Bernadette Greene
Bernadette Greene currently serves as the Executive Director and Board Member Breastfeed Durham. Also serves on the board of Fatherhood of Durham. Bernadette’s background is in childcare working with the Durham Headstart program and serving as a Community Health Worker with Durham County Department of Public Health. Bernadette continues to provide technical assistance to both DCoDPH Headstart in her role as a breastfeeding advocate.
Bernadette Is a mother and grandmother who has breastfeed 5 children. Her motto is “A happy mom breastfeeding is a happy baby eating.” She offers great support to our local parents and is a fountain of advice on finding local resources. She currently serves as the executive Director of Breastfeed Durham and regularly attends community events. She enjoys working with the community, sharing information on chest/breastfeeding, as well as other relevant resources. She also serves on the board of fatherhood of Durham and is known in her community as the “resource lady.”
Amber Crews
Born and raised amidst the verdant landscapes of North Carolina, Amber Crews has always been a spirited advocate for first food equity. She stands firm in the belief that every child deserves access to human milk, and her endeavors in this field speak volumes about her commitment. Amber’s years in Washington, D.C., have enriched her perspective, intertwining her southern roots with the vibrancy of urban life. As an active Le Leche League Leader, Amber extends support, guidance, and encouragement to new parents, helping them navigate the intricacies of breastfeeding. Her empathetic nature combined with her expertise makes her a trusted source of counsel in the world of lactation support.
In her role as the Chair of Breastfeed Durham’s LGBTQ+ Human Milk Feeding Coalition, Amber wears her advocacy on her sleeve. She tirelessly works towards ensuring that the LGBTQ+ community receives equal opportunities and backing in the domain of human milk feeding. A mama, a maker, and an advocate for all things human milk, her wife and daughter are her biggest cheerleaders in this important work.
Becca Brandt French
Becca Brandt French is a Public Health Social Worker with over a decade of experience advancing maternal and child health, education, and community-based initiatives. She brings expertise in stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, program sustainability, and group facilitation—and is excited to channel those skills into her volunteer work with Breastfeed Durham.
A proud Durham resident since 2011, Becca is raising two young children (ages 4 and 20 months) alongside her husband, Billy. Between nursing her youngest and doing the important work of showing up in community spaces—talking with neighbors at the sandbox, sharing resources with other parents, and listening deeply—Becca is supporting families in real time. These everyday moments fuel her commitment to expanding breastfeeding support and pursuing certification as a lactation counselor. As a volunteer, she’ll help strengthen Breastfeed Durham’s business outreach and elevate the voices of families across the region.
In her free time, you’ll find Becca running, sewing, or thrifting for treasures around town.
Brynlee Buhler
Brynlee Buhler, Reporting & Communications Coordinator
Brynlee Buhler is a Master of Public Health student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, specializing in Maternal and Child Health. At Breastfeed Durham, she serves as the Reporting & Communications Coordinator, where she leads efforts to refresh and expand the organization’s website content, ensuring it reflects the full scope of our work. Brynlee also plays a key role in our grant reporting process, helping communicate the impact of our programs to funders, partners, and the public. Her practicum blends a strong foundation in research, writing, and community engagement with her personal experience as a new parent. She is passionate about advancing sexual and reproductive health equity across the lifespan.
Claudia Hines
Claudia Hines is a Certified Birth Doula (CD, DONA) and Prenatal Yoga Teacher with a passion for supporting first-time mothers and empowering families through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. With a holistic and personalized approach, Claudia guides birthing individuals toward positive birth experiences, emphasizing advocacy, education, and compassionate care.
As the Coordinator for the Black Breastfeeding Coalition, Claudia brings her deep experience in community-centered support and her commitment to improving maternal and infant health outcomes. In this role, she leads community engagement initiatives, promotes breastfeeding equity, and fosters supportive spaces for Black families.
Claudia’s extensive professional background spans over two decades of experience in human services and corporate finance. She currently works with Life Based Conceptions, providing one-on-one support to a neurodivergent individual who resides in her home. Previously, she served as an Autism Support Professional at the Autism Society of North Carolina, offering individualized care and life skills coaching. Her finance and payroll experience includes roles at Reichhold and Clarkston Consulting, where she honed her organizational and leadership skills.
Claudia holds an Associate’s degree in Accounting from Durham Technical Community College and studied Early Childhood Education at North Carolina Central University. Her diverse skill set and dedication to community well-being make her a vital advocate and leader in the breastfeeding community. When she’s not working, Claudia enjoys teaching yoga, homesteading, and creating nourishing spaces for families to thrive.
