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About Us
WHO WE ARE
The Coalition is a non profit 501c3 corporation, comprised of health care providers, community leaders, policy makers, and parents, as well as public and private organizations with the common goal of promoting and supporting breastfeeding as the culture norm in Ventura County.
OUR MISSION AND VISION
Our mission is to promote breastfeeding in the community by providing resources and education to families, health care professionals, employers, and policy makers.
Our vision is to see EVERY FAMILY IS SUPPORTED TO BREASTFEED
WHAT WE DO
Through Outreach, Education and Advocacy we seek to improve breastfeeding rates in our community, contributing to a healthier Ventura County.
Outreach: Resource Guide & Website, advertising rack cards, Thank you for Nursing your baby cards and Nursing Nook provided at Community Events
Education: Annual Education Conference
Advocacy: Annual World Breastfeeding Week Proclamation at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Nahal Papehn, M.S., CCC-SLP, CBS
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
BOARD CHAIR:
Nahal is a licensed speech-language pathologist, certified breastfeeding specialist and founder at Coo, Babble, and Talk pediatric services. She devotes her time serving families of infants and toddlers up through age five within Ventura County. Integrating lactation and postpartum support into her practice, believes that that the foundations of communication starts with skin to skin and early feeding and bonding interactions. She was drawn to BCVC because every family should feel supported to breastfeed and have access to a wide variety of local and diverse resources that make those early days, weeks, and months just a little bit easier. Nahal’s favorite part of mothering was breastfeeding her two boys. Together with her husband they are raising two energetic boys who play sports and love to travel.
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
BOARD SECRETARY :
“Over 40 years experience in Maternal Child Health. She enjoys working with new families in Ventura County. She is also the founder and manager of the CMH New Parent Resource Center in Ventura." .
Andrea Rodriguez, CPA
Sheila Dedrick, MSN Ed, RN, IBCLC, ICEA
Andrea Rodriguez, CPA
BOARD TREASURER:
CPA and partner at Vance, Thrift and Biller, LLP . Mother of two breastfed boys (tandem at one point) now 11 and 9. Passionate about women's reproductive rights and supporting families to breastfeed. Love spending my time outside of work outdoors: beach, hiking, biking, camping.
Andrea was instrumental in helping the BCVC obtain and maintain their 501c3 NonProfit Status.
Allison Lieberman
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Andrea Rodriguez, CPA
OUTREACH COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Allison is a licensed marriage and family therapist certified in perinatal mental health and mom of two. She is the co-founder of Rooted in Harmony Counseling, a virtual group counseling practice in California. She is passionate about breaking the stigma around postpartum mental health and creating support for new moms.
Alice Pope, RN, MSN, IBCLC
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
EDUCATION CHAIR:
Alice has been a board member of BCVC since 2017 focusing her volunteer efforts in the areas of community outreach and professional education. She works for Community Memorial Healthcare New Parent Resource Center as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant where she helps families meet their breastfeeding goals in the postpartum period. Prior to joining CMH in 2022, she worked at several hospitals in the Ventura and Los Angeles area providing inpatient lactation care. A Ventura county native, Alice lives in Camarillo with her husband and two children.
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Mimi Leza, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Board Member at Large:
Mimi recently retired from Ventura County Public Health, where she was the Perinatal Services, SIDS and Fetal Infant Mortality Review Coordinator for Ventura County Public Health and the co-chair of the Perinatal Substance Use Taskforce of Ventura County. Her background is in Pediatric nursing with extensive experience in caring for NICU babies with Neonatal abstinence syndrome and children with prenatal substance use exposure. As a case carrying Public Health Nurse, she specialized in providing case management for pregnant and parenting women with SUD and recruiting and training perinatal providers in the California Department of Public Health Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program, prenatal substance use screening and referral process as well as lactation support. She has provided skilled lactation support since 1998 and obtained her IBCLC in 2014. She exclusively breastfed all 5 of her children and joyfully provided lactation support for her eleven grandchildren. She is a board member for the Ventura County Breastfeeding Coalition and looks forward to continuing to provide lactation support to members of her community.
Sharlena Pina
Chantel Rodriguez
Cristal Quezada
Member at Large/ East County Rep: Sharlena has been working with new mothers and their families in the East County for over 15 years with Ventura County Healthcare Agency at Sierra Vista Family Medical Clinic, leading the program Comprehensive Perinatal Service Program. She is a Certified Lactation Counselor and Child Passenger Safety Seat Technician. She has a passion for the Fourth Trimester, and always looking for ways to enrich her knowledge to offer that support. Sharlena lives with her 4 children, and husband, Hector. In her free time you will find her at a high school baseball game or at a soccer game.
Cristal Quezada
Chantel Rodriguez
Cristal Quezada
Board Member at Large:
Cristal assists with BCVC social media outreach and just graduated from CSUCI’s nursing program. Cristal is passionate about Maternal Child Health and is currently employed as a Mother Baby RN, where she’s received extensive Baby Friendly training. She has also taken a lactation education counselor course. She’s proud to be able to provide English-Spanish breastfeeding education to her patients. Cristal is eager to expand and share her knowledge with the community.
Chantel Rodriguez
Chantel Rodriguez
Chantel Rodriguez
Board Member at Large:
Chantel assists with the social media for BCVC and is part of the outreach committee. She has her bachelors of science in public health and is an IBCLC. I am passionate about helping breastfeeding families receive the resources and education they need to meet their goals.
