Previous Boobie-Palooza Sponsors. Check Your City for Details on Each Show…
Long Beach Lactation Lounge Sponsor:
Check each city’s page for speakers and panelists specific to each event!
Jessica Martin-Weber (The Leaky Boob)
The Breast Shape: How Boobs Shape Us All
Drawing from a diverse background in the performing arts and midwifery, Jessica Martin-Weber supports women and families, creating spaces for open dialogue. Writer and speaker, Jessica is the creator of TheLeakyBoob.com,co-creator of BeyondMoi.com, and co-creator of OurStableTable.com, she co-parents her 6 daughters with her husband of 16 years and is currently writing her first book and producing her first conference, MiLK: An Infant Feeding Conference in partnership with MommyCon.
Dr. Robert Sears, MD
Author
Dr. Bob enjoys a very unique approach to pediatrics by providing a combination of alternative and traditional medical care. He has a passion for healthy natural living and incorporates this knowledge into a style of disease treatment and prevention that you won’t find in most doctors offices. His commitment to breastfeeding success for all his patients also helps babies get a right start in life.
As the solo author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, his in-depth knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent has helped parents nationwide get a better understanding of this complex and confusing issue. Dr. Bob is also co-author of Sears’ The Baby Book, The Premature Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book, and Father’s First Steps: 25 Things Every New Dad Should Know
Website: www.askdrsears.com
Dr. Meghan Lewis, PhD
Prenatal and Postpartum and Family Psychotherapist
Dr. Meghan Lewis is the founder of Integrative Perinatal Psychotherapy with offices in Oakland and San Francisco specializing, for over 18 years, in preconception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and early parenting. She holds a PhD from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and a BA from the University of Michigan. A queer solo parent by choice, Meghan is the founding member of the LGBTQ Perinatal Wellness Associates of the Bay Area, a group of LGBTQ-identified professionals dedicated to the health of the queer community’s growing families. Helping to inspire a grassroots movement merging reproductive justice and environmental activism she enjoys participating on the steering committee of the 2015 BirthKeeper Summit. Meghan also served on the Board of BirthWays and is currently on the Advisory Board of Then Comes Baby. She enjoys drawing from her experiences as an apprentice midwife in her monthly contributions to the East Bay Express’ column, Kid You Not.
Website: www.meghanlewisphd.com
Dahlia Frydman
IBCLC (Lactation Consultant), Assistant Midwife, Birth and Postpartum Doula
Dahlia’s philosophy is simply put to provide loving, caring and gentle assistance to new families. She believes there is no wrong or right way and that each family develops their own unique parenting style. She sees her role as providing information & education in a supportive & understanding environment. Her practice has thrived because of her love of babies and she feels fortunate to get to do work she adores assisting new families during their special transition to parenthood. She is mom to 4 older kiddos and practices in Oakland and beyond.
Website: www.youridealbirth.com
Sabrina Freidenfelds
MPH, IBCLC
Sabrina is a board-certified lactation consultant and a maternal and child health educator. She founded Then Comes Baby, Oakland’s community center for pregnancy, breastfeeding support, after early parenting after nearly a decade of being a hospital-based prenatal health educator and lactation consultant. She is a member of the BabyCenter.com Medical Advisory Board for Lactation and Childbirth Education and co-director or professional education for the Bay Area Lactation Associates (BALA).
Website: then-comes-baby.com
Melinda Fontaine
DPT
Melinda received a bachelor’s degree in exercise biology from UC Davis and a clinical doctorate in physical therapy from Simmons College. She is a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor dysfunction and treatment at the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center in Berkeley. Among other things, she treats women for pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum issues. Melinda is the mother of an 18-month old son. She is also an active member of the International Pelvic Pain Society and is involved with community outreach and education in the Bay Area.
Jamie Grumet
Blogger, Activist, Global Child Advocate
Jamie writes about her experiences with adoption, attachment parenting, travel, marriage, and the global community our family has decided actively to take part in. Her HIV/AIDS children’s center in Awassa, Ethiopia, gave 20,000 people (and counting) clean water, and provided an entire village in Ethiopia cloth diapers. They’ve now expanded and are currently working on clean water and nutritional aid projects in South Africa.
Website: www.IAmNotTheBabySitter.com
Natashia Fuksman
MA Therapist
With over 20 years of working with individuals, couples and families Natashia’s main focus has been on working within the realms of identity as it relates to parenthood, with a keen focus on identity shifts with intimacy and culture throughout our life cycle. Originally from NYC, Natashia is the featured doula and childbirth educator in, “The Business of Being Born”. She has served on the boards of DONA International, Childbirth Education Association of Metropolitan NY, Postpartum Support International and Birthways. Aside from her private practice, Natashia is a facilitator with Oakland Mom2Mom and a member of the Mount Diablo Family Resource Network. Natashia offers talks and workshops relating to sexuality, cultural identity and parenthood throughout the Bay Area.Natashia is the mother of two beautiful boys, she grew up tri-lingual, with her family’s roots from Eastern Europe and Brazil.
