GOLD Learning Speakers

Rachel Dean serves as a Registered Dietitian and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences from Penn State University and a Master’s in Public Health from the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the UNC Chapel Hill. She also completed her lactation training through the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute.
Her career has included providing maternal and pediatric nutrition counseling through WIC and SNAP programs and working on local and regional levels to provide nutrition and feeding education and support. Currently, she serves as the owner of Harmony Nutrition & Lactation, LLC, where she supports parents of color and helps them feel comfortable with nourishing themselves and their little ones.
Rachel is passionate about decreasing racial health disparities and achieving health equity among all people. She helped create and was the Program Director for the first two cohorts of the Lactation Consultant Training Program at Johnson C Smith University, the first Pathway 2 training program implemented at a historically black college/university in an effort to help diversify the field of lactation. She also serves as the Executive Director and Cofounder of Queen City Cocoa B.E.A.N.S., a non-profit organization that assists new and expectant families of color in improving their health and achieving a more balanced lifestyle through nutrition, lactation education, and support.

Clinical nurse researcher in the area of breastfeeding preterm infants and skin-to-skin contact at dept. of Neonatology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet and leader of Knowledge Centre for Breastfeeding Infants with special needs. Member of the Nordic and Quebec Working Group expanding the BFHI for neonatal wards (Neo-BFHI).

Dr Raja Gangopadhyay is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, with a special interest in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire (UK). In conjunction with his multidisciplinary team, Raja has been championing joint approaches to perinatal mental health that take into account infant mental health. Raja is a well-known Trainer in PMH and organises teaching, training and Conference for Obstetricians, Midwives, GP and other healthcare professionals. He is a renowned speaker and has been invited to speak at many National and International events. He obtained a Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Bedfordshire, UK. He has been invited to House of Lords meeting as a member of the Expert panel and organised and chaired events at the House of Commons (UK Parliament). He has been invited to many media interviews (Radio/ Television) and views/ opinions have been quoted in many leading UK newspapers. He is the Founder of the International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy (IFWIP): a unique initiative to raise awareness of mental wellbeing during pregnancy from a global perspective (www.ifwip.org)

Dr. Agarwal went to medical school at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS, in New Delhi, which is the premiere institution for medical training in India. After which, he came to the United States for his Pediatric Residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Subsequently went on to join the Pediatric Nephrology fellowship at University of Florida at Gainesville. Under the program, he also conducted bench research at Ohio State University. Dr. Agarwal worked on the Eastern Shore of Virginia for eight years in general pediatrics before moving to Arizona to establish Agave Pediatrics in 2005. Over the years Dr. Agarwal has developed his own style of practicing pediatrics, which is strongly supportive of natural ways of taking care of children and emphasis on breastfeeding. During his practice, he realized that one of the biggest impairments in breastfeeding was the presence of labial and lingual ties. Having performed some procedures during medical school, he re-educated himself about the procedure and started performing them in 2007. In the last 15 years, Dr. Agarwal has performed more than 18000 frenotomies. Now, along with a busy clinical practice, he has made it his goal to spread the awareness about the issues related to labial and lingual ties to pediatricians, lactation consultants, doulas, midwives -everybody who helps mothers with the process of breastfeeding and in taking care of children with feeding and speech difficulties.

Ramya Kumar is an ASHA certified Speech Language Pathologist specializing in infant and pediatric feeding disorders while practicing in a Level 3 NICU and outpatient settings in Phoenix, AZ. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing & Swallowing Disorders, Certified Neonatal Therapist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Neonatal Touch & Massage Certified Therapist & has completed the Trauma Informed Professional Certificate. Ramya is an internationally sought out speaker & clinical mentor on the topic of neuroprotective care in the NICU, Pediatric Feeding Disorders and Tethered Oral Tissues. Ramya is passionate about helping families create mealtime success through a whole-body lens. More recently, Ramya has been serving as a NICU Developmental Coordinator championing changes in unit culture, system-wide policy development and supporting transition of NICU families to community based programs. She has also co-founded Arizona NICU Follow-Up Specialists, a community resource supporting NICU grads and their families as they transition from hospital to home.

