GOLD Speakers

Panel Discussion 2

• Country: GOLD

Biography:

Olena is a master's-prepared Registered Nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with over 15 years of experience in maternal-child health across acute care, primary care, and digital health settings. Nationally certified in obstetric and neonatal quality and safety (C-ONQS), she is known for advancing clinical excellence through program design, education, and operational leadership. Olena launched and led the lactation program at Lenox Hill Hospital, one of New York City’s top hospitals, and has since advised early-stage health tech startups on scalable care models, clinical compliance, and equitable maternal health delivery. She is the founder of The Partum Connection, a clinically grounded platform delivering personalized perinatal education and decision-making support, with a focus on cesarean birth and infant feeding. Her work identifies care gaps in the maternity journey and addresses them through evidence-based tools, including a cesarean risk calculator and curated childbirth education programs. Olena is driven by a commitment to ethically aligned care and systems innovation. She brings a unique blend of clinical insight, patient advocacy, and business acumen to the evolving landscape of women's health. Her work centers on making high-quality, individualized care more accessible to families and more scalable for the clinicians who serve them.

Heather Latiolais Eure is an IBCLC in Austin, Texas, USA. She is the owner of The Lactation Expert, through which she offers lactation care and postpartum and parent coaching. She currently offers support through home visits, clinic visits, and virtual care and has previously worked as a lactation consultant in the perinatal unit and in level 3 and 4 NICUs. Heather became involved in lactation support when she attended her first La Leche League meeting in 2012 during her pregnancy with her oldest child. She was accredited as a La Leche Leader in 2015 and finally turned her passion for breastfeeding into a career when she became an IBCLC in 2020. Before she entered the field of lactation, Heather completed a PhD in Comparative Literature with a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from The University of Texas and taught college-level French and writing courses. Heather has her Perinatal Mental Health Certificate from Postpartum Support International and is a Certified Neurodiverse Lactation Specialist through the Neurodiverse Lactation Education Center. Her practice is evidence-based, neurodiversity-affirming, and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. She is passionate about supporting the mental health and well-being of the entire family, as all babies deserve happy, healthy parents.

Johanna Sargeant is an Australian IBCLC, writer, and teacher based in Zurich, Switzerland. She is passionate about utilising her extensive training in occupational therapy, education, biomedical science, and psychology to empower parents with empathetic support and accurate, personalised care through her private practice, Milk and Motherhood. Johanna has spent the last decade providing much-needed support to many thousands of parents throughout the country and across the continent, along with educating health professionals on how to better support breastfeeding and lactation. She recently co-created the new breastfeeding education modules for the European School of Neonatology and travelled to Vienna to teach at the 10th Annual Congress of the European Academy of Paediatric Societies. She has additionally taught at the University of Zurich, spoken as a panellist for the WHO’s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative congress, been an expert speaker and facilitator for Google, and has presented at a wide variety of international conferences. Additionally, Johanna has gained her Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) and is a Certified Trauma Support Specialist. Her complex personal and professional experiences fuel her passion for providing knowledgeable, guilt-free infant feeding support globally.