Program Coordinator

Leondra Mallory, CLE, Doula, CBE

Leondra is a dedicated advocate for maternal and infant health, currently serving as the program coordinator for the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. She brings a wealth of experience as a birth and postpartum doula, Certified Lactation Educator (CLEC), and Childbirth Educator (CBE).

Raised in the vibrant city of San Diego, Leondra cherishes her time with her partner and family.

Leondra’s journey into birth work began during a transformative humanitarian trip to the Philippines in 2015. There, she collaborated with a local midwifery clinic and was profoundly moved by assisting in a birth firsthand. This experience ignited her passion for supporting mothers and families during pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. Upon returning to the United States, she delved into doula training and immediately immersed herself in serving her community.

Driven by her upbringing in a lower-income environment, Leondra has always been committed to aiding underserved populations. Collaborating with local organizations supporting teen mothers and having previously worked at a pregnancy shelter in Texas, leveraging her skills and compassion to provide crucial support.

Since her initial doula training in 2016, Leondra has remained dedicated to continuous learning. Her pursuit of knowledge is fueled by a desire to better serve birthing people of color, ensuring they have access to comprehensive education and support throughout their pregnancy, labor, and lactation journeys.

As a Black woman, Leondra feels a profound responsibility to empower and advocate for people of color, equipping them with the resources and guidance they need for a positive maternal and infant health experience.

In her role with the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition and beyond, Leondra is committed to fostering inclusive, informed, and supportive communities for all families. Her dedication to maternal health advocacy continues to inspire and uplift those around her.

leondra.mallory@breastfeeding.org

Christina Lares, MPH, MA, CLES, Doula

Creative and collaborative movement builder passionate about combining technology and storytelling to create momentum and growth for businesses and organizations. Obsessed with culture shift, copywriting, leadership development, UX design, digital marketing, intersectionality, reproductive justice, and policy advocacy.

Christina is a proud alumna of San Diego State University where she earned a BS in Health Science in 2008. She continued her graduate education with the SDSU School of Public Health's Dual Masters Degree program and in 2015 obtained an MPH in Health Promotion and MA in Latin American Studies. She recently completed Full Spectrum Doula training with Birthworkers of Color in 2020 and looks forward to supporting new families in the postpartum period.

When she is not supporting SDCBC with social media strategy and community outreach, Christina is a proud breastfeeding mama to her 16-month-old pandemic baby. She is passionate about creating empowering spaces for women to cultivate radical self-love by hosting body-positive pole dance and movement workshops and offering coaching services for women of color.

christina.lares@breastfeeding.org

President: Kiera Schminke, MPH, CHES

(She/Her/Hers)

Kiera has worked in public health for the past decade and is a health education specialist bringing passion to wellness, behavior, and cultural responsiveness. Kiera has worked in a variety of health-focused areas such as program implementation, health promotion, community outreach, tobacco & suicide prevention, maternal child health, advocacy, and policy. Currently, she is Core Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Community Health at National University. She is a zealous breastfeeding advocate and always envisioned nursing her children, but when they both presented with tongue-tie she was significantly challenged. With the support of family, a dedicated IBCLC, and the breastfeeding community they were able to overcome! She deeply believes every mom and baby should have equitable breastfeeding opportunity and support to reach lactation goals. She lives in Carlsbad with her husband, two young girls, and a dog named Karl.

“Everything has it beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Andy Warhol

Immediate Past President: Angeles Nelson

(She/Her/Hers)



Angeles is a Policy Advocate with Nourish California, where she specializes in advancing state policy that improves students’ access to healthy school meals and increases food access for immigrant Californians. Angeles also conducts federal advocacy to preserve, protect, and improve access to the WIC program, Maternal Health, and Breastfeeding. 

Prior to joining Nourish California, Angeles worked as a community advocate and organizer in Lemon Grove (LG) to create a more vibrant community with opportunities, equity, and wellness for all through resident-led community projects. 