Rania Abdou is a Pediatrics and neonatology consultant at Faculty of medicine, Ain shams university where she teaches Pediatrics and neonatology courses. She earned a Diploma in the clinical nutrition from the European society for clinical nutrition and metabolism. Dr. Rania is also a certified international lactation consultant since 2013. She has dedicated much of her time to the improvement of breastfeeding practice between Egyptian women. Previously, she worked as a clinical director of the neonatal intensive care unit of ain shams university pediatric hospital and vice-director of the pediatrics department at the ain shams specialized university hospital.

Ratih Ayu Wulandari, MD, IBCLC is a breastfeeding mother of two. She applied baby led weaning method for her two babies while continue breastfeeding and get many benefits from the method. As lactation consultant she gives breastfeeding counseling and complimentary feeding either with spoon feeding or baby led weaning approach for family who wish to know more and practice it.  Experienced breastfeeding her two tongue-tied babies, helped her understand the pain and support early frenotomy. She is now practicing frenotomy for tongue-tie and lip-tie. She believes attachment parenting is the best way to nurture a child and shares her thoughts on her blog http://www.menjadiibu.com.

After raising three children as a stay-at-home mother, Dr. Phillips received a Masters degree in Developmental Psychology, became NIDCAP certified as an Infant Developmental Specialist, and then attended medical school at University of California, Davis, graduating in 2004. She completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in Loma Linda, CA and is currently an attending neonatologist in the NICU at the same hospital as well as Co-Medical Director of Newborn Nursery at Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta. Dr. Phillips is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and is a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. She is the immediate past president of the National Perinatal Association. Her primary areas of interest are mother-infant attachment, breastfeeding education and support, and Family-Centered Neuroprotective Care of premature infants in the NICU.

After raising three children as a stay-at-home mother, Dr. Phillips received a master’s degree in Developmental Psychology with a focus on mother-infant attachment, became NIDCAP certified as a Preterm Infant Developmental Specialist, and then attended medical school at University of California, Davis. She completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in S. California and is an attending neonatologist in the Level 4 NICU at the same hospital. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics/Neonatology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and is Pediatric Department Chair and Medical Director of Neonatal Services at Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta. Dr. Phillips is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and a past president of the National Perinatal Association (NPA). She is currently President of the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH), a global non-profit organization with a mission to support healthy infant-parent relationships before and after birth. Her passion is to honor and nurture the earliest connections between babies and their parents.

Rebecca began her lactation journey with her undergraduate senior thesis evaluating a breastfeeding education program. After working as a doula and childbirth educator, she decided to pursue a Master’s in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. There, she was also in the first class of the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative, a Pathway 2 IBCLC training program. After graduating, she first worked full time as an IBCLC in a large academic hospital. She then became the Director of Lactation Services at a busy freestanding birth center. After making the move to a new state, she went into private practice part-time, and expanded her focus on a longtime passion: providing education for IBCLCs, lactation trainees, and health care providers. She also has special interests in research, support for the LGBTQ+ community, and coalition-building to advance and support IBCLC services.

Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, APRN is the founder of Evidence Based Birth. Rebecca is an assistant professor of nursing at a research university in the U.S. She teaches pathophysiology and pharmacology and conducts clinical research on cardiovascular and maternal health.

In 2012, Rebecca realized that it was very difficult for the average person to find information about evidence-based maternity care. Realizing that she had the skills to meet this need, Rebecca coined the term “evidence based birth” and founded www.evidencebasedbirth.com. The mission of Evidence Based Birth is to promote evidence-based practice during childbirth by providing research evidence directly to women and families.

Rebecca has served on the executive board of directors of www.ImprovingBirth.org, a non-profit whose mission is to bring evidence-based care and humanity to childbirth. Over the past two years, Rebecca has given many presentations about evidence based birth to nursing students, physicians, college students, and nurse midwives.

Rebecca Feldman is Certified Nurse Midwife, and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who practices in a dual role in the field of reproductive psychiatry. She is the founder and director of Brooklyn Parent Support, a group mental health practice providing group and individual therapy and medication management. Rebecca is a graduate of Frontier Nursing University in midwifery, and New York University with a Post Master’s in Psychiatric Nursing. She has practiced perinatal psychiatry at the Motherhood Center of New York, and Zucker Hillside Hospital. As a midwife, she created a mental health program housed within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Woodhull Medical Center, a large public hospital in Brooklyn. She is currently an adjunct professor at New York University, providing lectures to the midwifery and psychiatric nurse practitioner programs. A frequent guest speaker on the topic of promoting access to parental mental health care, she has recently presented for the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the National Perinatal Association, and Postpartum Support International.

