2026 CHAMPS National Virtual Conference

Laura Burnham, MPH, is the Associate Director at the Center for Health Equity, Education, & Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Her work focuses on quality improvement and program implementation in the field of maternal and child health, with a particular focus on breastfeeding and maternity care practices. Laura manages CHEER’s CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Care Practices) programs, which assist birthing hospitals to safely implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. 

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and Executive Director and Founder of the CHEER International Group (CHEERing) a nonprofit organization working with refugees in Greater Athens, Greece. Additionally, Dr. Merewood is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, Affiliate Faculty at the Boston University Center on Forced Migration, and visiting Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia School of Medicine, Cyprus.

For years, Dr. Merewood has led millions of dollars’ worth of funded projects that have successfully increased breastfeeding rates and reduced disparities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Texas and among Tribal Communities in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, by increasing the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in those regions. Due to the documented success of the CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices) and Dr. Merewood’s other previous work with hospitals in Massachusetts and New Jersey, CHEER earned a 3-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to replicate the success of CHAMPS nationally.

Dr. Merewood has coauthored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, spoken at conferences nationally and internationally, and served as a member of the American Public Health Association, the International Society for Research into Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), and the Society for Prevention Research. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Human Lactation and current editorial board member for the Journal of Maternal Child Nutrition. Dr. Merewood has also served as a consultant for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the DHHS Indian Health Service, and is a current consultant for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Michelle Owens, MD, is a clinical professor of maternal and fetal medicine at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, lead for maternal health in the state of Mississippi, and consultant physician on CHAMPS National. She is currently the National Assistant Secretary for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and President of the MS State Board of Medical Licensure. Dr. Owens is a passionate advocate for women’s health and health equity both locally and nationally.

Dr. Owens’ research and clinical interests are in hypertensive and substance use disorders in pregnancy, maternal and infant mortality, sickle cell disease, and health disparities. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and is the inaugural host of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s “Southern Remedy for Women,” a talk-radio show focused on health issues for women and the people who love them.

Andrea Serano, MPH, CLC, IBCLC, CHES, is the Executive Director of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE), a national nonprofit organization advancing breastfeeding equity and maternal-infant health justice through culturally grounded, community-led solutions. A clinician and public health advocate, Andrea brings extensive lactation experience and systems-level leadership to building sustainable pathways for families – particularly Black families and other communities historically underserved by maternity and lactation care. At ROSE, Andrea helps lead strategy, partnerships, and program implementation, including coordination of trainings, events, and program-related activities that strengthen the national lactation workforce and expand mother-to-mother and peer support models. She is also a key driver of ROSE’s annual summit planning and fundraising efforts, ensuring convenings remain mission-aligned, community-centered, and action-oriented.  

Andrea holds a Master of Public Health from Georgia Southern University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Maternal Child Health with a concentration in Human Lactation from Union Institute and University. In addition, Andrea is currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree with a concentration in Diverse Populations and Health Equity from Mercer University. Her professional pathway reflects a rare blend of bedside lactation expertise and public health leadership –supporting families directly while also shaping the systems, policies, and partnerships that determine whether families can access respectful, evidence-based breastfeeding support.

In addition to her leadership at ROSE, she serves as Vice-Chair of the Maternal Child Health Section of the Georgia Public Health Association. She has also held board positions with both the Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition and the United States Breastfeeding Committee.

Complementing her policy and advocacy work, Ms. Serano has provided direct clinical support as a bedside lactation consultant in two Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in the Metro Atlanta area.

Cathy Carothers, BLA, IBCLC, FILCA, is a CHAMPS National hospital coach and consultant, a national breastfeeding promotion and support expert, and Co-Director of Every Mother, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing counseling and lactation training for health professionals across the United States. Cathy is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1996; past president and Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association; and past chair of the United States Breastfeeding Committee. She currently serves as Chair of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) Steering Committee and has served as the North American representative to WABA since 2023. She has provided more than a thousand training events in the field of lactation in every US state and territory and many countries. She was honored with the CHEER Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024 and received the National Leadership Award in the “Friend of WIC” category from the National WIC Association in 2014.

In addition, Cathy has served as the national project director for numerous USDA Women, Infants, and Children curriculum development projects, including project director for the new WIC Breastfeeding Curriculum, a comprehensive breastfeeding staff training curriculum for all levels of WIC staff. She also developed the national WIC peer counseling program training curricula and management materials. Cathy previously worked with the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to develop national resources for supporting breastfeeding employees and their employers, including the MCHB Business Case for Breastfeeding, and the OWH Supporting Nursing Moms at Work national initiative. She has provided state-level workshops for employers and community advocates on worksite lactation support in 37 US states. 

