2025 CHAMPS National Virtual Conference

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and Executive Director and Founder of the CHEER International Group (CHEERing) a nonprofit organization working with refugees in Greater Athens, Greece. Additionally, Dr. Merewood is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, Affiliate Faculty at the Boston University Center on Forced Migration, and visiting Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia School of Medicine, Cyprus.

For years, Dr. Merewood has led millions of dollars’ worth of funded projects that have successfully increased breastfeeding rates and reduced disparities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Texas and among Tribal Communities in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, by increasing the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in those regions. Due to the documented success of the CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices) and Dr. Merewood’s other previous work with hospitals in Massachusetts and New Jersey, CHEER earned a 3-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to replicate the success of CHAMPS nationally.

Dr. Merewood has coauthored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, spoken at conferences nationally and internationally, and served as a member of the American Public Health Association, the International Society for Research into Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), and the Society for Prevention Research. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Lactation and current editorial board member for the Journal of Maternal Child Nutrition. Dr. Merewood has also served as a consultant for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the DHHS Indian Health Service, and is a current consultant for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Laura Burnham, MPH, is the Associate Director at the Center for Health Equity, Education, & Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Her work focuses on quality improvement and program implementation in the field of maternal and child health, with a particular focus on breastfeeding and maternity care practices. Laura manages CHEER’s CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Care Practices) programs, which assist birthing hospitals to safely implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

Becky Knapp, MPH, RN, IBCLC, has been a maternal-child health nurse for 18 years. Since the start of her career, she has been driven to support moms, babies, and their families during the prenatal and postpartum period. Becky’s passion quickly became promoting and protecting breastfeeding, in particular addressing socioeconomic and racial inequities that can so often complicate the breastfeeding journey. This has guided her work across the country as a postpartum, nursery, and antepartum nurse and lactation consultant in hospitals and the community. Additionally, Becky has worked on research teams looking at best practices to address inequities in maternity care.

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and Executive Director and Founder of the CHEER International Group (CHEERing) a nonprofit organization working with refugees in Greater Athens, Greece. Additionally, Dr. Merewood is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, Affiliate Faculty at the Boston University Center on Forced Migration, and visiting Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia School of Medicine, Cyprus.

For years, Dr. Merewood has led millions of dollars’ worth of funded projects that have successfully increased breastfeeding rates and reduced disparities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Texas and among Tribal Communities in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, by increasing the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in those regions. Due to the documented success of the CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices) and Dr. Merewood’s other previous work with hospitals in Massachusetts and New Jersey, CHEER earned a 3-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to replicate the success of CHAMPS nationally.

Dr. Merewood has coauthored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, spoken at conferences nationally and internationally, and served as a member of the American Public Health Association, the International Society for Research into Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), and the Society for Prevention Research. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Lactation and current editorial board member for the Journal of Maternal Child Nutrition. Dr. Merewood has also served as a consultant for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the DHHS Indian Health Service, and is a current consultant for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Dr. Shaeequa Dasnadi is an accomplished neonatologist, educator, and clinical leader with over a decade of experience in neonatal-perinatal medicine. Currently serving as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Medical Director of Neonatal and Newborn Services at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, she has been instrumental in expanding neonatal care, developing quality improvement initiatives, and mentoring the next generation of physicians.

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and Executive Director and Founder of the CHEER International Group (CHEERing) a nonprofit organization working with refugees in Greater Athens, Greece. Additionally, Dr. Merewood is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, Affiliate Faculty at the Boston University Center on Forced Migration, and visiting Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia School of Medicine, Cyprus.

For years, Dr. Merewood has led millions of dollars’ worth of funded projects that have successfully increased breastfeeding rates and reduced disparities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Texas and among Tribal Communities in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, by increasing the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in those regions. Due to the documented success of the CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices) and Dr. Merewood’s other previous work with hospitals in Massachusetts and New Jersey, CHEER earned a 3-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to replicate the success of CHAMPS nationally.