Rebecca LR Powell, PhD, CLC is an Assistant Professor in the department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Currently Dr. Powell is analyzing the phagocytosis responses of various cell types to better understand the effects of phagocytosis receptor profiles and the impact of antibody specificity on the elicitation of biologic function. Additionally, Dr. Powell is studying the contribution of breast milk leukocytes to the relatively low rate of HIV transmission in infants exclusively breastfed by their HIV-infected mothers. She received her PhD in Microbiology from the Sackler Institute, New York University School of Medicine, and her CLC from the Healthy Children Project.

Rebecca Russo Hill, PhD, DNP, RN, FNP-C earned her BSN from the University of Rhode Island in 2006, her MSN and post-master’s certificate in nursing education from Duke University in 2010, her DNP from Duke University in 2013 and her PhD in Nursing from Boston College in 2021. Rebecca is a family nurse practitioner and certified as a lactation counselor and nurse educator. She is the current program director of prelicensure nursing programs at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA. Rebecca’s dissertation research focused on symptoms of problematic feeding in infants with tongue-tie. She will collaborate with other health profession disciplines to advance the state of the science surrounding infant feeding, tongue-tie, and frenotomy. Her dissertation research has provided the foundation for a lifelong program of research to improve health care for mothers and their children. She is currently studying the effects of frenotomy on non-nutritive sucking mechanics.

Rebecca is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the National League for Nursing (NLN) and Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). Rebecca resides in Massachusetts, raising three children alongside her husband Jonathan.

2. Rebeccah Slater is a Senior Wellcome Trust Research Fellow and Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She is also a Professorial Fellow st St John’s College, Oxford. Rebeccah studied Physics (BSc) at Imperial College and Neuroscience (MSc) at UCL, and in 2007 was awarded her PhD at UCL under the supervision of Prof Maria Fitzgerald. Since 2013 Rebeccah has led the Paediatric Neuroimaging Research Group, which focuses on understanding the mechanisms that underlie the development of pain perception in the human infant. She uses a range of non-invasive brain imaging tools, including EEG and fMRI, to explore the development of pain perception. She has published many articles about infant pain and has been passionately involved in science communication and the public engagement of science. She has taken part in discussions on TV and radio, including BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. Rebeccah holds an honorary research position in the Neonatal Care Services at the John Radcliffe Children’s Hospital and is a PI at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN).

Regina Grazel is a certified perinatal advanced practice nurse with more than 30 years of neonatal nursing experience. She holds several clinical designations, including ANCC board-certified high-risk perinatal nurse, neonatal resuscitation program regional trainer, NANN neonatal developmental care specialist, and certified breastfeeding counselor. Jean is currently serving on the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) Board of Directors as the Immediate Past President having completed her term as President in October 2016. Jean is also a former president of the Delaware Valley chapter of NANN. After many years as a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist in the acute care setting, she has moved into the public health arena. Jean is employed by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as the Program Director for the New Jersey Department of Health Critical Congenital Heart Defects Screening Program and Zika Infant Surveillance.

Upon becoming a mother and struggling through breastfeeding both of her babies, René first began supporting breastfeeding as a peer counselor, with a desire to help others as she was helped, and continues to support families in this way. She became an IBCLC and started her private practice, First Food For Baby, to provide professional lactation care a few years later. Recognizing the need to serve underinsured and marginalized families, she founded the Phoenix based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, American Breastfeeding Foundation, in 2020 that will one day reach and support families nationwide, facilitating specialized care for underserved populations.

René loves helping families through their unique breastfeeding journey, providing guidance to avoid complications and empowering them to exceed their goals. She welcomes the challenge this brings, from the complexities of airway issues to feeding position experimentation. She cherishes the loving interactions between babies and their parents. She considers it an honor to be trusted with each precious new life and to witness the intimacy and beauty that is breastfeeding. She bases her foundational knowledge on evidence-based data and research but realizes that the human experience she’s has learned over the past 25 years is equally important.