Trendle Samuel, MPH, BSN, RN, CLC, is a Senior Research Project Manager at CHEER and CHAMPS National hospital coach. She has been a registered nurse for more than 28 years, and was even named one of Alabama’s 10 Top Nurses in 2021. Before CHEER, Trendle served as one of five Perinatal Coordinators in the state who examined infant and fetal mortality as well as maternal mortality as a committee member.

Trendle’s career in nursing was primarily inspired by the caring for others she witnessed through her own family. After 16 years of experience as a clinical nurse, she went to work at a Federally Qualified Health Center, serving uninsured, underinsured, and/or underserved patients. In her role at the Alabama Department of Public Health, Trendle reviewed why patients became sick and how we could do things differently to prevent infant mortality and other poor health outcomes. She has collaborated with agencies, organizations, and advocates to better understand families’ experiences and make recommendations come to life.

Charlotte Treitl, known online as "The Milk Rebel," is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Clinical Lead for Parenting at Anya. She is dedicated to making breastfeeding support more accessible, inclusive, and empowering for every family.

With over a decade of experience, Charlotte's work spans peer support, grassroots advocacy, clinical leadership, and policy development. She provides personalized, evidence-based support to help parents navigate infant feeding with confidence. At Anya, she leads the development of research-informed parenting and infant feeding resources, ensuring families have access to trusted support throughout early parenthood.

Charlotte is also an advocate for improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities in infant feeding. She believes every family deserves high-quality support, regardless of their background or circumstances, and works to improve the systems that support breastfeeding families.

Charlotte combines clinical expertise with practical problem-solving and a compassionate, family-centered approach, bringing warmth, honesty, and real-world experience to every session she delivers.

Laura Burnham, MPH, is the Associate Director at the Center for Health Equity, Education, & Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Her work focuses on quality improvement and program implementation in the field of maternal and child health, with a particular focus on breastfeeding and maternity care practices. Laura manages CHEER’s CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Care Practices) programs, which assist birthing hospitals to safely implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. 

Mariah DeBow, MPH, is the Senior Project Management Specialist at the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. She manages national maternal and child health initiatives focused on helping hospitals implement evidence-based maternity care practices, improve breastfeeding outcomes, and reduce health disparities through quality improvement, education, and collaboration.

Mariah earned her Master of Public Health from Boston University, where she concentrated on maternal and child health with a special interest in refugee and immigrant health. Her background includes program implementation, evaluation, and health communications.

Before joining CHEER, Mariah worked at Boston Medical Center's Immigrant & Refugee Health Center as the Social Media and Communications Specialist and Patient Advisory Council Coordinator, supporting patient engagement and outreach for immigrant and refugee communities. She also served as a communications specialist for Nature and Culture International, promoting environmental and community health initiatives in Mexico and South America. As CHEER International Group's (CHEERing) first fellow, she helped coordinate a preventive health program serving refugee communities in Greece.

With 20 years of experience at the St. Cloud Hospital Birth Center, Heather Klein has served in multiple roles, including postpartum bedside nurse, lactation resource nurse, core charge nurse, and her current position as a postpartum nurse clinician. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to providing evidence-based care to postpartum patients while ensuring the highest standards of support and clinical excellence.

Jen is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and registered nurse with nearly five years of experience in postpartum care and lactation. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Louisiana State University, a Master of Education from Texas State University, and an Associate of Science in Nursing from Charity School of Nursing. Jen uses her unique expertise in education and nursing to help improve breastfeeding outcomes through evidence-based practice, education, and quality improvement. She enjoys creating and providing healthcare teams and her patients with practical, family-centered strategies that promote exclusive breastfeeding and support families in reaching their breastfeeding goals.

Stephanie Murillo, BSN, RNC-MNN, is a registered nurse with 18 years of experience within the Ochsner Health system. She is currently a full-time employee at Ochsner Medical Center- West Bank campus, but has been a shared employee in the past, working across several Ochsner campuses, gaining diverse clinical experience while caring for women, newborns, and their families. Stephanie spent 15 years providing direct bedside care in Women's Services before transitioning into a quality improvement role, where she led initiatives focused on improving maternal and newborn outcomes, enhancing patient safety, and promoting evidence-based practice. Although she valued the opportunity to influence system-wide improvements, Stephanie missed the meaningful connections that come with caring directly for patients and families. This passion led her back to the bedside, where she continues to provide compassionate, patient-centered care. Drawing on both her extensive clinical background and quality improvement expertise, Stephanie is dedicated to improving patient outcomes and elevating the experience of patients, families, and healthcare team members alike.

Danilea Carmona Matos is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and Technical Assistance Guide for the CHAMPS National Program at CHEER. She specializes in maternal and infant health, breastfeeding support, health equity, and culturally responsive Spanish-language training. Based in Puerto Rico, she also works at Blooming Families Clinic providing direct breastfeeding education and support. Danilea has led Spanish-language trainings on Quality Improvement and breastfeeding and contributed to national clinical research and publications focused on underrepresented communities in medical education. Her background also includes a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research fellowship and over five years of experience in medical and legal translation.

