Gina Boling

IBCLC + Clinical Director

Gina provides practical, caring and non-judgmental support on your breastfeeding journey . She understands the early days of parenting can be overwhelming and will help you develop a plan that works for you to help you meet YOUR goals. Gina has advanced training in oral function, and is skilled at working with families who are having difficulty with latch, nipple pain, slow weight gain, and low milk supply. As a mother of twins, she especially enjoys working with parents of multiples.

Specialties: plugged duct/ mastitis management and prevention, oral assessment and habilitation (tongue and lip ties), oversupply and low supply of breastmilk, toddler nursing and weaning, inducing lactation

Service areas: DC office visits, telehealth

Tiara Caldwell (She/Her)

lpn, IBCLC

Nothing brings Tiara more joy than to see parents gain confidence in their feeding choices and techniques. Being a nurse, doula, and mother of four, (including a set of twins!) has helped her realize chest/breastfeeding is not one size fits all. She is here to help you find a plan that works for you with healthy expectations. She has training to help with low supply, painful latch, returning to work, and other unique challenges. She ensures a judgment free zone with some fun along the way.

Specialities: low tone, adjusting to new role, suspected breast infections, multiples, history of breast surgery

Service areas: DC, Maryland, and Virginia home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

Kathleen Daniels

RN, IBCLC

With over a decade of experience in postpartum, preterm and newborn hospital-based care, Kathleen is thrilled to work on the BCGW team and bring expertise to the outpatient setting. Kathleen’s guiding principle is to help prepare families for feeding their babies and work with them to overcome obstacles and meet their baby feeding goals. She is a strong believer in the benefits of breastfeeding but keenly aware of how challenging the journey can be and that no journey looks the same! Listening and personalizing care is where a lactation consultant can be invaluable. She will anticipate concerns, develop manageable strategies and help clients feel supported. She has been known to geek out on growth charts, percentiles and the overall science of the field of lactation but will simplify these facts into a concrete plan. Kathleen specializes in navigating the care provided prenatally and postpartum (including NICU ‘graduates’) with the realities that occur after discharge. She can cut through the overwhelming amount of advice and instructions given to new parents and offer realistic and evidence based care. She loves to help families feel supported and know that they are not alone. Kathleen lives in Frederick County, Maryland with her husband (and Karate partner), three amazing little humans and a dog named Daisy.

Specialities: NICU graduates, navigating hospital protocols

Service areas: Maryland home visits, Frederick office visits, DC office visits, telehealth

Heather Evans

IBCLC

As a lactation consultant, Heather is passionate about helping you meet your personal breastfeeding/chest-feeding/lactation goals, whatever they may be. Heather is a mom of 5 who came to the US 15 years ago from the UK. She considers it a great privilege that you would allow her to be part of your mothering journey. Heather knows this can a vulnerable time, which is why she want you to feel safe, included, listened to, and empowered.

Service areas: DC office visits, Virginia home visits, telehealth

Dominique Gallo

IBCLC

Dominique is an international board certified lactation consultant certified for 5 years but have been helping parents with their lactation journey’s for the past 10 years through WIC, LLL and grassroots community efforts. Dominique graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (GO RAMS!) and is on the board of the United States Lactation Consultant Association and The Roanoke Doula Collective. Dominique is mom to 2 strong and beautiful daughters and an adventurous son. We have a crazy golden retriever and when she is not working hard for the parents she serves you can find her rooting on her kiddos while they play their various sports.

Service areas: telehealth

Beth Goldberg

BSN, RN, IBCLC Candidate

Beth has always had a passion for maternal and child health. This passion started at the University of Maryland while studying public health. Throughout her studies, she knew that she wanted to make an impact at an individual level by becoming a birth and postpartum doula. Working as a doula through her undergraduate degree lead her to the Breastfeeding Center for Greater Washington as their Program Coordinator. After many years of providing education and support to her doula clients, as well as the clients at the Breastfeed Center, she decided to increase her scope by becoming an RN. She attended NYU School of Nursing, and graduated with a BSN. After graduation and having worked through COVID, her ability to empower, and encourage her clients led her to want to become an IBCLC to further support the population that she is most passionate about. As an IBCLC candidate, she finds an immense amount of joy in working with clients to provide them with evidence based, practical, flexible plans to help achieve their ever evolving goals. She approaches each new and existing case with compassion, empathy and kindness, and would be honored to work with you to help you achieve all of your goals.