Renee is a board certified lactation consultant in private practice. She has been working in the field of lactation since the birth of her first child in 1990--as a La Leche League Leader, postpartum doula and IBCLC. She draws from her background in education and child development every time she works with a breastfeeding dyad. Since becoming certified in 1997, Renee has supported moms through home, hospital and clinic visits, drop-in groups in the Seattle area and phone and Skype consultations internationally. She has the great fortune to work closely with several local Drs. who do excellent frenotomy. Renee is thankful to live in breastfeeding-friendly Seattle, close to her 2 grown daughters.

Renée Flacking is Associate Professor and the leader for Reproductive, Infant and Child Health (RICH) at the School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Dalarna University, Sweden. Renée has a background as a Paediatric Nurse, having worked in a Neonatal Care Unit for more than 10 years. In 2007, she received her PhD in Medical Science, Uppsala University: Breastfeeding and Becoming a Mother – Influences and Experiences of Mothers of Preterm Infants. In 2009-2010 she undertook her PostDoc, conducting an ethnographic study in neonatal units in Sweden and England focusing on infant feeding and relationality. Renée has published more than 40 articles on neonatal care and is the Editor, together with Professor Fiona Dykes, for the book Ethnographic Research in Maternal and Child Health, Routledge. Renée’s main research interest is in the area of parenting and feeding in families with preterm infants focusing on emotional, relational and socio-cultural influences.

Renee obtained a bachelor of Physiotherapy in the year 2000 and worked in the areas of women’s health, musculoskeletal and paediatric physiotherapy. Her book, The Newborn Baby Manual, was published in 2011 and she became an IBCLC in 2012. She is now undertaking a PhD investigating breast hypoplasia as a reason for low breastmilk production. Renee's supervisors for her PhD are Professor Lisa Amir and Dr Meabh Cullinane. Renee currently has 6 papers published as a part of her PhD.

Dr. Richard Baxter is a board-certified pediatric dentist and board-certified laser surgeon. He is a nationally recognized speaker on tongue-ties, and author of the bestselling book Tongue-Tied: How a Tiny String Under the Tongue Impacts Nursing, Speech, Feeding, and More. He is passionate about educating parents and healthcare practitioners about the effects a tongue-tie can have throughout the lifespan. He lives in Birmingham, AL with his wife, Tara, their five-year-old old girls, Hannah and Noelle, and infant Molly. He is the founder and owner of the Alabama Tongue-Tie Center where he uses the CO2 laser to release oral restrictions that are causing nursing, speech, dental, sleep and feeding issues. He had a tongue-tie himself, and all three of his girls were treated for tongue and lip-tie at birth, so for him, this field is a personal one. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and outdoor activities. He serves as an elder at his church and is on the board of Reach the Rest, a global missions organization. Dr. Baxter also participates in many overseas dental mission trips. He is currently working on several research and educational projects related to tongue-ties.

Dr. Rixa Freeze has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Her doctoral studies focused on the history of healthcare and medicine with specialization in pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity care. Her dissertation examined why women in North America choose unassisted home births. She worked as a visiting assistant professor for 9 years at Wabash college. Her current research interests include human rights in childbirth, autonomy and informed consent, and vaginal breech birth.

She has published two articles about home birth: “Staying Home to Give Birth: Why Women in the United States Choose Home Birth” (JMWH 2009) and “Attitudes Towards Home Birth in the USA” (Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2010). She recently published the article “Breech birth at home: Outcomes of 60 breech and 109 cephalic planned home and birth center births” with BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. In 2019 she published an article about outcomes of breech at home, birth centers, and hospitals (Midwifery Today) and a book chapter “Freebirth in the United States” in the 2020 book Birthing Outside the System: The Canary in the Coal Mine.

Dr. Freeze is the founder and president of Breech Without Borders, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to breech training, education, and advocacy. She also blogs at Stand and Deliver (rixarixab.blogspot.com).

Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas Austin and Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, is a world-renowned medical anthropologist, international speaker and researcher in transformational models in childbirth, midwifery and obstetrics. She is author of over 80 articles and of Birth as an American Rite of Passage (1992, 2004), coauthor of From Doctor to Healer: The Transformative Journey (1998) and The Power of Ritual (2016), and lead editor of 10 collections, the latest of which is Birth Models That Work (2009), which highlights optimal models of birth care around the world. Volume II: Birth Models on the Global Frontier, co-edited with Betty-Anne Daviss, is in process, as is Sustainable Birth, co-edited with Kim Gutschow. Robbie serves as Editor for the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (www.imbci.org) and Senior Advisor to the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction. Most of her published articles are freely available on her website www.davis-floyd.com.

