namibia.

Loredana Zordan is an Independent midwife, freelance midwifery teacher. She completed a BsC in Midwifery and a Master Degree at King's College and City University of London. She has worked as a community midwife and a in a Birth center in London at University college and at St. Thomas hospital. She is a certified acupuncturist specialized in obstetric acupuncture.
She is teaching nationally and internationally workshop for midwives on the use of acupressure for labour preparation, induction of labour and for pain relief.
She is using acupressure whiting the clinical practice, providing antenatal classes and facilitating home birth. She strongly advocates the use of acupressure internationally as it will allow midwives to expand their role, becoming more complete and independent practitioner. Acupressure being drug –free and therefore having not harmful teratogenic effect, provides a much safer and satisfying childbirth experience as well as facilitating a more natural and less medicalized childbirth.

Parijat Deshpande is the leading integrative high-risk pregnancy specialist, somatic stress & trauma professional and speaker and author who guides women to improve their pregnancy complications so they can reduce their risk of preterm birth. Her unique neurobiological approach has served hundreds of women to manage pregnancy complications and reclaim a safety and trust in their bodies that they thought was eroded forever. Parijat is the author of bestselling book Pregnancy Brain: A Mind-Body Approach to Stress Management During a High-Risk Pregnancy. She is also the host of the popular podcast Delivering Miracles®️, that discusses the real, raw side of family-building including infertility, loss, high-risk pregnancy, bed rest, prematurity and healing once baby comes home. Parijat professional training is in clinical psychology and she is a Certified Trauma Professional and Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist for individuals.

Dr. Scott is the coordinator of the advanced practitioner group for Mednax Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee as well as the coordinator of the neonatal transport service at Centennial Medical Center, also in Nashville. She is also an assistant professor in the neonatal nurse practitioner program at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. For the last few years, she has become interested in the use of telemedicine in neonatal care and works with a Neonatology practice that actually practices using telemedicine in Level I and II facilities. She is also involved in quality improvement at the state level through her work with the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care.

Patti received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Vanderbilt University in 1988. Her Masters of Science Degree in Nursing with a specialty in neonatal critical care was completed in 1993 from Vanderbilt University and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She has successfully completed the National Certification Corporation's Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Neonatal Pediatric Transport, and the Neonatal Intensive Care examinations.

Patti is a member of several nursing, advanced practice, and neonatal professional organizations. She is an active NRP and S.T.A.B.L.E. instructor and has developed and provided numerous neonatal educational courses for staff.

Patricia Díaz L., Woman passionate about accompanying Women and Families through their Conscious and Connected gestational, birthing and parenting journeys. She is a trained Pediatrician, IBCLC and Doula. Graduated as a Surgeon physician and Pediatric Specialist from the Central University of Venezuela, at the main Children’s Hospital of the country; JM de los Ríos. From her formative years, she fell in love with the dynamic process of Breastfeeding and the unique physical, nutritional, immunological, qualities of it, along with the transformative emotional and spiritual bond that formed between the new parents and their baby: "Being a witness to that first magical and intimate human contact, is one of the most wonderful sensations in the world; I have ever experienced”. Dr. Patricia Díaz graduated as Promoter and Consultant of the Lactation Center ""Mi Gota de Leche” ( “ My Drop of Milk” ) at the Hospital J.M. de los Ríos, with the endorsement of UNICEF. She was part of the First Cohort of Diplomats in Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding Practices, of the Faculty of Medicine, at the Central University of Venezuela. Member of the American Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) and the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA). Trained as a Doula, at the Auroramadre Center in Venezuela. National and International speaker. With more than a decade of experience, Patricia, strongly advocates for Human Lactation Education, at her private practice in Venezuela, where she currently is the Chief of Pediatrics at La Trinidad Medical Teaching Center. At this center, she has co-designed the Respectful Birthing Protocol (to honor the Sacred Hour, Skin to Skin and Rooming in; most recently updated alongside Neonatology Department, to adjust it for COVID19 context). Also through her social media platform @PediatríaAutana (Tree of Life), she educates, advocates for Breastfeeding families and designs educational tools for Parents and Caregivers, Families and Teachers, in the most innovative formats, adjusted to their needs, concerning topics associated with Prenatal Prolactation Prep, Human Lactation, Parenting, Growth and Neurodevelopment, Pediatrics.