Fariha Rahman
Fariha Rahman served as the Policy Coordinator for Breastfeed Durham, where she played a pivotal role in shaping and advancing policies ranging from proclamations to healthcare and childcare policy. Currently, she supports the leadership of both Breastfeed Durham and Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities with their endeavors.
Fariha graduated from Duke University with a Masters of Science in Population Health Sciences and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Management. Throughout her course of study, she gained invaluable experience as a birth doula at UNC Hospitals and contributed to research understanding the impact of social determinants on women’s mental health. These experiences, particularly her work with new mothers from diverse backgrounds, fueled her passion for maternal health equity and policy advocacy.
Fariha believes that effective policy changes are essential to addressing the social and structural determinants that contribute to maternal health disparities. She is excited to contribute her expertise and dedication to Breastfeed Durham, where she is committed to making a lasting impact on maternal and child health in the community.
Janiah Fladger
Janiah Fladger is a Master of Public Health student specializing in Maternal, Child, & Family Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is deeply passionate about Black maternal health, comprehensive sexual health education, and lactation support. Grounded in reproductive justice, her work centers on advocating for Black birthing people and other marginalized communities to ensure equitable access to lactation support and family resources.
Janiah is committed to addressing health disparities through policy, community engagement, and advocacy. She will be stepping into the role of Recruitment Coordinator for Breastfeed Durham in Summer 2025, focusing on expanding breastfeeding-friendly initiatives among historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) in Durham County.
Beyond public health, Janiah finds joy in nurturing both people and plants. A self-proclaimed “new green thumb,” she loves caring for her growing plant collection, exploring nature through hikes, and diving into books that inspire her personally and professionally.
Jess Woon
With a deep commitment to ensuring equitable infant feeding support within the healthcare system, Jess is passionate about promoting breastfeeding-friendly healthcare environments in Durham. As the Coordinator of the Breastfeeding Friendly Healthcare Coalition, her work focuses on creating systemic change to improve access to high-quality, culturally competent lactation support for all families.
Jess’s background as a Labor and Delivery Nurse and Postpartum Nurse for over six years has provided her with invaluable hands-on experience in maternal and newborn care. Through her work on the frontlines, she’s seen firsthand the barriers that many families face in accessing breastfeeding support, particularly in marginalized communities. This drives her dedication to advancing equity in infant feeding, ensuring that all families, regardless of background, receive the guidance and resources they deserve.
She has specialized lactation training through the UNC Gillings School of Public Health’s MRT-TI program, where Jess honed her skills in providing evidence-based lactation care. For over a year, she has served as an inpatient Lactation Consultant, working directly with families to provide support, education, and guidance during their breastfeeding journeys.
Through her role with the Breastfeeding Friendly Healthcare Coalition, Jess strives to foster collaborations and initiatives that make Durham a more breastfeeding-friendly community, ensuring that every family has access to the support they need for a healthy start.
Kim Nguyen
Kim Nguyen serves with the WIC department at Piedmont Health and is transitioning into a leadership role. And she is taking a leadership role in facilitating the Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities initiative in Chatham County, helping build sustainable community infrastructure that supports infant feeding equity. Kim continues to coordinate the Tea and Milk Coalition, which centers the needs of Asian, Middle Eastern, and other immigrant families across the Triangle region. A passionate advocate for culturally informed lactation care, Kim is dedicated to disaggregating the monolith of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) population and expanding access to linguistically and culturally appropriate services. She is also completing her training as an aspiring IBCLC through the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative (MRTTI) at UNC and remains committed to uplifting community voices and promoting equity in infant feeding.
Kimberly Glover
Kimberley Glover is pursuing a master’s degree in public health at Temple University. Her concentration is social and behavioral sciences. She received her bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from Rutgers University and her master’s degree in bioethics from Wake Forest University. She is excited to work with Breastfeed Durham for her culminating fieldwork project. She is passionate about using health policy and health advocacy to advance maternal, child, and family health.
Lindsay Gadzinski
Lindsay Gadzinski, spends much of her day busy with her family and two young boys, two playful dogs, and a cuddly cat. Originally from New York in 2016, Lindsay made the decision to put down roots in our beautiful state of North Carolina, where she has had the opportunity to live in both the scenic western and vibrant eastern regions. Lindsay currently works part-time as a registered nurse in school health, bringing her wealth of knowledge and empathy to the care of her students.