Service areas: DC office appointments, DC and Virginia home visits, telehealth

Tamika Harris

IBCLC, PMH-C

Tamika believes in every family's right to make an informed decision about their infant feeding choice. She is a board-certified Lactation Consultant and Perinatal Mental Health Specialist. Tamika is a human milk donor and has provided lactation support to families in home, hospital and community settings. As a WIC counselor, she focused on leading peer-to-peer lactation support groups. Tamika is also an instructor for Lactation Education Resources. She was elected to the Executive Committee of the D.C. Breastfeeding Coalition and the Board of Directors for Breastfeeding USA. Tamika has visited congress members on Capitol Hill with the United States Breastfeeding Committee to advocate for policies focused on supporting lactating families and was selected to a special advisory committee for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners.

Specialties: Perinatal Mental Health

Service areas: DC and Maryland home visits

Tri Jessup

IBCLC

Tri is a caring and supportive lactation consultant who is passionate about  helping families attain their breast/chestfeeding goals. She has over fifteen years of experience in the healthcare field and is a working mother of three children. Tri has both personal and professional experiences with tongue tie, painful latch, oversupply, plugged ducts and return to work challenges. She also loves to care for young infants in the first weeks of life. She is here to listen, empathize, and gently guide clients as they navigate through their concerns. She knows it can be a time filled with many difficulties and stressors. Tri speaks both English and Vietnamese. She is committed to providing non-judgemental and unbiased care. She truly looks forward to assisting you with your breast/chestfeeding journey!

Specialities: speaks English and Vietnamese; special interest in working with infants in the first weeks of life

Service areas: Virginia home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

ISABELA LESSA (she/her)

MPH, IBCLC

With a background in Psychology and Maternal and Child Health, Isabela is passionate about working with families to achieve their breastfeeding goals, whatever they may be, in a compassionate, and evidence-based way. Together we can work on poor infant weight gain, calibrating milk supply, latching difficulties, nipple and breast pain, feeding multiples, premature babies, returning to work, inducing lactation, weaning, and many other feeding issues. Consults in English and basic Portuguese.

Specialities: slow infant weight gain, milk supply, latching issues, tongue ties, balancing breast and bottle feeding

Service areas: Maryland and DC home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

Maureen LOPINA (she/her)

IBCLC

Known for her warm client relationships and nurturing energy, Maureen has been serving families since 1991, including 13 years as a childbirth educator and 25 years as a La Leche League Leader; and is now in her 20th year as an IBCLC. 

She is experienced working with parents from the prenatal period right up through weaning. She taught breastfeeding classes for several years in a hospital setting and at the Center, and is currently co-leading our popular weekly support group for feeding the 0-4 month old infant; she also facilitates the monthly Toddler group. 

Maureen is passionate about supporting new parents and their babies! It is a joy and an honor for her to be a resource for families at this special time in their lives. 

She has provided continuing education for doulas, midwives, nurses, and physicians; and advocated for breastfeeding at the local, state, and national level. A former marathoner, she now enjoys road biking and hiking. Maureen lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, and visits her three adult children in Colorado as often as possible.

Specialties: specialties: prenatals, prematurity, oral assessment and tongue tie, safe sleep, return to work, toddlers, weaning

Service areas: Virginia home visits, telehealth

Nancy Mallin (she/her)

IBCLC

Empathy, Warmth, Advanced Skills and Science-based Solutions. Nancy can help you resolve everyday concerns or tricky situations from birth to toddlerhood. You pick the goal; Nancy customizes your plan to meet it. Expertise includes: latching/positioning; low supply; oversupply; supplementation; mastitis; hand expression; tongue-tie; suck training; LGBTQ+; infant massage; special medical or physical needs.