Dr. Patty Born is an associate professor of environmental education at Hamline University in St Paul, MN. She has worked for over three decades in different educational settings, including museums, nature centers, zoos, parks, and traditional classrooms. As a scholar-activist, she is concerned with helping teachers-to-be develop an accurate and informed understanding of issues related to climate, environment and sustainability, as well as helping them engage with important questions about our connections to other species. Patty's research interests are related to human-animal relations, wildlife experiences and their impact on teacher self-efficacy, and nature-based education. Dr. Patty Born is an associate professor of environmental education at Hamline University in St Paul, MN. She has worked for over three decades in different educational settings, including museums, nature centers, zoos, parks, and traditional classrooms. As a scholar-activist, she is concerned with helping teachers-to-be develop an accurate and informed understanding of issues related to climate, environment and sustainability, as well as helping them engage with important questions about our connections to other species. Patty's research interests are related to human-animal relations, wildlife experiences and their impact on teacher self-efficacy, and nature-based education.

Paul Florsheim is a professor of public health at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and a Clinical Psychologist. He received his BA in History from Wesleyan University, an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University. Dr. Florsheim’s research interests include public health approaches to supporting the development of adolescents and young adults, with a particular focus on healthy relations and the prevention of mental illness. He teaches courses at the that intersection of mental health and public health, including workshops on supporting young parents across the transition to parenthood. Dr. Florsheim has published over 50 journal articles and three books, including "Lost and Found: Young Fathers in the Age of Unwed Parenthood" and "The Young Parenthood Program: A Guide to Helping Young Mothers and Fathers Become Effective Co-parents, both published by Oxford University Press. Among his current research/intervention endeavors, Dr. Florsheim is co-directing the Father Inclusive Prenatal Care study in Chicago, which is funded by the Administration for Children and Families.

Paul is a midwife working independently and in a variety of government hospitals in the UK, NZ, Australia, Asia etc. Paul trained in law and mediation. He lectures on midwifery, law, human rights in childbirth globally, including: Russia, China, India, Europe, etc. He is a neonatal intensive care nurse and provides newborn feeding support including tongue tie release (frenulotomy). He has a special interest in twins as he and his sons are identical twins. He has been working with birth for over thirty years and is now writing and film-making on global human rights and childbirth choices. He is focused on the next generations and womens choices. He has a daughter who is his greatest teacher.

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.

Pauline Sakamoto's nursing career in milk banking started as a volunteer donor to the Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose 35 years ago. Previously, she worked at the County Health Department of San Bernardino as a Public Health Nurse in the largest county in the US covering the Hi Desert. She was also employed by the CA State Department of Health, Fiscal Intermediary Management Division for Medi-Cal. Her experience with the nonprofit San Jose Milk Bank for 35 years included processing and operations, the screening of donors and dispensing of donor human milk for inpatient and outpatient services, administration of the San Jose Mothers’ Milk Bank for over 20 years and concurrently leadership roles in the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Currently, she serves on multiple committees within HMBANA regarding policies and standards, auditing member banks, and reviews legislative and state statutes on milk banking and lactation. She has been representing HMBANA at the US Breastfeeding Committee for over 9 years and served on the Board of USBC for 6 years. Internationally, in 2012-14, she served on PATH’s Milk Banking Policy Group and continues to work internationally on issues on processing and safety. She has stepped down from the Executive Director position at the Milk Bank in 2019 but continue to pursue her passion on milk banking (half time in the office) and Lactation.