Dr. Merewood has coauthored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, spoken at conferences nationally and internationally, and served as a member of the American Public Health Association, the International Society for Research into Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), and the Society for Prevention Research. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Lactation and current editorial board member for the Journal of Maternal Child Nutrition. Dr. Merewood has also served as a consultant for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the DHHS Indian Health Service, and is a current consultant for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

"Dr. Julie Ware is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She is an experienced board-certified pediatrician who specializes in Breastfeeding Medicine within the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine. Dr. Ware received her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and completed her M.D. degree and Pediatric Residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. After years of general practice with a focus on Breastfeeding Medicine, she completed an MPH degree at the University of Memphis. Julie is also an Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and certified by the North American Board of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine. 

Dr. Ware has served on the Executive Committee of the AAP Section on Breastfeeding and on the Board of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM), now serving as the President-Elect of ABM. Dr. Ware is currently on the leadership team of the Southwest Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition. She co-founded the All Moms Empowered to Nurse (AMEN) Peer-to-Peer Breastfeeding Support group serving African American moms in Cincinnati. Dr. Ware’s particular interest is improving maternal and child health through the promotion and support of breastfeeding, especially in those populations least likely to breastfeed. Her research and community efforts are focused on the elimination of disparities in breastfeeding and infant mortality."

Kimarie Bugg, DNP, FNP-BC, MPH, IBCLC, is Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) and Change Leader of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, Inc. (ROSE), a nonprofit corporation developed in 2011, to address breastfeeding inequities and disparities in Black communities. She is also the Community Engagement Director for CHAMPS. Dr. Bugg previously worked for Emory University, School of Medicine, as a nurse practitioner, private practice pediatrics as an NP, as a perinatal nurse consultant for the state of Georgia, perinatal educator, hospital nurse administrator, special care nursery staff, bedside breastfeeding consultant and pediatric emergency clinic staff nurse. Additionally, she was a board member of the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), provided training for WIC Breastfeeding administrative staff and Peer Counselors nationally, and completed a Community Health Leadership Program, within the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine. 

Crystal is a proud stay-at-home mom of three beautiful children—each of whom she joyfully nursed. As a new AMEN Ambassador, she has embraced opportunities to deepen her knowledge of breastfeeding science and to engage in community events that support and educate new and nursing mothers.

Passionate about reaching underserved communities, Crystal is committed to sharing what she’s learned and encouraging other moms along their journeys. She believes that knowledge empowers mothers to make the choices that work best for their families: “Knowledge gives them the power to make decisions that are best for their situation.”

Dr. Lorimar Ortiz, MD, DABFM, IBCLC, NABBLM-C works to improve access to and the quality of healthcare for families in her home, Puerto Rico. She is a family physician and board certified breastfeeding and lactation medicine specialist, dedicated to providing comprehensive primary care, postpartum care, and lactation support to families on the island. 

Dr. Ortiz was born and raised in Puerto Rico and completed her studies in general medicine at the University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus (UPR RCM). Recognizing a need for quality, affordable postpartum care services, Dr. Ortiz founded The Way Family Clinic, the first fourth-trimester medical care clinic in Puerto Rico. Through a value-based membership model known as ‘Direct Primary Care,’ the clinic offers comprehensive and compassionate service for its patients. 

Dr. Ortiz is also passionate about training future doctors in Puerto Rico. She is a mentor for medical and nursing students from the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas and an Assistant Professor of the Family & Community Medicine Department at Ponce Health Sciences University (Ponce, PR). She is a frequent speaker for the medical and healthcare community on the island in topics related to lactation and postpartum care. Additionally, Dr. Ortiz is a Member of the Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding and Lactation Education, the Center for the 4th Trimester Care, and current Vice President of the Coalición para la Lactancia Materna de Puerto Rico (In English, Puerto Rico Coalition for Maternal Lactation).

Danilea Carmona Matos is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and Technical Assistance Guide for the CHAMPS National Program at CHEER. She specializes in maternal and infant health, breastfeeding support, health equity, and culturally responsive Spanish-language training. Based in Puerto Rico, she also works at Blooming Families Clinic providing direct breastfeeding education and support. Danilea has led Spanish-language trainings on Quality Improvement and breastfeeding and contributed to national clinical research and publications focused on underrepresented communities in medical education. Her background also includes a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research fellowship and over five years of experience in medical and legal translation.

