ABOUT NLCA
ABOUT NLCA
The National Lactation Consultant Alliance (NLCA) was created to support the holders of the IBCLC® credential and to advocate for the clinical lactation consultant profession at the local, state, and national levels. As a still young profession, lactation consultants have made positive strides toward being accepted as qualified healthcare professionals and integrated into the healthcare team. However, the IBCLC® is not consistently recognized as a reimbursable provider by Medicaid and private insurers which limits access to IBCLC® care by families in communities with low resources. This disparity in care places infants and parents at risk for poor health outcomes. NLCA aims to change this disparity in access to clinical lactation care through its work to:
- Secure public and private insurance reimbursement for the IBCLC®
- Ensure placement of the IBCLC® at the federal and state legislative and policy tables
- Elevate the profession as one that is recognized by the healthcare system as a licensed clinical healthcare provider
- Advocate for the inclusion of the IBCLC® in publications, recommendations, laws, policies, and regulations promulgated by healthcare organizations, as well as state and federal agencies.
We are current and former Board Members of ILCA®, USLCA, IBLCE®, HMBANA, Baby-Friendly USA and many state breastfeeding coalitions. We are current and former Editors of the Journal Clinical Lactation and authors of numerous journal manuscripts and textbooks. We are attorneys, APNs, RNs, Dietitians, University Faculty Members and LLL leaders and we are all holders of IBCLC® certification.
Read our 2023 Annual Report to learn the extent of our work to advance the lactation consultant profession. We work hard for you!
Meet the Board
Marsha Walker
President
Marsha Walker
Marsha Walker is a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC®). She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and Boston University School of Nursing. She earned academic society membership in Sigma Theta Tau and recognition in Whos’ Who in American Nursing. Marsha maintained a large clinical lactation practice at a major Massachusetts HMO where she was the Director of the Breastfeeding Support Program. Marsha is a previous board member of the International Lactation Consultant Association, United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA), Baby Friendly USA, the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition, and the Massachusetts Lactation Consultant Association. She is a past USLCA representative to the FDA’s Breastfeeding Promotion Consortium. Marsha co-founded the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy, the IBFAN
organization in the US that monitored the Code and is a past member of the United States Breastfeeding Committee. She sits on the Clinical Committee for Baby Friendly USA.
Marsha serves as an associate editor of the journal Clinical Lactation. She is a frequent speaker, having provided hundreds of presentations, and is a published author of numerous books and journal articles. Marsha is a founding board member of the National Lactation Consultant Alliance where she also Cchairs the Federal Policy Committee. Her two children and six grandchildren form a very active sporting family that keeps her busy attending track meets, basketball games, cheering competitions, soccer games, lacrosse games, football games, and gymnastics meets.
Ellen Lechtenberg
Vice President
Ellen Lechtenberg
Ellen has almost 30 years of experience working with special needs infants at Primary Children’s
Hospital in Salt Lake City Utah. She is a Registered Dietitian with a MPH in Nutrition and most
recently has been the manager of the Lactation Department and Intermountain Healthcare
lactation expert where she led the corporate lactation team and worked to develop
breastfeeding policies, protocols, patient education handouts and lactation education programs
for healthcare professionals. At Primary Children’s hospital, Ellen developed and managed the
Mothers Milk Center which centralized human milk storage and preparation. Ellen has a passion
for providing human milk for patients with nutritional challenges such as chylothorax and
colitis. Her work on fat free human milk is published and has received national review. She has
contributed to book chapters in Nutrition through the Lifecycle and was a CPE reviewer for the
Infant and Pediatric Feedings: Guidelines for Preparation of Human Milk and Formula in Health
Care Facilities. Ellen has presented at local, state, and national meetings. She was a founding
executive board member of the Mountain West Mothers Milk Bank in Utah and is currently an
advisory board member on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Breastfeeding Registry
Project. She has been on the Professional Advisory Committee for Gold Learning Neonatal
2022 conference and is currently a member of the Utah Women’s Health Coalition and the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Maternal Child Health Affinity Group.
Jennifer Jones
Secretary
Jennifer Jones
As a registered nurse, Jennifer Jones first learned about breastfeeding through La Leche League. As a La Leche League Leader (1987), Jennifer was mentored and introduced to the IBCLC profession. In 1993, Jennifer passed the IBLCE exam for the first of three times (2003, 2013) and opened her private practice. As an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Jennifer has worked in both the hospital and community setting. Jennifer is a co-chair of the licensure committee for both the Florida Lactation Consultants Association (FLCA) and the Florida Breastfeeding Coalition (FBC). Jennifer is also a board member of the International Affiliation of Tongue Tied Professionals (IATP).