SALP expert in Orofacial Myology. PhD in Science USP - University of São Paulo. Chief of lingual frenulum evaluation sector at Santa Therezinha Hospital/ Brazil

Robin Grille is a psychologist in private practice and a parenting educator. He is the author of three internationally acclaimed books: ‘Parenting for a Peaceful World’, ‘Heart to Heart Parenting’ and ‘Inner Child Journeys’. Robin has delivered his seminars and workshops throughout Australasia, North America, UK and Asia. His experiential, skills-based and informational parenting courses have helped many people to embrace parenting as a transformative, personal growth journey.

Drawing from 30 years’ clinical experience and from leading-edge neuropsychological research, Robin’s seminars and courses focus on healthy emotional development for children as well as parents; while building supportive, co-operative parenting communities. Robin’s work is animated by his belief that humanity’s future is largely dependent on the way we collectively relate to our children.

To find out more about Robin Grille’s work, his books, articles and seminars visit: www.robingrille.com

Robin Kaplan has been an IBCLC since 2009, the same year that she opened up the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. She founded the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation in 2016, a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to reduce breastfeeding disparities among families of color and low-income families, as well as provide scholarships for women of color to become IBCLCs.

Robin was the founding host of the Boob Group podcast and published her first book, Latch: a Handbook for Breastfeeding with Confidence at Every Stage in 2018. Robin’s center has been a clinical training site for the UCSD Lactation Consultant program since 2015.

In 2019/2020, Robin helped write the curriculum for the University of California San Diego Lactation Educator Counselor program and was the Program Manager for the UCSD Curriculum Development Team for the Pathway 1&2 Lactation Consultant program. Robin has a BA from Washington University in St Louis and Masters in Education from University of California Los Angeles. Robin is currently attending the Functional Nutrition Alliance to become a Functional Nutrition Counselor.

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

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

Robinson (Rob) Reed (pronouns: they/them) is a certified nurse midwife and international board certified lactation consultant providing full scope midwifery and lactation care at Swedish Midwifery First Hill in Seattle, WA. As a queer and nonbinary healthcare provider, Rob is passionate about providing sex-positive, gender-affirming, trauma-informed care to their patients. Rob draws from over a decade of mindfulness practice to integrate compassion and intentional presence with the busyness of clinical practice. In addition to precepting midwifery students, Rob offers mentorship to queer and trans future healthcare providers, and consults with hospital maternity units on issues around gender inclusivity in sexual and reproductive healthcare and lactation care.

Robyn Gobbel, LMSW-Clinical, has over 15 years of practice in family and child therapy experience, specializing in complex trauma, attachment, and adoption. Robyn is a therapist, trainer, and consultant who recently relocated to Grand Rapids, MI from Austin, TX.

Robyn's diverse clinical training includes EMDR (including EMDR adapted for children with attachment trauma), Somatic Experiencing, Theraplay, Trust Based Relational Intervention®, Circle of Security Parent Educator, The Alert Program® and Yogapeutics Aerial Yoga Level 1 Teacher Training. Robyn has integrated these training modalities with a foundation of attachment theory and the relational neurosciences to create an attachment-rich, sensory-sensitive, and relational neurosciences supported healing environment for children and families.

Robyn consults, teaches, and trains extensively throughout the US, including previously as an instructor for the Foundations of Interpersonal Neurobiology Certificate Program at Portland Community College. She was an instructor with the Adoptive & Foster Family Therapy Post-Graduate Certificate Program and has served on the working board of the Global Association for Interpersonal Neurobiology Studies (GAINS).

Robyn Lee is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Alberta. Previously, she was visiting scholar at the Brocher Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Brock University. She holds a PhD in Social and Political Thought from York University. Her research interests include contemporary social theory, gender, sexuality, care work, and embodiment. She is the author of The Ethics and Politics of Breastfeeding: Power, Pleasure, Poetics, published by University of Toronto Press (2018) and has published articles in journals including Feminist Theory, Hypatia, Gender, Work, and Organization, and Family Theory and Review.