Giuseppina (Giusy) Romano-Clarke, MD, CLC, is the Newborn Unit Director of Quality Improvement at Massachusetts General Brigham (MGB) and CHAMPS National QI Team Lead at the facility.

Dr. Romano-Clarke spent more than a decade in primary care before serving as a newborn provider at MGB for the last 12 years. Her passion for addressing health care disparities, providing patient-centered care, and improving care quality has driven her involvement in numerous multidisciplinary initiatives, including efforts to improve pediatric oral health, asthma care, newborn sepsis, and hyperbilirubinemia management.

In the past two years, Dr. Romano-Clarke has taken on the role of Newborn Director of Breastfeeding Quality Improvement at MGB. She spearheaded the adoption of donor breastmilk for well newborns requiring supplementation during birth admission. Additionally, she has joined the MGH Baby-Friendly Committee and MGB Lactation Group, involving lactation consultants, a nurse midwife, outpatient obstetric nurses, labor and delivery nurses, and postpartum nurses working to coordinate and align breastfeeding services across the MGB inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Romano-Clarke recently received a United Against Racism grant to address breastfeeding disparities among Hispanic families.

Meredith Young, MS, PA-C, IBCLC is a seasoned Physician Assistant and Lactation Consultant, holding a master's degree from Mercy college. With 8 years of experience in the emergency room, she transitioned to breastfeeding and lactation medicine specialty over 8 years ago. Her passion for supporting mothers emerged during volunteer work in support groups. She attained her IBCLC certification in 2018. Since then, she has brought her expertise to various areas, including inpatient maternity, NICU lactation and teaching prenatal breastfeeding classes. Meredith has a comprehensive background, having completed additional courses in oral rehabilitation and breast pumping. Currently, she provides breastfeeding medicine and lactation care at Yale-New Haven Hospitals Outpatient Complete Lactation Care Office. 

Dr. Rubin is a double board-certified general pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine physician practicing in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. She worked as an outpatient general pediatrician at a large academic center for 13 years before opening her Direct Care practice, In Touch Pediatrics and Lactation, serving the Chicagoland area with Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine services and in-home postpartum pediatric and lactation care.  She is actively involved in teaching medical students through her Breastfeeding and Lactation 4th Year Elective, and she serves as the Co-Chair for the Committee on Breastfeeding for the Illinois chapter of the AAP.  She is also a founding board member of the North American Board of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine. 

Becky Knapp, MPH, RN, IBCLC, has been a maternal-child health nurse for 18 years. Since the start of her career, she has been driven to support moms, babies, and their families during the prenatal and postpartum period. Becky’s passion quickly became promoting and protecting breastfeeding, in particular addressing socioeconomic and racial inequities that can so often complicate the breastfeeding journey. This has guided her work across the country as a postpartum, nursery, and antepartum nurse and lactation consultant in hospitals and the community. Additionally, Becky has worked on research teams looking at best practices to address inequities in maternity care.

Kylie's work focuses on improving maternal infant health through education, collaboration, and patient care. With over 8 years of experience working with parents and infants, she currently leads the childbirth education program at Mercy Hospital in Northwest Arkansas and works on collaborations with local and state organizations to teach and support initiatives to improve maternal and infant outcomes in Arkansas. At the bedside, Kylie cares for newly postpartum parents and their infants on the Mother Baby unit. She is also a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, Certified Doula, and Holistic Wellness Practitioner. She is a mom to three boys and enjoys living in Bentonville with her kids, partner, and dog.