Website: www.natashiafuksman.com
Madison Young
Author, Certified Sex Educator, Artist
Madison Young is an author, artist, certified sex educator, and mother. Young has presented on the topics of motherhood, feminism and sexuality internationally, including Yale University, Northwestern University, and the University of Toronto. Young’s writings have been published in books such as “Best Sex Writing of 2013”, “Subversive Motherhood”, and “Daddy: A Memoir”. Young has been featured for her expertise in sex-positive culture on such media outlets as BravoTV (featured on Extreme Guide to Parenting), New York Times, and HBO. Young is currently working on her third book, “The Sexy Mama’s guide to an Orgasmic Life”. Madison Young lives and works in Berkeley, California.
Website: thesexpertnextdoor.wordpress.com
Shar Rednour
Author
Shar Rednour is a creative, strong, and funny mother to three in a transracial, 2-mom family created through domestic adoption—she nursed her children using Lact_Aid. Shar is the co-author of the forthcoming THE Sex & Pleasure Book: Good Vibrations Guide to Great Sex for Everyone (2015) Along with sexologist Carol Queen, PhD.
Shar’s feminist sexual reclamation was her book Virgin Territory but her legacy is her book The Femme’s Guide to the Universe. She is also the director and co-producer of Healing Sex: A Mind Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma featuring Staci Haines which helps heal intimacy with ourselves and others after surviving abuse or trauma.
Ryan Bell
Author, speaker and podcaster
Ryan Bell is Berkeley’s very own Daddy Blogger. He will be on the on the Whose Boobies: Relationships, Sex and Parenting Panel at Boobie-Palooza. He is an author, speaker and podcaster for www.daddyissues123.com. His team focuses on the transitions that take place during marriage and parenthood. Ryan is an outspoken speaker, a published poet and songwriter and loves to bring the straight-forward dad perspective. Equal parts Mr. Rogers and Howard Stern, Ryan speaks openly and honestly about his successes and failures as a parent and a partner. Helping him through the journey is his podcasting partner Dr. Nan Cowardin-Lee, a Social Scientist who brings a deeper understanding of his changing relationships and transition into fatherhood. Keep a look out for their upcoming book, The Daddy Issues.
Website: www.daddyissues123.com
Ellie Griffinger
Certified Nurse Midwife
As a private practice midwife at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Ellie works in partnership with her clients to create individualized birth experiences where women feel supported, empowered and in charge of their health care. Together with her clients, Ellie aids in creating a birth experience that meets clients needs and supports their transition to parenthood. It was during her post-baccalaureate premedical program when Ellie started to look for ways to blend the medical work with fostering meaningful connections with my patients.
Instead of solely making the best medical decisions on behalf of clients, she wanted to empower them to make their own decisions by providing complete access to information. Growing up in the Bay Area and being born at Alta Bates herself, Ellie couldn’t imagine anywhere better to establish her private practice and attend births. Ellie has always known that she would be an advocate for women’s health and through midwifery, this passion has led me to her calling.
Website: www.midwifeellie.com
Dr. L. Samsarah Morgan
CBE, Doula, Teacher, Birth Activist
Dr. L. Samsarah Morgan, is a Birth and Post Partum Doula, counselor and child birth educator. Dr.. Morgan is the director the Nia Healing Center as well as the director of Birth Professionals of the Bay Area , a training center for Birth Doulas, Childbirth Educators, Post Partum Care Providers, and Birth Activists.
She has served the families & children of the East Bay as a Doula for 23 years and has trained doulas for the last 14 years! She is the mother of 5 sons and a grandmother of a 8 year old Granddaughter, and a two year old grandson! www.Dr. L. Samsarah Morgan, is a Birth and Post Partum Doula, counselor and child birth educator. Dr.. Morgan is the director the Nia Healing Center as well as the director of Birth Professionals of the Bay Area , a training center for Birth Doulas, Childbirth Educators, Post Partum Care Providers, and Birth Activists.
She has served the families & children of the East Bay as a Doula for 23 years and has trained doulas for the last 14 years! She is the mother of 5 sons and a grandmother of a 8 year old Granddaughter, and a two year old grandson!
Website: niahealingcenter.org
Elliot Berlin, DC
Prenatal Chiropractor, Founder of Berlin Wellness Group and the Informed Pregnancy Project
Since his early days of Chiropractic ten years ago, Dr. Berlin has established himself as an innovative out-of-the-box thinker seeking and discovering natural solutions for some of the most difficult and mystifying ailments that people suffer with. The success of his alternative infertility program led to the need for a comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care program. He has become so specialized in prenatal wellness care that upwards of 80% of his patients are now pre or postnatal. Dr. Berlin is a member of the American Pregnancy Association, Hollistic Pediatric Association, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, Doulas Association of Southern California, California Association of Midwives, American Chiropractic Association, and California Chiropractic Association.
Website: www.informedpregnancy.com
Tabitha Ames, BS, CCCE, CLE, CLD, CPD
CAPPA Childbirth Educator & Trainer, Labor Doula, Postpartum Doula, and Lactation Educator
Tabitha began her path into being a birth professional after having her first daughter in 2008, when at the time she was working as an RA in a molecular biology lab. Following the daughter’s birth, she recognized that she had found her calling to work in the birth field and the rest is history. They now have 2 daughters and just welcomed a son this past October, all born out of hospital.
