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.
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 serves as the Policy Coordinator for Breastfeed Durham, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping and advancing policies ranging from proclamations to healthcare and childcare policy. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Population Health Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine while working as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Duke Center for Girls and Women with ADHD.
Fariha graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Management. During her undergraduate studies, she gained invaluable experience as a birth doula at UNC Hospitals and contributed to research on perinatal mood disorders. 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 bring her expertise and dedication to Breastfeed Durham, where she is committed to making a lasting impact on maternal and child health in the community.
Julianne Williams
Julianne Prantilla Williams is a passionate public health advocate and a Master of Public Health candidate at Temple University, focusing on Health Policy and Management. With a distinguished background in military service and human resources, Julianne brings a unique blend of discipline, leadership, and empathy to her role as an intern with the Durham Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities (BFFC) initiative.
In her capacity at Breastfeed Durham, Julianne has been instrumental in advancing Step 10 of the Ten Steps to a Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community, which emphasizes the integration of breastfeeding-friendly curricula across all educational levels, from childcare to universities. Her efforts have been pivotal in promoting and developing policies that foster supportive environments for breastfeeding within Durham’s education systems.
Julianne collaborates closely with educational institutions to ensure curriculum development aligns with breastfeeding-friendly practices and compliance standards. Her dedication extends to active community engagement, working alongside K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to cultivate a culture that normalizes and supports breastfeeding. Through her work with the Breastfeed Durham initiative, Julianne continues to champion the cause of breastfeeding support, striving to make a lasting impact on the health and wellness of families in the Durham community.
Kim Nguyen
Kim Nguyen is a Master’s student in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is passionate about advocating for equitable access to infant feeding and lactation support through sharing of experiences and information. Kim is also an aspiring lactation consultant (IBCLC) who is training with the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative (MRTTI) at UNC to support new parents in their infant feeding and chestfeeding journeys. She is dedicated to disaggregating the monolith of the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) population to bring more culturally informed lactation and infant feeding services to these communities. Kim is committed to leveraging community assets and connecting with local stakeholders to address the lactation/chestfeeding needs of this diverse population.
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.
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.
Form 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 currently a medical student at Duke University School of Medicine, IBCLC student at UNC, and volunteer postpartum doula with MAAME, Inc. 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 is excited to lead the Lactancia Latina Coalition to help address the breastfeeding needs of Durham’s Latinx community.
Nicola Young es una estudiante de medicina en Duke University School of Medicine, estudiante de lactancia en UNC, y una doula posparto voluntaria con la organización MAAME, Inc. 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 está emocionada por liderar la Coalición de Lactancia Latina para ayudar a abordar 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.