Speaking

I love to ignite and inspire audiences of people who are passionate about mothers, babies and families. If you are looking for big ideas, rich research, and interactive experiences for greater impact on your equity-focused learning journey, then you are in the right place!

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Media Kit
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From Melbourne, Australia
to Detroit, Michigan.
Committed to Increasing Impact!

Oh, the places I have been! More importantly, I am honored to have been a part of so many journeys to bridge gaps, design by centering the lived experience, improve messaging and communication strategies to enhance the impact of organizational or programmatic outcomes. That way, we can ultimately help more mamas and families thrive!

Whether you are booking me to speak at a live conference or virtual event, attending one of my webinars and bringing me in to consult directly with your organization, I always bring my whole self and an astounding commitment to everything I do.

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Signature Keynotes​
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Signature Keynotes

Putting an END to The Big Letdown

Putting an End to THE BIG LETDOWN

Based on Seals Allers’ top-selling and groundbreaking book, the presentation identifies and explains the social, cultural and commercial forces and historical context at work impacting breastfeeding initiation and duration. The presentation examines the role of scientific research, the medical field, feminist ideals and other “actors,” in shaping infant feeding decision-making and what can be done to level the playing field. Allers also pushes for more structural support for breastfeeding mothers, improved communication and messaging from the lactation community and issues a call to action for physicians and other health professionals while creating a blueprint for changing social acceptance of breastfeeding as the biological norm. 

CERPS: 2.0

No Mother Left Behind: Reducing Racial Disparities in Breastfeeding Rates

No Mother Left Behind

Reducing Racial Disparities in Breastfeeding Rates

Despite some improvements, lingering racial disparities still exist, particularly at the six-month and 12-month exclusivity milestones. This presentation identifies five key cultural and structural barriers to breastfeeding in the Black community, as well as eight strategies for overcoming barriers, engaging with community and communicating effectively with African American families. Attendees will be able to better understand how current breastfeeding messaging and protocols may be disconnected from the lived experience of African-American women and will understand strategies for developing more culturally appropriate messaging. CERPS: 2.0

Place Matters: Unleashing the Power of Community to Shift Cultural Norms in Brith & Breastfeeding

Place Matters

Unleashing the Power of Community to Shift Cultural Norms in Birth and Breastfeeding

Drawing on a three-year, W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded pilot project in Detroit and Philadelphia, this presentation walks through the role and process of community assessment and engagement in improving birth outcomes and increasing breastfeeding rates, and shares qualitative results of the project and identifies key takeaways for the field.

CERPS: 2.0

Shifting the Narrative: Rewriting the “Story” of Birth and Breastfeeding to Improve Outcomes

Shifting the Narrative

Rewriting the “Story” of Birth and Breastfeeding to Improve Outcomes

When it coming to eradicating health disparities, how we communicate matters. From critical conversations on the role of structural racism in health outcomes to understanding the cultural nuances of language in various communities, how we talk about birth and breastfeeding impacts outcomes. Leveraging decades of experience as a journalist and communication strategist and eight years of on-the-ground work in the Southeast, Philadelphia and Detroit directing maternal and child health-related programs and conducting community-partnered participatory research, this presentation leverages lessons learned in the field to create a blueprint for more impactful messaging. It walks through common missteps of breastfeeding promotion, outlines effective communication tools and storytelling techniques, and identifies strategies for building a new framework for talking about birth and breastfeeding.

CERPS: 2.0

Facts vs. FIB: Countering Misinformation and Fear-Based Anti-Breastfeeding Campaigns

Facts vs. FIB

Countering Misinformation and Fear-Based Anti-Breastfeeding Campaigns

The growing momentum behind fear-based campaigns and misinformation is a real threat to infant and maternal health and the significant gains in breastfeeding initiation that have been achieved. Learning how to address and counter dangerous messaging in birth and breastfeeding is a public health imperative, and a critical learning for all breastfeeding supporters with implications for reducing racial disparities in breastfeeding. In this session, we'll deconstruct recent mainstream campaigns and discuss tactics to collectively counter, respond organizationally and how to address mothers directly. The presentation will highlight key narrative story telling strategies as an engagement tool, detail appropriate response mechanisms online and on social media, and show how commonly used breastfeeding promotion techniques may be damaging in this environment. Seals Allers also identifies five messaging strategies to shift and reframe the breastfeeding narrative that moves us from reactive to proactive messaging. 