Tabitha founded Luminary Birth Services in 2009 when she began teaching Childbirth Prep classes at Sage Femme Midwifery Center, and now teaches and serves as the Vice President on the Board of Directors of BirthWays in Berkeley. She teaches Childbirth Prep, Newborn Care, Breastfeeding classes, and CAPPA Childbirth Educator Trainings. She is a co-facilitator for the Bay Area Breastfeeding Support Group, moderates the East Bay Doula Group and Doulas of the East Bay, and is a member of LGBTQ Perinatal Associates.
Luminary Birth Services. and Birthways.org
Jessica Steel
President of Urban Sitter, former Pandora Vice President
In October 2013, Jessica Steel was named President of UrbanSitter, an online service that helps parents find and book sitters recommended by people they know. UrbanSitter leverages a parent’s social and parenting network to show how they’re connected to sitters (a key trust-builder), then facilitates real-time bookings based on sitters’ availability, and provides ease of payment by credit card. Parents can’t live without it once they’ve tried it. UrbanSitter is available in the SF Bay Area, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC and many other cities.
Prior to joining UrbanSitter, Jessica served as Executive Vice President of Business and Corporate Development for Pandora. She was a key member of the original management team at Pandora that was assembled in 2004 to conceive and launch the radio service; Jessica led the company’s business development efforts through the 2011 IPO and beyond. Jessica holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics. She’s also mom to a 4 year old, and a singer-songwriter in her spare time. She has released three records (including a children’s album), which can be heard at www.jessicastone.com.
Website: www.jessicastone.com
Kate Torgersen
Corporate and executive communications manager at Clif Bar & Company
Kate Torgersen is corporate and executive communications manager at Clif Bar & Company, a leading maker of nutritious and organic foods and drink for people on-the-go. Guided by the Company’s five bottom lines – Sustaining our Brands, our Business, our People, our Community and the Planet – Kate develops innovative and unique opportunities to share the Clif Bar story.
As a working mom of three kids under the age of five (including 17 month old twins), Kate’s attributes her daily survival to Clif Bar’s family-friendly benefits and supportive workplace. Additionally, with Clif Bar’s encouragement of employees to follow their passions, she has started her own small business. Milk Stork which will be launching in March, provides no-fuss, refrigerated, overnight shipping of breast milk from biz-traveling, breastfeeding moms to their babies back home. When she isn’t working, playing with her kids, shuttling them to activities, procuring food for her family, or picking up Hotwheels, Kate is on a quest for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep and a sippy cup that doesn’t leak.
Website: www.clifbar.com
Dr. Jolene Brighten
Naturopathic Doctor
Dr. Brighten is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, Holistic Pelvic Care practitioner and mother practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She specializes in women’s health, with an emphasis on providing leading-edge, natural solutions for postpartum care. As an advocate for women’s health, Dr. Brighten is highly trained in providing women with the medical and emotional support they need thrive during baby’s first years of life.
In her family-oriented practice, Dr. Brighten thrives on navigating the space between conventional and alternative medicine, all while working with patients to help them achieve optimum balance, health, and happiness.
Website: www.drbrighten.com
Carol Shattuck-Rice
Childbirth Educator, Birth and Postpartum Doula
Carol has worked as an ICEA childbirth educator, birth doula, and post-partum doula for the last twenty years. Carol started training birth doulas in 2005 because she strongly believes every woman should have a birth doula by her side during her labor and delivery. She has since trained over 100 DONA birth doulas. She co-founded Loving Arms Childbirth Services in the mid-1990s with Janaki Costello, ICEA, IBCLC where they continue to offer childbirth classes and support for new moms. Located In Albany, California.
Website: www.lovingarmschildbirthservices.com
Debbie Taylor
CEO and Founder of CloudBaseServices
Debbie Taylor manages clients and projects. She has designed, used, evaluated and enhanced databases that have improved operating results in dozens of companies. Public, non-profit and for-profit companies have retained her to architect systems, develop strategic plans, train staff and lead teams. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and three kids. Like many Bay Area Moms, she works while her kids are at school.
Website: www.cloudbaseservices.com
Nila Rosen
UC Researcher, Health Advocate
Nila Rosen is an Associate Researcher at the University of California Center for Weight and Health. Her research focuses on nutrition and healthy environments and policies for women, children, early childcare settings, and schools. She has evaluated many federal, state and local community programs including the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and nutrition education programs for the Network for a Healthy California. Her flexible position there has helped her to pursue other professional interests including teaching weekly dance exercise classes at the Berkeley and Albany YMCA and developing an outdoor living science laboratory education program for the Berkeley public schools. For the past 10 years, Nila has also taught prenatal yoga at Alta Bates Medical Center and has mentored women through their pregnancies and has been the mother of two beautiful children, ages 7 and 10.
Vinny A.
Director of Resource Management incognito from unnamed tech firm 😉
Vinny A is a daddy and super happy to talk about family friendly resources management, getting support from your company and work-life balance.