Ty graduated from Boston College School of Nursing in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science. She has been a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital for 28 years.  She spent the first 10 years of her nursing career in various areas of Acute Care Adult Medicine and Surgery before working in Inpatient Post- Partum Mother/Baby Nursing for the last 18 years at the MGH Newborn Family Unit.  Ty’s lactation journey began over 20 years ago in 2005 with her own challenges breastfeeding her first son. Having received considerable support from community, medical and lactation care providers, she has in turn been supporting breastfeeding families ever since.  She began formally providing inpatient breastfeeding care in 2007, became a Certified Lactation Counselor in 2008 and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2011.  Currently she serves as a Staff Nurse and Lactation Consultant on the unit, teaches Prenatal Breastfeeding classes through the MGH Childbirth Education Department and is working on a Mass General Brigham United Against Racism Equity Improvement Project aimed at helping to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates among Latinx families during their post- delivery hospitalization by providing standardized language concordant breastfeeding education.  Ty enjoys time with her family, has two sons and two Shih Tzu fur babies.

Sydney started as a mother baby nurse in January of 2022. She has almost exclusively worked night shift since then.

Kristin Thayer, MSN, RN, IBCLC, is committed to promoting equitable access to human milk and improving infant feeding outcomes. As the Lactation Support Program Coordinator at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, Kristin leads a growing team of lactation consultants committed to evidence-based practice and inclusive care. Since joining the hospital in 2020, she has focused on building a comprehensive program that ensures “more milk for more babies for more time.

I have been working with pregnant women and babies since 1991. I have done L&D, post-partum, Nursery, and Public Health and Home health care. Currently working as an IBCLC providing Lactation Services in a small hospital- inpatient and outpatient. Develop policies and procedures, education materials, and promotional materials for Women’s Health Services. Teach Childbirth and Breastfeeding classes online and in person. 

Became the Depot Director for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Tennessee after opening the first drop off depot, we now have 26. This includes supervising depots across the state who are receiving and shipping donated breastmilk, promoting the Milk Bank, and supporting families who are looking to donate.

Kristin Parks, BSN, RN, IBCLC, is currently working as an inpatient lactation consultant at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus, OH. She has been working in her current role since 2009, but at OhioHealth for 23 years. Grant Medical Center is located downtown and is a Level 1 Trauma center. They have a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that is managed by Nationwide Children's Hospital.  They  care for many critically ill, complex patients and their high-risk newborns and are affiliated with the OhioHealth Mother's Milk Bank in Columbus.  Their neonatologists have always supported the use of pasteurized human donor breast milk as the preferred method of supplementation when there is a medical need for supplementation. 

Jennifer has served in the role of lactation consultant for over 15 years.  She currently leads the Baby Friendly Hospital and CHAMPS initiatives at Brigham and Women's Hosptial, where she is a member of the Lactation Support Services team. Her professional interests include increasing access to PDHM for full term infants and supporting Spanish speaking families at BWH through a grant funded,  culturally tailored breastfeeding initiative. She also serves as co-chair the Massachusetts Baby Friendly Collaborative.

Dr. Sharla Smith is a leading expert and dedicated advocate for maternal and infant health. She serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health, Director of Birth Equity in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Associate Director of Policy in the Center for African American Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Kansas City. She holds a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management, and a Ph.D. in Health Services and Systems Research from the University of Arkanrsas for Medical Sciences. With a distinguished public health career spanning since 2006, Dr. Smith's expertise is centered on Black maternal and infant health. Her approach is distinguished by a strong emphasis on community-driven solutions and strategic policy development. 

Dr. Smith's leadership extends beyond the university. She is the visionary founder and executive director of the Kansas Birth Equity Network. She also established the innovative Birth Equity Clinical Scholars Program, a two-year fellowship empowering Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine residents with the essential tools for delivering inclusive, accessible, and equitable maternal care. Driven by a profound commitment to justice, Dr. Smith is unwavering in her pursuit of birth equity through cutting-edge research, transformative curriculum development, and powerful community partnerships.

Michelle Owens, MD, is a clinical professor of maternal and fetal medicine at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, lead for maternal health in the state of Mississippi, and consultant physician on CHAMPS National. She is currently the National Assistant Secretary for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and President of the MS State Board of Medical Licensure. Dr. Owens is a passionate advocate for women’s health and health equity both locally and nationally. 