Pavel graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Doctor of Pharmacy. He completed his general residency at Parkview Medical Center and Pediatric Residency at University of Chicago. He is a neonatal ICU (NICU) and antimicrobial stewardship program clinical pharmacist at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) in Columbus, OH. Pavel precepts pharmacy residents and students from several colleges of pharmacy while also serving as a preceptor to international pharmacy scholars from Europe, Africa, and Middle East. He is currently involved in a multicenter study to investigate barriers, enablers and opportunities for implementing neonatal antibiotic stewardship in public and private hospitals in South Africa. He is also involved in implementation of neonatal antimicrobial stewardship programs in several hospitals in Lebanon. Pavel is the principal investigator on the study evaluating interventions to reduce antibiotic use among surgical patients in the NICU: The NO-More-AntibioticS and Resistance in Surgery (NO-MAS-R-S) Study.

Penny Simkin, PT, is a physical therapist who has specialized in childbirth education and labor support since 1968. She estimates she has prepared over 13,000 women, couples, and siblings for childbirth. She has assisted hundreds of women and couples through childbirth as a doula. She is author or co-author of books for both parents and professionals, including “The Labor Progress Handbook;” “Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide;” “When Survivors Give Birth: Understanding and Healing the Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Childbearing Women;” “The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions,” She has developed teaching materials for birth classes and produced several videos for educators, doulas, and families , the latest of which is for siblings-to-be, “There’s a Baby.” She is co-founder of DONA International (formerly Doulas of North America) and PATTCh (Prevention and Treatment of Traumatic Childbirth).

Currently, she serves on the editorial board of the journal, Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, and serves on the senior faculty of the Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations at Bastyr University, which was named in her honor.

Today, her practice consists of childbirth education, birth counseling, and labor support, combined with a busy schedule of conferences and workshops.

Penny and her husband, Peter, have four grown children and eight grandchildren from 11 to 28 years of age, two grandchildren-in-laws, and a pug, Lola.

Peter has a background in Medical Statistics and a particular interest in infant and childhood epidemiology. Born in Manchester, England, he studied Mathematics (BSc Hons) and Medical Statistics (MSc) before moving to Bristol where he completed his doctorate (Epidemiology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 1998. From his work on several major observational studies he is a recognised expert with over 100 publications in the SIDS field and was made an honorary fellow and advisor to UNICEF (UK) on infant care practices in 2009. In 2014 the Queen’s Annual Prize for Further and Higher Education was awarded to the University of Bristol based on Peter and his colleague Peter Fleming’s contributions in this field. He is the elected Chair of the International Society for the study and prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death (ISPID) and chair of the epidemiological working group. He is also a senior consultant methodologist for both the University of Bristol Trials Unit and the NIHR Research Design Service. He lives with his partner Helen and two sons, Jacob & Sam, aged 19 and 21 years.

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.

Dr Philip Hand practices in Melbourne, Australia . His certifications include: BDS (Otago N.Z.), FICCDE LA&HA Master in Laser Dentistry (Slovenia), MSc Laser Dentistry (UCSC – Rome). He is the Secretary of the International Academy of Innovative Dentistry (IAID) and Assistant Professor UCSC-Rome. Dr. Hand is interested and practices in all fields of general dentistry. These include Implant Dentistry, Endodontics, Periodontics and Orthodontics (POS Graduate). He is a devoted proponent of the use of the dental microscope and dental lasers. He is passionate about tackling the issues and treatment for infant feeding both breast and bottle, airway health and growth and sleep from a dental perspective. He works collaboratively with lactation consultants, maternal health nurses, paediatricians, paediatric osteopaths and chiropractors in the treatment of infants in this pursuit and is actively involved in teaching the importance of this treatment for our patients from infants to adults.

Dr. Prabha S.Chandra, is a Professor and Head of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, Bangalore, India. She studied at the Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi and NIMHANS.

