Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Nakeisha Robinson, MA, LMFT

Nakeisha Robinson, MA, LMFT

Board President

Nakeisha Robinson is a community health and social justice advocate who partners with local organizations focused on improving the lives of mothers, families and babies. She has worked passionately and extensively in Los Angeles and surrounding communities around health disparities negatively impacting women, babies, and families through community resident and direct service provider curriculum development, educational presentations, program implementation and coalition work.

Milan A. Henry-Spencer, MPH, MCHES, CLEC, Bcd

Milan A. Henry-Spencer, MPH, MCHES, CLEC, Bcd

President Elect

Milan has worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for 13 years and is currently a Senior Health Educator specifically working as Los Angeles County’s Health Education Consultant for the Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP). She has extensive passion and expertise in breastfeeding as a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor (CLEC) and Certified Birth Doula and having sustained a personal breastfeeding journey of over two years.

Stacey Armato, J.D.

Stacey Armato, J.D.

At-Large

Stacey Armato serves as the board treasurer for BreastfeedLA and is a member of the Parent Advisory Council for Mattel’s Children’s Hospital UCLA. In 2014, Stacey settled a high profile lawsuit against the TSA for harassment related to breast milk screening. As part of the settlement, the TSA re-wrote their breast milk policy and re-trained all TSA employees on the proper handling of breast milk.

Summer Bridges, J.D.

Summer Bridges, J.D.

At-Large

Summer Bridges is a Los Angeles-based attorney specializing in business transactions, business litigation, contract drafting, real estate, employment, and general liability. Her love for breastfeeding comes from her experience as a mother bonding with her one year old daughter.   She is extremely passionate about spreading the news on the numerous breastfeeding benefits for both baby and mother.

Joan Ortiz, RN, BSN, IBCLC

Joan Ortiz, RN, BSN, IBCLC

At-Large

Joan is the founder of Limerick and President of Limerick ’s Workplace Lactation Program. She is responsible for a comprehensive breastfeeding support model that has been proven effective in Limerick ’s Research Study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing in 2004. Joan's research titled “Airports in the United States: Are They Really Breastfeeding Friendly” published in Breastfeeding Medicine in 2014 is being sited to support legislation at both the federal and state level requiring airports to provide a private lactation room other than a bathroom for the breast pumping traveling mother.

Jenniffer Duran-West

Jenniffer Duran-West

At-Large

Jenniffer Duran-West did her undergrad at UCLA and received her masters at NYU. She works as the interim BF Coordinator and Motivational Interviewing skills trainer at WIC, and brings her person centered approach in everything she does.

Ansar El Muhammad

Ansar El Muhammad

At-Large

Ansar El Muhammad is a full spectrum doula, artist, educator and advocate, they value community building, communal wellness, health equity and transgenerational healing. Ansar became a doula in 2021 after learning about the Black Maternal Mortality rate and understanding a doula’s role in healthy birth outcomes. Ansar trained in Portland, Oregon under the wings of Tisha West and Jesse Remer. They have filled roles such as director of diversity, equity and inclusions, lead art programs for low income youths of color, served on policy committees for birthers of color, inclusive health and wellness educator in public schools, and recently joined the African American Infant Maternal Mortality prevention initiative (AAIMM) in Los Angeles. As a non binary person that bears a womb, Ansar strives to bring nuance, inclusion, and awareness to their practice, and create comfort, warmth and humanization for those they serve.

Wendy De León BS, IBCLC

Wendy De León BS, IBCLC

Secretary

Wendy De León BS, IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She is currently the Lead Lactation Consultant for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She has been supporting families’ lactation needs in Los Angeles for over thirteen years. Wendy is a proud Latina with Guatemalan and Puerto Rican roots. Her passion lies in serving her own communities and in mentoring others who strive to do the same. In her work, she has come to understand the barriers that not only new parents face in receiving quality lactation support, but also the barriers that organizations and individual healthcare and community workers face in offering it. Her current focus is breaking these barriers.

Lia Berquist

Lia Berquist

Fundraising Chair

Lia Berquist is a certified doula and affiliated teacher of The Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth as well as Evidence Based Birth®. Lia has a Bachelors of Science in Human Environmental Sciences and worked in Healthcare design starting in 2001. Ever since watching her own mother give birth to her sisters at home in the early 1980's, Lia has been passionate about birth. She's channeled this passion into positive, evidence-based childbirth education for families, encouraging them to more effectively advocate for themselves during pregnancy, labor, and breast/chestfeeding. Lia is a mother of two and has been teaching childbirth education in Southern California - and via Zoom, all over the world - since 2011 and has been a doula since 2012.

Ashley Skiffer-Thompson

Ashley Skiffer-Thompson

Treasurer

Ashley Skiffer-Thompson is the Program Coordinator for the AAIMM Doula program and is committed to giving back to her community. She has spent majority of her career in the non-profit sector within the home visitation field, gaining experiences in breastfeeding, bonding/attachment, and other maternal and child health topics. She believes there is empowerment through advocacy and education. By providing empathetic support and encouraging medical advocacy, her hope is that families feel empowered, grounded and valued throughout their birth journey. Driven by one of her favorite quotes, “Let the beauty we love, be what we do”, Ashley Skiffer-Thompson aims to be the change she hopes to see.

If you are interested in joining the board or have questions please email:  info@breastfeedla.org