Specialities: Oversupply; tethered oral tissues; LPTI; carpal tunnel, Reynaud’s, or other physical/medical challenges, breastfeeding after fertility treatments

Service areas: Maryland and DC home visits,

telehealth

Jen Mueller

IBCLC

Jen has been working with new parents, babies, and young children for more than a decade. She is excited to help BCGW families meet their breastfeeding goals. She offers practical and evidence-based advice and hopes parents find working with her to be empowering, non-judgmental, and enjoyable. Jen also enjoys working with the entire family as a yoga instructor and infant massage educator. Before focusing on lactation, Jen worked for years in non-profit administration and public health advocacy.

Service areas: DC home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

tina Pangelinan (She/Her)

IBCLC

Your family should have the support you need at such a precious moment in time ~ it is humbling to work with birthing families during a pandemic. Tina recognizes that being invited into the homes of these newest arrivals is a privilege that she does not take for granted. Tina came to the Breastfeeding Center to facilitate the Families of Color Group after 10 years of working in community at the only freestanding Birth Center in DC. Working together with midwives as a part of an extraordinary care team has been integral to shaping how Tina provides support for families in the prenatal and postpartum weeks and months.

Originally from the Bay Area in California, Tina was well supported coming into childbirth and the breastfeeding of her first child. Her personal experience was empowering from the start and the work continues. Everyone benefits from the guidance of encouraging folk before and after delivery. Tina’s been supported by the wealth of collective knowledge that the Breastfeeding Center Consultants and Referral Providers bring. You are in great hands with any one of our care team, be encouraged!

Specialities: Italian-speaking (rusty but conversational); loves supporting families in the earliest weeks of the newborn period

Service areas: DC home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

Torey POtter (she/her)

RN, BSN, IBCLC

Torey is a former Labor & Delivery nurse and Capitol Hill mom who enjoys helping families navigate challenges in the early days and weeks of parenthood & breastfeeding. What to expect from Torey: a clear and manageable plan based on current research, help meeting your breastfeeding goals whatever they may be, kindness and compassion during stressful times, reminders of what you’re doing well even when things may not be going as planned, and a sense of humor through it all. She looks forward to supporting your family!

Specialities: oral function assessment, medically complex infants, infant reflux and food allergies/sensitivities, at breast supplementing, return to work, tongue and lip ties, preterm infants

Service areas: DC home visits

Natalie Worthington (she, her)

IBCLC

I'm passionate about helping families, all families. Whether this is your first baby or your sixth; you're single, partnered, LGBTQIA+; whether you just gave birth or adopted; however you feed your baby; whatever your goals --- I'm here for you. Offering you my high spirited humor and enthusiasm to come up with practical solutions to whatever feeding challenges you are experiencing. I want to empower you to achieve your breast/chestfeeding goals. I use an evidenced based approach for all ages and stages. From those profound early weeks with latch, weight, and supply concerns to nursing gymnastics and pumping issues, all the way to returning to work, extended breastfeeding, and child led weaning. My 10 years of experience runs the gamut. I have La Leche League roots, but have worked in a hospital based setting with a level III NICU, and then transitioned to private practice.

Specialties: tongue ties, bottle/breast refusal, choosing a pump, flange fitting, returning to work, weaning, tandem nursing, prenatal, older babies/toddlers, latch or weight gain issues, plugged ducts/mastitis, low supply or over supply, bed sharing.

Service areas: telehealth

Other Clinical Staff

CHERYL Zimmer

RN, IBCLC

Cheryl Zimmer, has worked with mothers and infants for 15 years in a hospital setting, including NICU preemies, late preterm infants, and infants that are small for their gestational age--specializing in the unique needs of premature and critically ill infants and mothers lactation needs. She actively supports families in need of lactation support with high-risk infants who experience nutritional challenges but enjoys helping and encouraging all new mothers to breastfeed their babies.