Currently, Angeles is a Community Advisory Commissioner for the LG City Council, a member of The Kitchenistas and a Resident Leadership Academy Trainer. Angeles has been fortunate to work for amazing causes, which include, building the first community garden in LG, establishing a breastfeeding support group in LG, assisting homeless and adults living with mental illness in finding quality housing, and supporting new mothers during labor and throughout their breastfeeding journey. She has mobilized and co-powered many members of her community to successfully advocate for policies that promote wellness, equity, and safety for all Californians.

Angeles is passionate about breastfeeding and supporting all families to reach their breastfeeding goals. She loved breastfeeding her 4 children and struggled with tongue-tie issues with her two youngest. Thanks to the support from a team of Breastfeeding professionals, WIC agencies, and other support groups in the community, she was able to breastfeed all of her kids and reach her breastfeeding goals. 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"  ~Margaret Mead

Treasurer: Open

Vice President/Secretary: Open

Board Member: Rose deVigne-Jackiewicz, RN, MPH, IBCLC

Rose deVigne-Jackiewicz has over 38 years’ experience in lactation and is regarded as one of the top Lactation Consultants in San Diego. Rose has worked side by side with nurses, nurse practitioners, pediatricians and other health professionals in the education and training of breastfeeding mothers and newborns. She has been retired since August 2019. Her history of employment includes Kaiser Permanente, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women, and Loma Linda Medical Center, where she established inpatient and outpatient lactation programs.

She is currently teaching in the lactation programs at UCSD, and mentors’ pathway 3 students from UC Davis. Specializing in normal and high-risk mothers and babies, she has helped mothers become successful in breastfeeding. She is the recipient of multiple Nurse of the Year awards and authored Breastfeeding Basics: A Lactation Consultants Advice for Breastfeeding during Your Hospital Stay. Since 1983, she has been teaching classes on this subject and is a seasoned lecturer.

Board Member: Yelen Carino-Talavera, RN

Yelen is a registered nurse with over a decade of experience as a board-certified lactation consultant, public health nurse, infant massage instructor, and certified case manager. She is grateful to call San Diego County her new home.

With extensive experience providing breastfeeding education and skilled lactation support to families in private, inpatient, and outpatient settings, Yelen is passionate about helping families achieve their breastfeeding and health goals. She continuously seeks opportunities to enrich her knowledge and better serve her community through volunteer work.

As a breastfeeding advocate, Yelen emphasizes the importance of skin-to-skin contact and nurturing early interactions between parents and their infants. Her personal experience breastfeeding her three children has reinforced her commitment to ensuring that parents who choose to breastfeed have the necessary resources and support to do so.



In her free time, Yelen enjoys spending quality time outdoors with her husband and children.

Board Member: Izzybeth Rodriguez-Prats MPH

She/They

Izzybeth is a public health professional with two decades of experience advancing health equity. Her areas of expertise include reproductive health, intimate partner violence prevention, maternal, child and adolescent health, chronic disease prevention and border health initiatives.  Throughout her career, Izzybeth has worked in research institutions, non-profit organizations, and local County government sectors consistently collaborating with partners to improve community health outcomes.

Inspired by her own journey through motherhood and breastfeeding, Izzybeth is deeply committed to supporting lactating mothers through implementation of policy, system, and environmental changes that foster inclusive and supportive lactation workplaces.

Board Member: Kristen Schaffer

Kristen’s interest in breastfeeding began in college, where she first learned about the science and health benefits of human milk. She earned her B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University and went on to work as a Nutritionist for the Texas WIC program, where she gained a deep appreciation for the power of combining science-based information with compassionate, individualized support for pregnant and breastfeeding families. While completing her MPH in Epidemiology at UC San Diego, she researched the benefits of breastfeeding for infants with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Kristen has been a program manager for neonatology research at UC San Diego since 2022 and recently became a certified lactation counselor (CLC) and started her supervised practice rotations to become a registered dietitian. 

She is motivated by a commitment to reducing health disparities and ensuring that all families have access to high-quality, evidence-based care and support.