Jennie Torti, MPH
Jennie Torti, MPH
Jennie Torti, MPH
Board Member at Large:
Jennie's background is in perinatal public health, leading initiatives focused on maternal mental health, breastfeeding, and health equity. Inspired by her experience as a mother of three, Jennie is passionate about strengthening support for birthing people and their families by integrating public health into healthcare practices. Along with being a BCVC Board Member, Jennie serves as the System Director for the CommonSpirit Health Women and Infants Clinical Institute, and is Vice President of the Ventura Coast Milk Bank.
Margaret Leroy
Jennie Torti, MPH
Jennie Torti, MPH
Board Member at Large:
"I have worked as a Registered Dietitian in Ventura County for the past 15 years and I am a certified lactation counselor. I currently work in public health with several programs geared toward providing services to children in our county. I am also the mother of two boys and have loved my breastfeeding experience. I am excited to use my nutrition expertise as well as passion for breastfeeding to support the breastfeeding goals of all women in Ventura County."
Patricia Nanda
Jennie Torti, MPH
Patricia Nanda
Board Member at Large:
Pediatric Dentist at Sugar Bug Dental
Cari Vargas
Patricia Ferrer
Patricia Nanda
Board Member at large:
Tara Stivers
Patricia Ferrer
Patricia Ferrer
Board Member at Large:
Tara Stivers, IBCLC has several years of prior experience as a board-certified lactation consultant, birth doula, childbirth educator, prenatal yoga teacher, and infant massage instructor. She has experience providing breastfeeding education and skilled lactation support to families in Ventura County, both in private practice and with the WIC Peer Counseling Program. She is passionate about supporting families on their journey into parenthood and continues to advocate for breastfeeding and related support resources in the community on a volunteer basis. She is excited to rejoin the Breastfeeding Coalition of Ventura County as a board member after serving on the board from 2009-2016 in the roles of Vice Chair and Outreach Committee Chair. Tara lives in Camarillo with her husband and has a son and daughter who currently attend universities in California.
Patricia Ferrer
Patricia Ferrer
Patricia Ferrer
Board Member at Large:
Trish is a registered nurse and certified breastfeeding specialist who is grateful to call Ventura county her new home. She is passionate about providing holistic postpartum care, including quality lactation support. She believes breastfeeding is the ultimate public health measure and “every drop is a gift”. Trish has provided care in a variety of perinatal settings including hospitals, birth centers, clinics, and in-home visits.
She has a spunky and free daughter, an awesome husband, and a crazy dog named Scout. She enjoys gardening, crocheting, yoga, and time in nature.
Lydia Ramirez, CLEC
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Board Member at Large:
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Board Member at Large:
Layne is a registered nurse and currently works for the Ventura County Public Health Department as a clinical supervisor for Nurse-Family Partnership, a nurse home visiting program serving first time mothers. She is also the Perinatal Services Coordinator, working with providers to improve maternal and perinatal systems of care.
When she started working as a home-visiting nurse in Public Health, she quickly became a certified lactation educator to support her clients in reaching their breastfeeding goals, and to provide each child with the healthiest start possible. After the birth of her first son, she struggled to breastfeed and could not have achieved it without the support and encouragement from her husband, family, and a compassionate IBCLC. She is passionate about providing lactation resources to every family in our community and continuously advocates to support new mothers in achieving their breastfeeding and health goals.
Heather Camarena, BSN, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Layne Casillas, BSN, RN, PHN, CLE, CPN
Claudia Benton , PhD, MSN, RN-BC, PHN, CLC
Advisory Board Member / Imm. past Board Chair:
Heather has served as the Outreach Director for BCVC and has served as a Board Member and/or Board Chair over the past 10 years. Professionally, she has worked with new mothers and babies for over 20 years in both hospital and outpatient settings. She is passionate about helping new families navigate the early postpartum period and achieve their breastfeeding or breast pumping goals. She currently works for the Ventura County WIC program as the Breastfeeding Coordinator and Regional Breastfeeding Liaison. Heather lives with her three children and husband, John. In her free time, Heather thinks about what resources she can add to the Breastfeeding Coalition Website and drinks coffee
Claudia Benton , PhD, MSN, RN-BC, PHN, CLC
Claudia Benton , PhD, MSN, RN-BC, PHN, CLC
Claudia Benton , PhD, MSN, RN-BC, PHN, CLC
Advisory Board Member / Past Education Co-Chair:
Doctor Benton retired from Ventura County Public Health as the Maternal Child Adolescent Health (MCAH) and public health nursing home visitation programs manager. In addition, she coordinated MCAH, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and the Fetal Infant Mortality Review. She has been a nurse since 1989, with national and international experience in Colombia, South America, and the United States. She speaks Spanish and has years of experience and expertise as a public health nurse and manager, working with individuals, families, and communities and as a nursing faculty and researcher. She has been involved with the Breastfeeding Coalition of Ventura County since 2001 after receiving her CLC certification. Since 2008, she has been a board member with roles as treasurer and lately, on the education committee. She has a passion for maternal, infant, child, and adolescent health issues, advocacy, health promotion, and health prevention, in which breastfeeding is a priority for a healthy start for every child. She is very family oriented and enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, adult children, and granddaughter.
In Memory of Amy
Claudia Benton , PhD, MSN, RN-BC, PHN, CLC
In Memory of Amy