Community Collaborative Advisory Group
The Community Collaborative is supported by an Advisory Group made up of community leaders and UC San Diego staff and faculty who guide the Collaborative.
Gretchen Bandoli, PhD
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Gretchen Bandoli, PhD
Dr. Bandoli is a perinatal epidemiologist and pharmacoepidemiologist, studying maternal chronic conditions and medication use during pregnancy and lactation. Dr. Bandoli is also interested in substances used during pregnancy and lactation, particularly alcohol and cannabis.
Chardá Bell, IBCLC
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Chardá Bell, IBCLC
Chardá Bell, IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Doula, Spinning Babies Certified Parent Educator in private practice serving families in San Diego, CA. Additionally, Chardá serves as Executive Director of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation and Lactation Equity Program Manager at Global Communities. Marrying her love of birth with lactation, her clinical interest is in the influence of labor and delivery factors, including fetal positioning as well as social determinants of health that may impact initiation and duration of breastfeeding success. When she is not immersed in all things lactation, she volunteers her time to causes related to human milk, Black maternal child health & reproductive justice and aims to increase diversity in the lactation field through mentorship. Chardá is a Southeast San Diego native where she resides with her partner Dr. Watkins and their 5 children.
Kerri Bertrand, MPH
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Kerri Bertrand, MPH
Kerri Bertrand oversees the day-to-day operations of the Mommy’s Milk Human Milk Research Biorepository . She is responsible for the recruitment and enrollment of people who are breastfeeding, collection of biospecimens, preparation of human milk samples for freezing, data entry, review of medical records, and the supervision of staff who conduct these activities. She also works with Dr. Chambers and Mommy’s Milk investigators on the preparation of grant proposals, provision of data sets, statistical analyses and interpretation, and the dissemination of study results. Kerri graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2010 and received a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from San Diego State University in 2013.
Lars Bode, PhD
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Lars Bode, PhD
Dr. Bode is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology and the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, the Larsson-Rosenquist Chair of Collaborative Human Milk Research, and the founding Director of the Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (MOMI CORE) and the new Human Milk Institute (HMI) at the University of California, San Diego.
Tina Chambers, PhD, MPH
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Tina Chambers, PhD, MPH
Dr. Chambers is a professor of pediatrics at University of California (UC) San Diego, Chief of the Division of Environmental Science & Health in the Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Clinical Research for Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. She co-directs the Center for Population Science and Community Engagement in the Clinical and Translational Research Institute at UC San Diego which supports clinical research development in diverse populations. She is a perinatal epidemiologist whose research is focused on environmental exposures and their impact on pregnancy, breast/chestfeeding, and child health outcomes, including birth defects.
Jamie Felice, MSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
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Jamie Felice, MSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Jamie Felice is a Senior Public Health Nurse and Perinatal Services / SIDS Coordinator for the County of San Diego and an Adjunct Professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, School of Nursing.
Mitra Hooshmand, PhD
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Mitra Hooshmand, PhD
coming soon
Robin Kaplan, IBCLC
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Robin Kaplan, IBCLC
Robin Kaplan became an IBCLC and opened up the San Diego Breastfeeding Center in 2009. In 2016, she founded the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce breastfeeding/chestfeeding disparities among local marginalized groups, such as BIPOC and low-income families, as well as provide scholarships for BIPOC individuals to become lactation professionals. Robin published her first book, Latch: a Handbook for Breastfeeding with Confidence at Every Stage in 2018 and completed her Functional Nutrition Counselor certification in 2022. Robin has a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St Louis and a Masters in Education from UCLA.
Shannon Kim, MD, MPH
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Shannon Kim, MD, MPH
Dr. Kim is a general pediatrician who provides lactation support and counseling to help breastfeeding families achieve their infant and toddler feeding goals.
Sarah Lazar, MPH
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Sarah Lazar, MPH
Sarah Lazar is the Clinical Research Manager for the Division of Neonatology at UCSD and Rady Children's Hospital, as well as the Board President for the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation, a board member of the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition, and Co-Chair of the Rady Children's Hospital Family Advisory Committee. Sarah has four children of her own and has always been passionate about eliminating disparities within maternal-infant health.
Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC, FAAP
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Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC, FAAP
Dr. Leff works clinically in Breastfeeding Medicine and is involved with various research projects including medications effects on human milk, assessment of infant suck, and mechanisms for improving breastfeeding success.
Kiera Schminke Spencer, MPH, CHES, LEC
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Kiera Schminke Spencer, MPH, CHES, LEC
Kiera is dedicated to the field of maternal child health. She brings over a decade of experience leading health education initiatives and managing public health programs. Her most recent work, operating the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition, has led to the growth of the organization’s membership base and continuing education program for lactation professionals. She is skilled in lactation education, advocacy, capacity building & community engagement. A zealous advocate for causes integral to the health of our society, she enjoys serving her community in a variety of capacities.
Symone Williams
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Symone Williams
coming soon
Alison Wolf, CPNP-PC, IBCLC, PCQI
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Alison Wolf, CPNP-PC, IBCLC, PCQI
Alison Wolf is a pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in the care of newborns and infant nutrition. She received her undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees from UCLA. Alison started her career as a registered nurse in the NICU and with the Pediatric Transport team at UCLA. Continuing her love of infants, she has worked as a nurse practitioner for Newborn Medicine at UC San Diego Health for over 20 years ago. Recently, Alison has expanded her role to the Executive Director of the UC Health Milk Bank in support of equitable infant nutrition for all infants. Alison’s areas of expertise/interest include breastfeeding, infant nutrition, equitable access to donor breast milk, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, neonatal resuscitation, quality improvement and clinical informatics.
Shana Wright, MPH, CLEC
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Shana Wright, MPH, CLEC
Shana Wright is a dedicated public health professional with over 10 years of experience at the UCSD ACTRI Center for Community Health. Her commitment to human milk access has involved employing innovative strategies for breast/chestfeeding-friendly environments and lactation accommodation policy and systems changes. Shana has two children and enjoys exploring San Diego and beyond with her family.
