GOLD Learning Speakers

Webra has over 40 years of experience in neonatal critical care with over 25 in neonatal transport. Currently she is the coordinator for the Maryland Regional Neonatal Transport Program, a private joint venture between University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her position includes administrative and clinical oversight to the transport program and outreach education to all referral hospitals. Webra has held leadership positions in National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Transport Medicine, Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and American Academy of Neonatal Nursing (ANN). She is author of various articles, contributing author to books and publications. She has been a Content Reviewer of the 2006 and 2013 S.T.A.B.L.E. Program Learner Manuals, S.T.A.B.L.E. Program Instructor and Lead Instructor Trainer. Dr. Price-Douglas is an experienced, knowledgeable and well-respected presenter at national/ international meetings and has been on various planning committees/university faculty involved in educational activities including didactic, interactive and simulation programs. She holds certification as a neonatal nurse practitioner and lactation consultant. Webra is on the RISE team (Resilience in Stressful Events) at Johns Hopkins. She is interested how stressful/critical incidents (maternal/neonatal death/ stabilization attempts) impact the nursing/medical staff. She has completed formal education on integrative medicine strategies to support families and health care providers and promote resiliency.

Wendy is a breast biologist at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research explores the biology of how the breast develops and functions to better understand how disease states occur, including lactation mastitis and breast cancer.

After postdoctoral research as an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA, Wendy returned to Adelaide in 2005 and established the Breast Biology and Cancer Unit at the University of Adelaide. In 2011 she was appointed a National Breast Cancer Foundation Fellow and also The Hospital Research Foundation Associate Professor of Breast Cancer Research, which is her current appointment.

In 2016 Wendy won the Award for Excellence in Reproductive Biology Research from the Society for Reproductive Biology. Wendy’s research challenges old paradigms and explores new concepts in how the breast develops and functions to improve breast health across the life course.

In her employed life Wendy was a community pharmacist and also worked in doctor surgeries supporting cost effective, evidence-based prescribing.
Wendy left paid work to concentrate on writing Breastfeeding and Medication (Routledge 2nd edition 2018), developing information and training material on drugs in breastmilk as well as setting up her own website www.breastfeeding-and-medication. She has also published Breastfeeding for Dads and Grandmas (Praeclarus Press) and Why Mothers Medication Matters (Pinter and Martin). She is also co editor of a book to be published January 2020 called A guide to breastfeeding for medical professionals (Routledge).

Wendy is known for her work on providing a service on the compatibility of drugs in breastmilk and has been a breastfeeding peer supporter for 30 years. She is passionate that breastfeeding should be valued by all and that medication should not be a barrier. She has 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren. All her family seem as passionate about breastfeeding as she is and currently all 3 of her daughters are breastfeeding.
She was awarded a Points of Light award by the Prime Minister in 2018 and nominated for an MBE in the New Year's Honours List 2018 for services to mothers and babies. She received her award at Windsor Castle in May 2019 from Her Majesty the Queen.

Wendy Middlemiss is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. She has conducted research and engaged in applied education practices in the areas of infant sleep, parent education, and family well-being. Her academic training and research has crossed areas of family-community interaction, developmental theory, and educational psychology, all with a focus on how to share information in a manner that supports children’s and families’ development. Dr. Middlemiss has completed research in New Zealand and Australia and has formed research exchange programs in these countries. Dr. Middlemiss’ work focuses on how to construct culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate educational or intervention programs. Dr. Middlemiss has been a CFLE for over 20 years.

Whapio has been an Independent Midwife and Educator since 1985. In 2001, she founded The Matrona to provide an entry-level Holistic Midwifery program for aspiring midwives. In 2005, The Matrona became a non-profit organization dedicated to providing accessible and affordable birthing wisdom to midwives and birth workers, especially in Mexico and other Latin countries. Currently, The Matrona offers an Accessible Doula Program in the US and Mexico whereby doulas are certified and return to their communities to assist families.The Matrona also offers an online Holistic Midwifery Program.

Whapio speaks frequently and passionately about the consciousness of birth. "Consciousness is the missing element in caregiving that could really raise the bar...understanding the conscious aspect of birth and subsequently responding to the desires of what women and families want. I believe if we made consciousness a priority many of the unnecessary and archaic practices that endanger a woman's body and soul would naturally fall away. More women and families would have empowering and satisfying experiences and this will be the blueprint through which we transform the earth through birth."

I am a wife and mother of two breastfed children. I was a general practitioner and am currently more focused on helping mothers to breastfeed. I work at Puri Cinere Hospital and Kemang Medical Care Women and Children as a lactation counselor. I currently on leave due to accompany my husband school in United State for his PhD programs. Since 2009, I've been helping mothers who have difficulties breastfeeding. It is a delight when we meet during tough times, then met again once their breastfed child are big and smart, and most importantly successfully breastfed. My desire is to help mothers to breastfed wherever I live in this world.

Wilai Rojjanasrirat, PhD, RN, IBCLC, FILCA, FAAN is a Professor and Director of Research and Scholarship at Graceland University’s School of Nursing in Independence, Missouri. Her background is in midwifery and maternal and child health nursing.

She is an international board certified lactation consultant. She earned her Bachelor’s in Nursing and Midwifery from Thailand and Master’s and Doctorate and Post-Doctorate in Nursing from the University of Kansas. She teaches in graduate nursing program. Her research focuses on promoting and supporting breastfeeding, psychometric development, and educational outcome evaluation.

Using telehealth in providing lactation support, evaluation of the breastfeeding outcomes among late-preterm, near term, and term infants, and evaluation of the Business Case for Breastfeeding Program’s impact among employed breastfeeding mothers in Kansas are among some of the research projects.

Dr. Rojjanasrirat has multiple publications and recently contributed to a book chapter on Employment and Breastfeeding in Wambach & Spencer, Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 6th edition in 2021. She served as a former president of the Pi Eta Chapter of the Nursing Honor Society, a board member of the KC Board of Directors of Kansas City, Kansas, and a former president of the Greater Kansas City Lactation Consultant Association for several years.