Dr. Owens’ research and clinical interests are in hypertensive and substance use disorders in pregnancy, maternal and infant mortality, sickle cell disease, and health disparities. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and is the inaugural host of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s “Southern Remedy for Women,” a talk-radio show focused on health issues for women and the people who love them.

Audrey Magee-Davey, BA, BSN, IBCLC is the Clinical Nurse Manager of Family Birthing Services at the Alaska Native Medical Center.  She has been a Registered Nurse for 15 years, an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant for the past 12 years, and a nurse leader for 9 years.  Audrey is deeply committed to advancing maternal-child health, supporting evidenced based lactation care, and fostering collaborative culturally responsive practices withing perinatal services.  Her experience leading teams in both clinical care and lactation support has made her a trusted advocate for families and her nursing team.  She loves living and working in Alaska and is honored to provide care to the indigenous families who she serves.

Diana Johnston has been a registered nurse caring for mothers and babies for twenty-two years. She has been the lead for the Baby Friendly USA task force since 2018 and focuses on providing evidence based care for maternity patients. Diana currently staffs the mother-baby unit at her facility, teaches childbirth, newborn care, and breastfeeding classes, and is very focused on data collection regarding patient outcomes. Her goal is to educate women and their partners on the best possible outcomes for themselves and the family unit they are building.

 When she is not working, Diana loves spending time with her husband and their two daughters. She is an avid Disney adult and reads far too many romance novels.

Jacqueline Mincy is an accomplished nursing leader with over a decade of experience driving clinical strategy, operational excellence, and quality improvement in women’s health and acute care settings. Currently serving as Director of Nursing for Maternity Services at WVU Princeton Community Hospital, she leads system-level maternal health initiatives, strengthens provider partnerships, and implements evidence-based practices that improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance the patient experience. Her leadership has yielded measurable results, including a 20% reduction in cesarean section rates, and double-digit gains in exclusive breastfeeding and skin-to-skin care. Jacqueline has successfully guided teams through regulatory readiness, program development, and Baby-Friendly designation efforts while mentoring staff to reduce turnover and build high-performing clinical teams. 

A recipient of the Daisy Award for compassionate care, Jacqueline is an active member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA). She is recognized for her ability to build trust with providers, translate data into action, and lead multidisciplinary teams in advancing quality, safety, and patient-centered care.

Mariah Banks, MPH, is a Program Management Specialist at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. She received her Master’s in Public Health from Boston University in May 2023, with a special interest in maternal and child health, especially in refugee and immigrant health. Her focus areas included program design, implementation, and evaluation, and health communications and promotion.

Mariah previously supported immigrant and refugee populations in Boston as the Social Media & Communications Specialist and Patient Advisory Council Coordinator at Boston Medical Center’s Immigrant & Refugee Health Center. She also worked as a communications specialist for the nonprofit Nature and Culture International, promoting environmental and community health in Mexico and South America. Additionally, Mariah was the CHEER International Group (CHEERing)’s first ever fellow, coordinating various aspects of CHEERing’s preventative health program in Greece.

Danilea Carmona Matos is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and Technical Assistance Guide for the CHAMPS National Program at CHEER. She specializes in maternal and infant health, breastfeeding support, health equity, and culturally responsive Spanish-language training. Based in Puerto Rico, she also works at Blooming Families Clinic providing direct breastfeeding education and support. Danilea has led Spanish-language trainings on Quality Improvement and breastfeeding and contributed to national clinical research and publications focused on underrepresented communities in medical education. Her background also includes a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research fellowship and over five years of experience in medical and legal translation.

Olivia Choi is a Research Assistant at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Olivia has previously been involved in numerous mental health and maternal/child health advocacy & research initiatives at both Villanova and Brown University. She has worked as a Clinical Research Intern at MGH’s Department of Psychiatry and was also a 2023 Hassenfeld Summer Scholar at Brown. Additionally, she has actively been involved in serving her communities, such as teaching at the Korean School of New England on the weekends and volunteering with the Read to a Child program to promote youth literacy. Olivia hopes to work on and create interventions that address maternal and child-related health disparities, especially in marginalized and underserved populations. She aims to make a positive impact in all the communities she is immersed in and surrounded by.