College level courses, lactation specific education, clinical practice hours, and passing a board exam differentiate the IBCLC from all others providing lactation education. As one of the founding members of NLCA, Jennifer sees the IBCLC profession growing like many other health professions have done in the past. Growing pains are a natural part of the early stages for a health profession as they set a standard to meet guidelines for providing effective clinical patient care. Becoming a Medicaid and private insurance reimbursable profession takes licensure in this great nation of ours. As a founder of NLCA and a board member, Jennifer is dedicated to advancing the IBCLC profession through licensure of all those who have clinical practice hours and pass the IBLCE exam.
Claire Eden
Treasurer
Claire Eden
Leah Aldridge
Board Member
Leah Aldridge
Graduating from the University of Virginia in 1990 and Emory University School of Law in 1993, Leah specialized in corporate and regulatory healthcare law for Morris, Manning and Martin, LLP until 2000. As a new mother in 2000, she saw many unmet needs and, therefore, opportunities to better the lives of Georgian families. She began non-profit Board service with Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia and led continuously for 20 years, including serving as HMHB’s Board President from 2015-2017. She became an IBCLC® in 2010 and co-founded Atlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLC, a clinic serving breastfeeding families in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She now leads the state by serving on the Secretary of State’s Georgia Lactation Consultant Advisory Group (2016-present). A recognized maternal and infant health expert, Leah has testified before the Georgia General Assembly and before federal regulatory committees numerous times over the past 10 years and was instrumental in passage of Georgia Lactation Consultant Practice Act in 2016.
Leah has won numerous local and national awards, including the ROSE award of the Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. in 2006 and the United States Lactation Consultant Association: National Award of Excellence in 2016. She has co-authored several published peer- reviewed lactation professional journal articles and is a founding Board Member of the National Lactation Consultant Alliance, Inc. Currently, she Chairs the State Advocacy Committee. She is the proud mother of three and loves to ski, run and cook!
Sylvia Edwards
Board Member
Sylvia Edwards
As an IBCLC®, Sylvia led University of Alabama at Bin Birmingham through their journey to become Baby Friendly. She served United States Breastfeeding Committee as SE Regional Representative and United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) representative. She served two terms on USLCA’s Board of Directors (BOD). She is past president and current BOD of the Alabama Breastfeeding Committee (ABC), Alabama Lactation Consultant Association, and the Breastfeeding Education Support Team. Sylvia was a founding Board Member and is current president of the Mother’s Milk Bank of Alabama. She is a founding Board Member and President of the National Lactation Consultant Alliance. Sylvia’s favorite role has been raising 3 amazing children with her supportive husband and being blessed with 7 grandchildren. Retired from full- time employment, she continues to be active in community service as a mentor for aspiring IBCLC®s and as a Lactation Consultant at Saint Vincent Hospital.
Teresa McCullen
Board Member
Teresa R. McCullen
Teresa brings a wealth of experience to the National Lactation Consultant Alliance Board as a founding member and currently serves as its Secretary. She is a dedicated family advocate and educator who has worked closely with breastfeeding mothers and their families throughout her career. Notably, she has served as a La Leche League Leader in 6 states across the country— Alaska, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Teresa and her husband of 46 years, Michael, are the proud parents of 5 fabulous children and grandparents of six adorable grandchildren, ages 17 to 18 months—and each one of their children and grandchildren were/are breastfed.
Alicia Simpson
Board Member
Alicia Simpson
Alicia Simpson is a Registered Dietitian, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® and Feeding Therapist. After graduating with her bachelor’s in marketing from Hampton University she started her career in marketing and sales focused in the healthcare industry. However, Alicia’s passion for public health and nutrition throughout the lifecycle led her to pursue her Master’s in Health Sciences with a concentration in Nutrition from Georgia State University while simultaneously earning a second bachelor’s degree, this time in Anthropology, also from Georgia State University. Alicia is also a graduate of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Alicia is the only practicing registered dietitian who is also certified in feeding therapy for children with sensory processing disorders in the state of Georgia, providing a unique perspective in changing the long-term social and feeding behaviors of children who are resistant eaters due to sensory processing disorder and its related conditions.