Specialties: cleft lips/palates, allergies/sensitivities, returning to work, premature and NICU, reflux

Service areas: Maryland and DC home visits, DC office visits, telehealth

April Anderson

MA, CCC-SLP, IBCLC

April is a Speech Language Pathologist and Feeding Specialist with a special interest in working with infant feeding challenges and child feeding disorders. April has worked with infants and children of all ages both at home and in the clinic with feeding and swallowing issues such as accepting different textures, transitioning to solids, oral motor difficulties, and children diagnosed with tongue ties, as well as infants with special needs like cleft palate, feeding tubes, autism, and children with Down syndrome.

Carolyn Johnson

OTR/L

Carolyn is a occupational therapist specializing in perinatal health and postpartum recovery. She received her master's degree in OT at Boston University and has been practicing for over 10 years in the DC area. Her goal is to educate and prepare moms for the postpartum experience and provide treatment for challenges they may encounter while in the postpartum period and beyond.

After four postpartum recoveries in five years, Carolyn knows the transition into ALL stages of motherhood is not easy… but very rewarding. Although OT is her passion, home is where the heart is with her husband, three little boys and two pups.

Kim Hawley

MA, MPH, IBCLC, Sleep Consultant

Kim is a Holistic Sleep Coach, Lactation Consultant, and Peaceful
Parenting Educator. She helps tired parents combine developmental
knowledge with their intuition to improve family sleep. Her specialty
is holistic, responsive sleep support for babies, toddlers, and
nursing families. She loves helping parents understand normal baby and
toddler sleep while providing connection-focused tools and strategies
to gently optimize and change things when they are no longer working
for a family. Kim Lives in Capitol Hill with her husband and 2 kids.
She loves running, listening to audio books, coffee, and chocolate!

Gina Caruso-rissing (she/her)

Executive Director

With The Center since 2007, Gina has been there through many chapters of The Center's life and worked in many positions, and is excited about bringing the organization into its next chapter! Gina is passionate about ensuring all people feel empowered throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period and strives to bring programming to the community that reflects that. She is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, a Full Spectrum Doula, and a yoga teacher, although most of her professional focus is on guiding The Center. In her free time, Gina enjoys hiking our state and national parks, doing (and teaching) yoga, and spending quality time with her partner, friends, and family.

Katie Shamp (she/They)

Director of operations

I’ve been with The Center since 2012 in a number of roles, and currently as Director of Operations. A lot of my work supporting our community is behind the scenes, sourcing and vetting our retail product selection, honing our systems, and supporting our staff with technology—though my favorite excuse to close my computer is working with our clients on babywearing! My passion for this work is centered in reproductive justice: I believe all people deserve access-to, and autonomy-in their choices about whether and how to grow their families, followed by respect, and support in realizing their goals. At home I love to splash in any almost body of water I can find, go on crisp early morning bike rides, and backpacking with my family and doggo.

Natasha Dodge (she/they)

program coordinator

I originally began working at The Breastfeeding Center as a Federal Work Study Student as a Sophomore at GWU. Almost 6 years later, I am still on the team and have grown through many different positions. Currently, I work in the shop and provide support with any questions or concerns you might have when you stop in. When I am not working with clients, I am working on our newsletter, “Between the Feeds,” other social media-y things, as well as other projects to support our community. I am passionate about reproductive justice, adoptee advocacy, and health care reform. Outside of the office, I design and craft eco-conscious jewelry and accessory pieces. You may also see me biking around DC or at a cafe grabbing a latte! 

Angel Yarbor (she/her)

Program coordinator

Angel has been with The Center since 2019. She is currently in the process of certifying as a full spectrum doula and childbirth educator to further pursue her passion for helping birthing parents and their families meet their goals throughout their perinatal journey, helping them to feel heard and cared for and connected to a community! At the Breastfeeding Center, you can find her creating content for our blog, ensuring the care of our clients, and maintaining programing for longevity of The Center. Outside of the office her favorite pastimes include a bit of nature, a good book, or spending time with her beloved family!

Christie Allen (she/her)

President

Christie works as a director at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, focused on leading programming and interventions nationally on patient safety, quality improvement, and improving outcomes for all birthing families. With over 20 year of nursing experience, Christie has worked as a Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, NICU and Birthing Center nurse, and managed a state-wide program for pregnant individuals with active substance use disorder. She continues to work clinically in a local NICU. As an advocate for families of all sorts, she is committed to supporting the center’s provision of high-quality, equitable care, and services, particularly to people who have not felt centered in spaces like these traditionally. Christie lives in Maryland with her husband Seth, 2 hilarious teenage people who would now protest being called children but still don’t shower without encouragement, and an assortment of pets.