Robyn Merkel-Walsh, M.A., CCC-SLP/COM® is a Licensed Speech Pathologist with over 25 years of experience. She is employed full time by the Ridgefield Board of Education and runs a private practice in Ridgefield, NJ. She is also an author, lecturer, and consultant for TalkTools® . Robyn specializes in Oral-Placement, feeding, and orofacial myofunctional disorders in the pediatric population. Her publications include, SMILE (Systematic Intervention for Lingual Elevation), Art Talk, Handy Handouts, OPT-S Kit, and she co-authored Sensory Stix, A Sensory-Motor Approach to Feeding, Functional Assessment and Remediation of Tethered Oral Tissues and Oral Placement Therapy Goals for Speech Clarity. She has also written several articles for the TalkTools® website, The ASHA Leader, and Advance Magazine for Speech Pathologists. She has been published five consecutive years at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Robyn received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Montclair State University, where she was later invited to be an adjunct/clinical supervisor. She has also taught classes and/or as a clinical supervisor for: Bergen Community College, Seton Hall University and Malloy College. She is a member of American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology, New Jersey Education Association, International Association of Orofacial Myology, Oral Motor Institute, Ankyloglossia Bodyworkers , International Consortium of Ankylofrenula Professionals and The Bergen County Apraxia Association. She served a term on the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association Board of Directors and was the private practice co-chair. She is also the Board Chair of the Oral Motor Institute and the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology.

Robyn Roche-Paull, RN, BSN, IBCLC, has been working with breastfeeding mothers for over 14 years. She holds Bachelor's degrees in Maternal Child Health and Nursing. Currently, Robyn is a L&D and Postpartum RN at Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, and also works with AD military mothers as an IBCLC. In addition, Robyn is a Board member of MiLCA (Military Lactation Consultants Association), and the Secretary for TALCA (Tidewater Area Lactation Consultant Association).

Robyn is an energetic and dynamic speaker who brings personal experience combined with evidence-based research to her presentations. Her motivation for speaking is to bring attention to subjects she feels are little understood, and yet affect many women. As a tattooed and pierced IBCLC, Robyn has a personal as well as professional interest in Body Modifications. With the rise in tattooing and piercings by the new generation of breastfeeding mothers, Robyn feels that the topic of Body Modifications and how it relates to breastfeeding, is very relevant.

Robyn lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and 3 school-age children.

Rodney Dietert is Professor of Immunotoxicology at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA and author of the 2016 book: The Human Superorganism: How the Microbiome Is Revolutionizing the Pursuit of a Healthy Life from Dutton Penguin Random House. Rodney is in his 40th year Cornell University faculty. He received his Ph.D. in immunogenetics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977. Rodney has more than 300 publications, including 200 papers and book chapters, with most concerning environmental risk factors, developmental immunotoxicity, and programming of later-life, non-communicable diseases.

Recently, he has focused on the importance of the microbiome in health and safety. Among his prior authored and edited books are: Strategies for Protecting Your Child's Immune System (World Scientific Publishing, 2010), Immunotoxicity Testing (Springer, 2010), Immunotoxicity, Immune Dysfunction, and Chronic Disease (Springer, 2012) and Science Sifting: Tools for Innovation in Science and Technology (World Scientific, 2013). Rodney previously directed Cornell's Graduate Program in Immunology, the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors and the Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and served as a Senior Fellow in the Cornell Center for the Environment. Outside Cornell, he was President of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section (SOT) and Editor of Springer’s toxicology book series, Molecular and Integrative Toxicology. Recently, Rodney appeared in the 2014 award-winning documentary film on the microbiome titled, Microbirth. In 2015, he received the James G Wilson Award from The Teratology Society for the Best Paper of Year (2014) with a peer-reviewed publication on the microbiome.

Rolinde obtained a PhD in applied biological sciences at Ghent University in 2011 and authored several peer reviewed articles. After a career as a scientist, she started her private practice “Op de groei”, where she works as a pediatric dietitian and lactation consultant. Rolinde has a special interest in allergies, starting solids and picky eating and is the author of several books on cow’s milk allergy and feeding in the first years of life. Rolinde is known for the critical eye with which she translates science into practical information.