Kirsten Krane is a registered dietitian and co-founder of Yarrow, a public health consulting organization specializing in quality improvement, evaluation, strategic planning, assessment, and maternal and child health. She holds Master’s degrees in both Nutrition and Public Health and has worked in the fields of nutrition and public health for more than 18 years. During that time, she has held positions with Boston University, Indian Health Service, Montana WIC, and the Peace Corps.

Cathy Carothers, BLA, IBCLC, FILCA, is a CHAMPS National hospital coach and consultant, a national breastfeeding promotion and support expert, and Co-Director of Every Mother, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing counseling and lactation training for health professionals across the United States. Cathy is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1996; past president and Fellow of the International Lactation Consultant Association; and past chair of the United States Breastfeeding Committee. She currently serves as Chair of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) Steering Committee and has served as the North American representative to WABA since 2023. She has provided more than a thousand training events in the field of lactation in every US state and territory and many countries. She was honored with the CHEER Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024 and received the National Leadership Award in the “Friend of WIC” category from the National WIC Association in 2014.

In addition, Cathy has served as the national project director for numerous USDA Women, Infants, and Children curriculum development projects, including project director for the new WIC Breastfeeding Curriculum, a comprehensive breastfeeding staff training curriculum for all levels of WIC staff. She also developed the national WIC peer counseling program training curricula and management materials. Cathy previously worked with the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to develop national resources for supporting breastfeeding employees and their employers, including the MCHB Business Case for Breastfeeding, and the OWH Supporting Nursing Moms at Work national initiative. She has provided state-level workshops for employers and community advocates on worksite lactation support in 37 US states. 

Susan Bonasso, BJ, BSN, RN, IBCLC is a nurse and lactation consultant at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s. Nine years of working with families in the Birthing Center as a certified RN spearheaded her passion for lactation and guiding new parents through their best start possible. Ensuring all families have the information to make educated decisions, and are empowered and supported when it comes to feeding their newborns, is near and dear to her heart. Susan also spent a year teaching in the WVU School of Nursing. After five years as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, Susan has been educating and creating updated informational materials for staff and patients alike, while working directly with new parents at the bedside.

Charlotte Dillon, MSN, RN, IBCLC is the Hospital Lactation Consultant at Cabell Huntington Hospital, Marshall Health Network in Huntington, West Virginia. She has more than 40 years of nursing experience, including 20 years as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. Charlotte serves in dual leadership roles for the CHAMPS initiative as the Breastfeeding/10 Steps Team Lead and Quality Improvement Team Lead. She is passionate about staff education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing best practices in lactation care. Outside of work, Charlotte is the proud mother of five wonderful children and the soon-to-be grandmother of seven precious grandchildren.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Copenhaver, MD, FAAP is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Vandalia Health CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital. She earned her medical degree from the West Virginia University School of Medicine (WVU) in Morgantown, West Virginia (2013), and completed her general pediatric residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee (2016).

Dr. Copenhaver is a board-certified general pediatrician who practices as a newborn hospitalist in Charleston, West Virginia. Her clinical and academic interests include newborn care, breastfeeding medicine, community health, and advocacy. She serves on the WVU Committee of Academic and Professional Standards as a medical student advisor (2025-present).

Dr. Copenhaver served as the physician lead in establishing West Virginia’s first breastmilk depot and breastmilk dispensary, helping expand access to donor human milk for infants across the state. She is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the Academic Pediatric Association.

Emily K. Nease MD, NABBLM-C, FAAP is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine in Morgantown, WV. She is a graduate of the West Virginia University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh specializing in General Pediatrics. Dr. Nease is a board-certified Pediatrician and board-certified Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine physician through the North American Board of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine (NABBLM). Her areas of interest include newborn care, Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine (BFLM), and graduate medical education. She served as the WVU Pediatrics Residency Associate Program Director from 2010-2015 and the Pediatrics Residency Program Director from 2015-2017. Dr. Nease also served as the Vice Chair (2019-2022) and Chair (2022-2025) of the West Virginia University School of Medicine Committee on Admissions. Dr. Nease established an outpatient breastfeeding/lactation medicine clinic in 2014 where she cares for breastfeeding dyads. Through her work, she educates and mentors medical students and residents to support breastfeeding families. Dr. Nease is a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), AAP Section on Breastfeeding, and serves as a WV AAP board Member At-Large, and AAP Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator for WV.

Laura Burnham, MPH, is the Associate Director at the Center for Health Equity, Education, & Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center. Her work focuses on quality improvement and program implementation in the field of maternal and child health, with a particular focus on breastfeeding and maternity care practices. Laura manages CHEER’s CHAMPS (Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Care Practices) programs, which assist birthing hospitals to safely implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.