She has served as a Temporary Advisor to the WHO and UNAIDS and is the Secretary of the International Association of Women’s Mental Health, a nominated member of the World Psychiatric Association and an executive member of the Marce International society. She has been an NHS International Fellow and Consultant in Manchester, UK and a visiting professor at the University of Liverpool.

Her main areas of interest are Women's Mental Health, Perinatal Psychiatry, teaching methods, ethics and palliative care. She has nearly 180 publications and has edited several books.

She has three active research grants and has won several recognitions and awards. She has started the first dedicated psychiatry service including a Mother Baby unit in South Asia for mothers with severe mental illness.

Dr. Gangal is a Pediatrician, Breastfeeding Trainer & Advocate in Mumbai for 30 years. He has been Mother Support-Training Coordinator of BPNI Maharashtra (1995), Co-Coordinator of Mother Support Working Group of WABA (2003) & Lactation Consultant (2009). He was chairman of Global Collaboration Committee of ILCA (2018).

He was trained by Dr. Felicity Savage. He established the first Mother Support Group in India (1995) and played a key role in training 500 Traditional Massage Women, Breast crawl rejuvenation, training Government Health Workers in 7 Indian States with an innovative module with UNICEF and organizing IBLCE exam for the first time in India (2009). He contributed to LLLI publication ‘Hirkani’s Daughters’, facilitated Lactation Counselling in 85 Maternity Facilities, organizing 8 batches of Lactation Education to facilitate about 100 Lactation Consultants, the creation of the Android app ‘Shishuposhan,’ and played a major role in launching the website www.bpnimaharashtra.org.

Dr. Gangal has multiple publications & was a speaker at LLLI conferences in San Francisco and Chicago. He was honored with Dr. N. B. Kumta Award by BPNI Maharashtra, Lifetime Achievement Award by Mumbai Breastfeeding Promotion Committee & WABA Secretariat award. He spoke on Breast Crawl & WHO Growth Charts (2016) at GOLD Conferences.

Priyanka Idicula is a Certified professional International midwife (U.S.A) and a Lamaze certified childbirth educator(FACCE,LCCE). She is currently the director of Birthvillage the natural birthing centre one of India’s popular natural birth centres and is the managing trustee for birth for change (NGO) India. She also has extensive experience in working in maternity care with pregnant teenagers as part of the Tejus home project one of its kind in India.

She has presented various papers on holistic maternity care and has been the face of India at various international midwifery conferences. She has also been invited to speak as a guest speaker at various nursing colleges on midwifery education and human rights in childbirth in India. She has been honoured with one world birth hero runner up championship in 2011. She has been awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to Mother Baby" by Midwifery Today recognising midwifery leadership and in the promotion of birth as normal life event in 2018 at Germany. She has also been awarded the best midwife of the year 2019 at the International breastfeeding conference, India. She is also one of the early pioneers for water birth in India in 2010. She is also the first Asian to win the dual scholarship from Lamaze International She also carries with her Bachelors and Masters in microbiology.

Dave Grattan is a professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences. He has published over 180 research articles in the field of Neuroendocrinology, particularly focused on the hormone prolactin. He has also presented over 30 invited lectures at international meetings, and won a number of prizes, including the Triennial Medal of the Physiological Society of New Zealand (2005), the Mortyn Jones Medal of the British Society for Neuroendocrinology (2009) and HNNA Lecturer for the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (2022). He was Head of the Department of Anatomy from 2011-2014, and Director of the Centre for Neuroendocrinology at the University of Otago from 2018-2023. He has served as the President for the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology (2003-2006) and for Hypothalamic Neuroscience and Neuroendocrinology Australasia (HNNA, 2017-2020). From 2009-2014 he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neuroendocrinology, and is currently an Associate Editor at Endocrinology. He chaired the organising committee for the 8th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology in Sydney, Australia, 2014, and from 2018-2022 chaired the FASEB Science Research Conference on Growth hormone/prolactin family in health and disease.