Madeline Caughron is a Research Assistant at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Madeline previously worked in behavioral and clinical psychology research and has a passion for helping people and advancing healthcare access for all, especially marginalized communities. She completed an internship in Australia developing DEI surveying and doing data analysis, and has worked for a women’s health business in Southwest Missouri where she advocated for women’s health education. Madeline aims to work to improve health equity and accessibility for communities across the globe.

Kathryn Pollack-Hinds, MPH, is a Research Assistant at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. She received her Master’s in Public Health from Boston University in May 2023 where she focused on community assessment and program design and maternal- child health. At CHEER, she supports the team in developing and facilitating virtual and in-person clinician trainings using a racial equity lens. She also works to promote the workplace lactation support project, Mississippi WINS, and analyzes data trends from the Interprofessional Module, Breastfeeding | Human Medicine.

Gianna Hamann is a Research Assistant at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Previously, she volunteered with the CHEER International Group (CHEERing), supporting CHEERing’s Grow Clinics and football training program and coordinating healthcare appointments. She also worked with Madison Street Medicine during her studies at the University of Wisconsin, providing direct healthcare to unhoused folks, assisting folks with getting health insurance and healthcare appointments, and running a blood pressure screening project. Gianna is passionate about nutrition, food access and equity, maternal-child health, healthcare access, and LGBTQ+ health.

I am a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and member of the Pediatric Newborn Medicine Team. Originally from San Salvador, El Salvador where I studied nutrition and dietetics. I had received a scholarship from the Organization of American States to study for my master’s degree in nutrition and public health, specializing in food safety and microbiology. 

My background includes working as a nutritionist teaching multiracial pregnant moms about nutrition during pregnancy. After years of seeing a lack of breastfeeding education in this population in both the community as well as the hospital setting, I decided to complete my CLC training and Certification. Teaching breastfeeding has become my passion. I am now happy to be part of the BWH community, and to work with our Spanish speaking families to provide much needed lactation support in the inpatient and ambulatory settings.

Pennie Bumrungsiri, MSc, LM, CPM, Clinical Services Director at Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, began her midwifery journey in South Africa, where she supported rural health efforts among intergenerational communities. There, she came to understand that a midwife is more than a birth attendant — she is a confidant, a keeper of stories, and a steady presence through every stage of life. 

Since 2012, Pennie has provided maternity and breastfeeding support across six international and cultural settings, honoring the distinct traditions and wisdom of each community she serves. Now based in Hawai‘i, she continues this work by meeting families where they are—through home visits, mobile clinic vans, and community spaces. Her approach is deeply person-centered, affirming each client’s story, challenges, and triumphs with compassion and care.

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and Executive Director and Founder of the CHEER International Group (CHEERing) a nonprofit organization working with refugees in Greater Athens, Greece. Additionally, Dr. Merewood is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, Affiliate Faculty at the Boston University Center on Forced Migration, and visiting Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia School of Medicine, Cyprus.

For years, Dr. Merewood has led millions of dollars’ worth of funded projects that have successfully increased breastfeeding rates and reduced disparities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Texas and among Tribal Communities in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, by increasing the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in those regions. Due to the documented success of the CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices) and Dr. Merewood’s other previous work with hospitals in Massachusetts and New Jersey, CHEER earned a 3-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to replicate the success of CHAMPS nationally.

Dr. Merewood has coauthored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, spoken at conferences nationally and internationally, and served as a member of the American Public Health Association, the International Society for Research into Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), and the Society for Prevention Research. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Lactation and current editorial board member for the Journal of Maternal Child Nutrition. Dr. Merewood has also served as a consultant for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the DHHS Indian Health Service, and is a current consultant for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Laura Burnham, MPH, is the Associate Director at the Center for Health Equity, Education, & Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Her work focuses on quality improvement and program implementation in the field of maternal and child health, with a particular focus on breastfeeding and maternity care practices. Laura manages CHEER’s CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Care Practices) programs, which assist birthing hospitals to safely implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.