Lauren showalter

secretary

Lauren is a Project Manager with Axiom Data Science. Her background is in Marine Science, focusing on human and environmental resilience to disasters. Lauren found the breastfeeding center prior to having her son Emmet and took advantage of all the services they had to offer. This led her to become more involved in areas of parental support and providing equitable services to the greater DC community. She has found this work directly correlates to creating resilient communities and resilient families in the face of natural or man made disasters. She supports the center as board Secretary and provides general technical support and coordination. She also serves on the board’s Health Equity/Diversity committee. Lauren lives in NE DC with her son, husband and 2 dogs, Betty Lou and Lena.

Torey Corrado

member

Torey Corrado is a human resources professional with over a decade of experience across talent and performance management, employee and leadership development, organizational design, and talent acquisition. She currently serves as an HR Business Partner at Capital One where she leads a team of HRBPs supporting talent strategy and execution for leaders and employees within the Technology organization. Torey became aware of the Breastfeeding Center while preparing for the birth of her first child, and is excited to give back to this community so that others can continue to count on the holistic support the Center provides. Torey lives in the Navy Yard neighborhood with her husband and 2-year-old daughter.

Celeste scott

member

Celeste is a consultant with SEI DC where she focuses on technology consulting and systems implementation through the lens of user experience design. Celeste has supported clients ranging from the State Department to DC small businesses and has worked on matters ranging from large scale systems implementations to designing brand new business intelligence platforms that visualize data. Celeste connected with the Breastfeeding Center shortly after the birth of her pandemic baby and loved picking up tricks from other new parents through the support groups. Growing up as the child of an IBCLC mom, Celeste was introduced to breastfeeding education earlier than most and is delighted to support the center’s mission and its work in the region. 

lizamarie mohammed

MEMBER

Lizamarie is invested in disrupting the ways in which we provide care to those systematically underserved at the intersection of reproductive and maternal health care. Lizamarie is passionate about social justice issues, is committed to advancing access to quality, comprehensive care, and centers those historically marginalized. As the Senior Program Associate at Rhia Ventures, Lizamarie works to influence the business community to support maternal and reproductive health access. Prior to Rhia Ventures, Lizamarie was the State Issues Manager at the Guttmacher Institute. Lizamarie became aware of the Breastfeeding Center when she encountered her own breastfeeding challenges with her first child and is thrilled to support the Center in serving breast/chestfeeding people in the wider DC area.

Sarah Buckley

Legal Liason

Sarah is a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Prior to her legal career, she worked as a legislative aide in the Virginia General Assembly. Sarah found the Breastfeeding Center while pregnant with her son, Harlan, and became passionate about breastfeeding advocacy and postpartum support. In addition to connecting the Center with legal advice and support, she is committed to expanding the Center’s supportive community and advocating for breastfeeding, breastfeeders, and their families. Sarah lives in Southwest DC with her husband, son, and their cat, Tuna.

Kristal Dail

member

Kristal Dail is a public health professional with over 16 years of experience working for federally funded maternal and child health and nutrition programs. She currently serves as a Project Officer/ Public Health Analyst with the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureaus Healthy Start Program where she provides programmatic oversight and technical assistance to her assigned Healthy Start Projects across the nation. Prior to this, she also served as the DC Healthy Start Program Manager providing oversight, monitoring and planning to support successful implementation and operation of the DC Healthy Start Program. Concurrently, Ms. Dail also oversaw additional Maternal and Child Health programs in the District such as the Healthy Steps Program and the Nurse Family Partnership First Time Mothers Program. In the past, Ms. Dail has worked for various maternal and child health and nutrition federally funded programs for the District such as the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Supplemental Nutrition Education Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) USDA child nutrition program and has also assisted with the HRSA Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program. Ms. Dail received her Master's in Public Health from George Washington University.