Driven by her dreams and ambitions, Lindsay is enthusiastically preparing to embark on a career as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), where she can champion the benefits of breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and human milk feeding. Lindsay’s fervent commitment to equitable healthcare initiatives and her heartfelt advocacy for lactation education shines through in all her efforts. She is now coordinating the Breastfeed Durham Social Media Communications Team and is excited to continue growing and making a positive impact on the Lactation Justice Movement.
Linels Higuera Ancidey
Curriculum Developer for Spanish-Language Breastfeeding and Mental Health Support
Linels is a Master of Public Health student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, bringing a strong background in culturally responsive care and community engagement. As Curriculum Developer with Breastfeed Durham, Linels is creating a mental health-informed support group curriculum tailored to Spanish-speaking families. Her work integrates breastfeeding education with themes of cultural identity, resilience, and parenthood, drawing from the La Leche League Leader Handbook and lived community experience. Linels also cofacilitates biweekly support groups and develops promotional materials to increase access and visibility for Spanish-speaking families in Durham and beyond.
Love Anderson
Love Anderson currently serves on both the board of Breastfeed Durham and Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities. Love is passionate about policy development and serves as a liaison to state, national, and global advocacy groups. She also serves as the digital operations coordinator. Love’s role as a parent of two high-spirited boys and her lived experience as a Black-Cherokee woman growing up in the rural South shapes and informs her advocacy efforts. Her professional background is in the areas of system analytics, physics, and education. After starting to breastfeed her two children with special needs, she began volunteering in the field of lactation support, universal access, and community support. With a focus on the intersection of race equity and inclusive design, over the past few years she had the opportunity to view community breastfeeding support from different perspectives.
From scientist, to small business owner, to teacher, to Community Health Worker for the Durham County Health Department, to director Breastfeed Durham, and now serving as a volunteer board member, Love is now transitioning her focus to statewide and national first food equity projects. Believing that the creation of a breastfeeding family friendly community can start to ameliorate inequities, she works to promote avenues of support for human milk feeding families, as well as advocates for policies that protect families rights, in order that each family may meet their own personal goals.
Nicola Young
Nicola Young is an IBCLC and full-spectrum doula currently studying medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. Prior to moving to Durham, she spent time working with Latinx parents in Boston, MA, and conducting research in Lima, Peru. She grew up speaking Spanish with her Peruvian family members and is passionate about equitable care for Spanish-speaking populations. A self-proclaimed “lactivist” and postpartum health enthusiast, Nicola leads the Lactancia Latina Coalition to help address the breastfeeding needs of Durham’s Latinx community.
Nicola Young es una asesora de lactancia, doula de parto y posparto, y estudiante de medicina en Duke University School of Medicine. Antes de mudarse a Durham, pasó tiempo trabajando con familias Latinas en Boston, MA, y conduciendo investigación en Lima, Perú. Creció hablando castellano con su familia peruana y su pasión es la equidad en el tratamiento de poblaciones hispanohablantes. Una autoproclamada “lactivista” y entusiasta de la salud posparto, Nicola lidera la Coalición de Lactancia Latina para apoyar a la lactancia en la comunidad Latina de Durham.
Rachel Lewis
Rachel is a mom of two and a passionate advocate for parents and families in Durham. She has been volunteering with BreastfeedDurham since 2019 and is proud to be a Board Member. When not volunteering at her daughter’s school or for local advocacy and support organizations, she can usually be found playing with her kids or curled up on the couch with one of her dogs, a mug of coffee, and a good book.
Salma Ali
Salma Ali is our coordinator for The Breastfeed Durham newsletter, The Durham Digest and the Breastfeed Durham blog, StayAbreast. Salma is an MPH Student in Maternal, Child, & Family Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is passionate about reproductive justice and working towards sexual and reproductive health, justice, and equity for all. This includes ensuring that families have the lactation support they need to support their infant’s nutrition and health.
Samantha Sallee
Policy Coordinator
Samantha is a Master of Public Health student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health with a focus on public health policy. As Policy Coordinator for Breastfeed Durham, Samantha supports local businesses and childcare centers in developing breastfeeding-friendly workplace policies and applying for state-level recognition. She also contributes to state advocacy efforts to protect lactation time for North Carolina educators. Samantha’s work builds sustainable tools for policy change while ensuring that lactating parents receive real-time support in both workplace and educational settings.