Alicia is an award-winning published author who has authored 4 four bestselling books including Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food (2009), Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations (2010), Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food (2012), Boost Your Breastmilk: An All in One Guide for Nursing Mothers to Build a Healthy Milk Supply (2017). She has also written and chapters on Maternal Nutrition and Pediatric Nutrition for the Breastfeeding Child in the international Core Curriculum For Lactation Consultant Practice (2018) and Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 6 th Edition (2019), and. sShe is also a contributing author for several magazines and publications including Parenting and Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine.
Alicia has been awarded the Terry Jo Curtis Award by United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) in 2018 which recognizes the exemplary efforts of those increasing access and equity for the US IBCLC®. She is the past chair of the membership committee for the USLCA where she presently serves as the USLCA liaison to the National Association of Professional and Peer Lactation Supporters of Color (NAPPLSC) helping to ensure that the USLCA remains firmly committed to equity among lactation professionals including lactation professionals of color. As a Board Member of the National Lactation Consultant Alliance, Alicia is the Director of the Center for Lactation Equity.
Jessica Altemara
Board Member
Jessica Altemara
for 15 years. “Medically complicated”, herself, she has an appreciation for seeking answers for
her favorite question: “Why?”. Her doula background added an appreciation for the importance
of whole person approaches. She earned her IBCLC credential in 2009 and has a private
practice in the Triangle area of North Carolina where she provides home visits and also works in
a team to provide integrative care through the North Carolina Integrative Tongue Tie Center. In a
culmination of her doula background and passion for supporting breastfeeding, Jessica worked
with a team to develop Bridge for Breastfeeding, a program for birth workers who wish to
provide high quality prenatal education. Through these many collaborative efforts, Jessica is
hopeful to see families more fully supported in all their postpartum needs. She also enjoys time
with her husband and 4 children, ranging in age from 10 to 20, all of whom were breastfed, but
none easily. In addition to being a dedicated Whovian, she’s also passionate about equity and
forming community connections.
Alisa Sanders
Board Member
Alisa Sanders
The science of breastmilk is my passion. I have over 30 years of experience working in hospitals, outpatient clinics, pediatric offices, and even started a breastfeeding support clinic. My years of providing lactation care allowed me to serve as President of US Lactation Consultants Association, Chair of the Texas Breastfeeding Coalition, and winner of the UT Health President’s Award for Leadership.
Olga Garcia Gomez
Board Member
Olga Garcia Gomez
Olga is a Dietitian, an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and a doula.
She is originally from Colombia (South America) and a graduate of the School of Human
Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Antioquia in Medellin.
Her passion for maternal and infant health, health promotion and prevention led her to work
with different community programs in Colombia and US. In 2008, she started working with the
Healthy Start Program in Alachua County (Florida) as a home visitor providing health education
to pregnant women and families with babies 0-3 years of age. In 2011 moved on to work with
the Healthy Start Program at the North Central/Central Florida Healthy Start Coalitions. Her
work provides her the opportunity to support Healthy Start home visitors in 16 counties of the
region.
As a healthcare professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding, she
provides lactation services, breastfeeding education and support to families at Advent Health
Fish Memorial Hospital. And, Breastfeeding Training and support to home visitors from both
Healthy Start Coalitions. She is a member of the Boards of the North Central Florida
Breastfeeding Coalition and the Florida Breastfeeding Coalition. Olga feels that it is critical for
the community to come together to support families, because it really takes a village.
Merrilee Gober BSN, RN, JD
Ex-Officio Board Member
Merrilee Gober BSN, RN, JD
the maternal and infant healthcare arena. She has practiced as an obstetrical nurse,
a litigation attorney, an obstetrical medical practice manager, and a healthcare
advocate.
She has served on numerous non-profit Boards, committees, and advisory groups
including Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (Board President,
2011-15), the Georgia Department of Community Health Low Birth Weight
Workgroup (2012-17), the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee (2012-
17), the Medical Association of Georgia Alliance (Board President (2015-17), the
American Medical Association Alliance (Representative to the AMA Council on
Legislation (2021-present), the Georgia State University School of Public Health
Board of Advisors (2014-present), and the Georgia Secretary of State Lactation
Consultant Advisory Group (consumer member 2016-present).
Her advocacy was instrumental for the passage of the Georgia Lactation
Consultant Practice Act. She is the author of the State of the State of Maternal
and Infant Health in Georgia, a co-author of several peer-reviewed journal
articles, and she has given dozens of presentations to physicians, nurses and other
healthcare professionals related to maternal and infant health.
Merrilee is married to a retired obstetrician. They have two grown sons and four
granddaughters.
Thank You!
Support for NLCA website provided in part by Memphis Area Lactation
Consultant Association (MALCA) and Praeclarus Press
