The ILCA Board of Directors has decision-making powers regarding matters of policy, direction, strategy, and governance of the organization. They steer the organization toward a sustainable future by adopting sound governance and financial management policies, and ensuring adequate resources.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Iona Macnab began her professional working life as a lawyer in Australia. She subsequently moved to Tokyo Japan, where she lived for 25 years, raising her three (formerly) breastfed children and unexpectedly changing careers. She became a volunteer La Leche League (LLL) Leader in Tokyo in 1997 and later served as the LLL Regional Administrator of Leaders for Asia, Africa and Middle East for 7 years. In 2002 she became an IBCLC in Japan, supporting the international community both in person and remotely. After returning to Australia, she helped establish an online lactation education platform in 2011. She continues to volunteer with LLL, served as the volunteer Conference Coordinator for Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ) for 5 years, and was Chair of ILCA’s Professional Development Committee prior to her election to the ILCA Board. Her vision for ILCA is to strengthen our international partnerships and global advocacy efforts so that all IBCLCs and lactation care providers can be recognised and supported in their work.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Maxine Scringer-Wilkes honed her maternal child nursing skills while working in outpost nursing. She moved into public health nursing and through working with amazing mentors and resilient families she developed an understanding of the many challenges and complexities of breastfeeding and achieved her IBCLC. Maxine currently supports inpatient and outpatient dyads, through collaborating within a multidisciplinary team, and primarily supports dyads in a surgical NICU. Maxine is also an active contributor to feeding policies, procedures, and resource documents, in addition to staff teaching and orientation. In the past Maxine has volunteered on her local, provincial, and national breastfeeding committees, and is a BFI assessor.
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Tova Ovits graduated from Pace University with a BA in English. While breastfeeding her youngest child, she read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and discovered how much she didn’t know while nursing her older kids. Tova has been dedicated to helping mothers and babies breastfeed ever since. She volunteered with an international breastfeeding peer support organization and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant to help even more families enjoy a healthy, happy beginning.
Austin, Texas, United States
Janet Jones is from a small town in the Texas panhandle and was the first in her family to attend college. The route to her vocation however, was found through motherhood and mentorship. She became a breastfeeding peer counselor and learned about the lactation profession. From that moment forward, supporting new families and increasing access to care became her passion. Janet has worked as an IBCLC in private practice, a Breastfeeding Training Specialist for the State Health Department, a hospital based IBCLC, and is currently the founder and director of a lactation practice in Texas that employs over 40 IBCLCs, RDs and parent educators. Her team has an established paid internship “Lactation Tech” program for aspiring IBCLCs with the objective of removing barriers and increasing diversity and equity in the field of lactation and skilled lactation care. Janet has volunteered for and worked on the legislative committee for her statewide breastfeeding coalition as well as held leadership roles including treasurer, vice president, and president for her regional breastfeeding coalition. She looks forward to contributing to the success of ILCA’s vision.
Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Nor Kamariah Mohamad Alwi resides in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. She created the online breastfeeding support forum susuibu.com in 2004 and is a co-founder and President of Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselors. She is on the Local Governance Task Force Coordinator for World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). Kamariah is working with IBCLCs to establish a Malaysian Lactation Consultant Association. She is currently a private practice lactation consultant.
Split, Croatia, Europe
Irena Zakarija-Grkovic is the founding president of the Croatian Association of Lactation Consultants and a founding member of the National Breastfeeding Committee. She worked as a GP and IBCLC in Melbourne, Australia, before moving to Split, Croatia. Irena now teaches at the University of Split School of Medicine, where she has been conducting an annual 90-h breastfeeding course since 2007. Irena is the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative coordinator for Croatia and Europe, and is an educator and assessor for the BFHI. Irena has served ILCA in the past as a member of the Conference, Multilingual and Global Outreach Committees, and sees ILCA as the go-to-place for breastfeeding education.
Brighton, United Kingdom
Zoe Faulkner is an IBCLC lactation consultant and works in the community public health service within the specialist infant feeding team. She is as an educator, mentor and delivers the specialist service for families experiencing complex and persistent feeding challenges alongside implementing Baby Friendly standards. Prior to this she ran the breastfeeding peer support programme for 15 years, recruiting training and supervising a team of 30 volunteers working in both community and hospital settings. Zoe is a visiting lecturer at the University of Brighton. Zoe also has extensive governance and operational experience running an organisation and is immediate past Chair of Lactation Consultants of Great Britain.