Rosa Sorribas is an IBCLC in private practice in Barcelona since 2008. She is a Computer Engineer working on Internet and databases since 1986. In 2002, after her first daughter was born, she and her husband created CrianzaNatural.com, a Spanish portal and forum with information for an attachment parenting style of life. Since then, she's been involved in breastfeeding groups, such as La Leche League and Areola, which she still collaborates with. She offers breastfeeding and babywearing education in Spain, Portugal, Poland, and online. She's been working as doula in home and hospital births. Her website has been the source of dozens of support groups, many breastfeeding conselours and IBCLCs, and has helped hundreds of thousands of families around the world to get their maternity goals. For the last few years she's been very focused in nutrition after a cancer treatment left some issues on her health. She is now running a weekly podcast and video interview to relevant people addressing topics from conception to teens. In February she will launch a training course to become IBCLC, with the help of several new and experienced IBCLCs that she's been mentoring, in a site called ecrianza.com. She lives near the beach of Castelldefels with her two daughters who were homeschooled for 6 years, her lovely husband and her dog Timi.

Rosann Edwards is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, an experienced front line public health nurse, and lactation consultant. She is also a third-degree karate black belt, and mother of boys. Rosann’s research and community work focuses on breastfeeding, the transition to motherhood, maternal satisfaction with breast/infant feeding, mothering in the shelter system, and empowering vulnerable populations of women and their children. She is the co-editor of the recent Demeter Press Anthology Breasts across Motherhood: Lived Experiences and Critical Examinations.

Rue Khosa, AKA The Boob Boss, is the owner/founder of The Perfect Push, a lactation and parenting wellness clinic in downtown Redmond. She is a board certified family nurse practitioner, lactation consultant and a THRIVE parenting educator. Rue was born and raised Zimbabwe, where family plays a critical role in supporting expectant and new parents. This type of communal caring, called “kugarira”, helps families prepare for a new baby both emotionally and physically and guides them through the often challenging newborn period. Rue created The Perfect Push to bring that experience to Seattle. Rue began her women’s health career as a labor and delivery nurse over 10 years ago, at Washington Hospital Centre in DC. She received her graduate degree from Georgetown University, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Prior to opening her private practice, Rue was a Teaching Associate in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine and an Adjunct Clinical Faculty at Northwest University Buntain School of Nursing. In July 2019, Rue was commissioned by the Mayor to the City of Redmond’s Human Services Commission. In February 2020, Rue was invited to join Washington State Hospital Association's Safe Delivery Roadmap Commission. She sits on their Birth Equity task force working on program development. She also sits on the board of No More Under, a non profit organization committed to drowning prevention and awareness. Outside of redefining the childbirth and parenting experience, Rue is a mother of two young boys with a third on the way. She lives in Redmond, WA with her husband, mother and boys.

Ruth Anne Hammond is the author of Respecting Babies: A Guide to Educaring for Parents and Professionals (Zero to Three, 2019), and is a consultant for infant/toddler care and education. Having been mentored by Magda Gerber, founder of Resources for Infant Educarers, she teaches and mentors parents and professionals in the US and abroad. She served on RIE’s board of directors for many years and was President from 2006 through 2011. She was on the faculty of Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School as both a member of the Senior Adjunct Faculty and a Master Teacher in the Infant/Toddler-Parent Program for 17 years. She is currently on the board of directors of Families Forward Learning Center in Pasadena, CA and serves as chair of the Programs Advisory Committee. Ms. Hammond earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Arts in Human Development, specializing in Infant/Toddler Studies and Leadership in Education, from Pacific Oaks College. She is a longtime member of psychologist Allan Schore’s interpersonal neurobiology study group.

Ruth Lucas, PhD, RNC, CLS, received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from George Mason University (1986) and her Doctor of Philosophy of Science (2011) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Based on 20 years of supporting women and infants to initiate breastfeeding, her research focuses on the biobehavioral mechanisms of breastfeeding, such as breast and nipple pain. Dr. Lucas and her team conducted a pilot randomized control trial (RCT) as part of the Center for Accelerating Precision Pain Self- Management (CAPPS-M) (P20NR016605). The pilot RCT tested the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a breastfeeding self-management (BSM) intervention for breast and nipple pain during breastfeeding and found the BSM intervention significantly reduced breast and nipple pain and is associated with pain sensitivity polymorphisms. Her published work describes management of pain during breastfeeding, a clinical indictor of infant breastfeeding behaviors, and a biomedical device to measure breastfeeding in real time.

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.