CERPS: 2.0

The Ethics of Community Research and Engagement in Breastfeeding Support for Communities of Color

The Ethics of Community Research and Engagement in Breastfeeding Support for Communities of Color

As community research and engagement efforts in breastfeeding reflect more of social change intention rather than just data collection, ethical considerations must be applied to the community as a whole, in addition to its individual members.

As increasing research efforts seek to address racial disparities in breastfeeding rates and apply an equity lens to community outreach, there is an ethical responsibility to go beyond typical standard ethical research protocols to also protect the interests of marginalized communities and respect the culture and history of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans in the process. This presentation will review the additional ethical standards and expectations that need to be considered and addressed in community research and engagement in communities of color. The role of community partners, ownership of data and developing a statement of shared principles will also be discussed. Participants will have a clear understanding of what ethical research and engagement looks like before, during and after the project period. 

CERPS: 2.0

Power to the People: The Role of Community-Centered, Digital Innovations to Advance Equity for Black Birthing Bodies

Power to the People

The Role of Community-Centered, Digital Innovations to Advance Equity for Black Birthing Bodies

Implicit bias has been well documented as directly linked to the black maternal mortality crises and high rates of black infant deaths. According to the Listening to Mothers National Childbearing Survey, 21% of Black mothers vs. 19% of Hispanic mothers reported perceptions of poor treatment due to race, ethnicity, cultural background or language. In addition, in one landmark study, physicians were found to give hypothetical white patients different treatment options than hypothetical Black patients. (Zestcott et al. 2017)

While many recent critical efforts, including maternal mortality review boards, attempt to understand the problem after the fact, we must stop trying to fix the problem of black maternal mortality "from the grave." Patient-centered approaches that inform and illuminate potential problems with providers or hospitals are desperately needed. Black women and all marginalized groups deserve transparency in patient experiences and an accountability and monitoring mechanism to push for bias-free care in hospital and physical settings. Irth, is a grant-funded, Yelp-like review and rating app for Black women and birthing people to find and leave reviews of Ob/GYNs, hospitals and pediatricians.

This presentation will highlight findings from Irth’s community participatory research in five U.S. cities and highlight critical elements in developing community solutions to directly take on improving maternal/child health. Irth’s framework and process builds on eight-years of immersive community engagement work focused on improving birth and breastfeeding outcomes in vulnerable communities across the U.S. funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 

CERPS: 2.0

Bias in Breastfeeding: Understanding Experiences of Bias in Hospital Lactation Support from BIPOC

Bias in Breastfeeding

Understanding Experiences of Bias in Hospital Lactation Support from BIPOC: Data from an 18-month study by Irth. 

Implicit bias has been well documented as directly linked to the Black maternal mortality crises and high rates of black infant deaths (Alkema et al. 2016). However there is an underlying issue that drives Black maternal and infant mortality: systemic racism that leads to biased care that does not support healthy pregnancy, birth and successful breastfeeding for Black women and birthing people.  This session will focus on discussing a review of an 18-month online survey as well as an on-the-ground collection campaign to examine hospital birthing experiences and perceptions of lactation support by African American and BIPOC women in Detroit, New York City, New Orleans, Sacramento, the Metro DC area as well as nationally. The surveys were collected as part of the development of Irth, a Yelp-like review and rating app for Black women and birthing people to find and leave reviews of Ob/GYNs, hospitals and pediatricians.

Hospitals and lactation support professionals lack qualitative knowledge of initial hospital experiences of lactation support to better understand how these early interactions with LSPs influences ongoing support-seeking by Black lactating people. The field lacks details on what bias looks and feels like from the perspective of Black women and other BIPOC, so we can improve those “ground zero” experiences to better support increased breastfeeding duration and support-seeking by Black women.   

CERPS: 2.0

Upcoming Speaking Events​​
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Upcoming Speaking Events

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