Board of Directors 2023-2024

October 12, 2016 Selca

Co-Presidents

Jean Howington, BA, IBCLC, PMH-C

President@selca.info

Jean is a licensed International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), with a background in parent education and family advocacy and support. She received a Bachelor Degree from Presbyterian College. She worked with families for many years as an educator, family advocate and Certified Lactation Counselor before pursuing her certification as a Lactation Consultant. Jean is also a Better Brains for Babies Community Outreach Educator and an Authorized Facilitator for Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children child sexual abuse awareness and prevention training. Jean is currently a board member of the Southeastern Lactation Consultant Association (SELCA) and a member of the United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA). She enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, reading and making soap and loves anything coffee or chocolate. She is the proud mother of two teenage boys.

Semone Williams, IBCLC

President@selca.info

Semone Williams started working for WIC as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in 2016 just shortly after her second child was born.  As she assisted mothers and babies in her role, she too gained knowledge on how to make her breastfeeding experience a great joy.  Enjoying what she was doing, she moved forward to becoming a CLC.  While with WIC, Semone worked with the CSRA Breastfeeding Coalition as a secretary, then a Chair person.  Wanting to do even more, Semone attended Georgia Northwestern Technical College to obtain what she needed to begin her career as an IBCLC.  In December of 2020, she received the great news of her passing score to continue her ambition to help mothers and babies in another light – as a Lactation Consultant. Semone is blessed to serve her community as a WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor and a Lactation Consultant with AU Health.  Semone looks to better assist moms and babies in any way possible.  She wants to assist families in knowing how to make their breastfeeding experience a success.

Vice President , Director of Professional Development

Jana Birdseye, IBCLC, Lic. IBCLC

VicePresident@selca.info

Jana is our current sitting vice-president. She is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Corporate lactation at Lactation Consultants of Atlanta (LCA). She graduated with honors from the Human Lactation program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College in December of 2019. Before beginning her work in lactation, she has over 20 years’ experience in business management and marketing. Jana is excited to carry on the legacy that is LCA and she loves to help families develop plans to reach their feeding goals.
Jana decided she wanted to work in lactation after having a baby born with Down syndrome. She struggled to find good help learning how to breastfeed and decided that she wanted to help other mother’s breastfeed their babies. She also has a passion for helping the working mom because she knows the struggles of returning to work in Corporate America while breastfeeding and pumping.
Jana is happily married, and has two children. Her youngest daughter, Anna, is in elementary school and her oldest daughter Hannah is grown and has a son. Jana is the Gigi of one toddler grandson, Easton.
When Jana is not working in her office or helping moms and babies, you can find her reading, swimming, and playing outdoors with her daughter and grandson. Her favorite food is Mexican, especially chips and queso dip.

Outreach Coordinator

Amy Fletcher, BSN, RN, Lic. IBCLC

Amy has a background in Neonatal ICU and pediatric emergency nursing. Amy has practiced as an IBCLC in a birth hospital setting, and currently as the NICU IBCLC at CHOA Scottish Rite. She has special interests in premature breastfeeding, pump fitting, and education of parents and staff in the hospital setting to preserve and prolong the breastfeeding relationship. Amy is currently collaborating with speech and nursing to develop a NICU feeding pathway to improve rates of NICU babies being discharged home directly feeding at breast. She is a member of ILCA, USLCA, & SELCA. Amy has 4 children who took her on 4 different breastfeeding journeys and they inspire her to help families in their personal lactation journeys. She is serving as SELCA’s Outreach Chair.

Communications

Wilicia Dickenson, IBCLC

Communications Co-Chair

Willicia Dickinson is an IBCLC working at the WIC office in district 6. In 2009 She graduated from Augusta State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. After marriage and the birth of her son, whom she breastfed for 2yrs, she fell in love with breastfeeding and decided to pursue a career in Lactation. In 2016 she became a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). Willicia continued her education at Georgia Northwestern Technical and graduated from the Lactation program in Fall of 2019. In 2020 she sat and passed the IBCLE and became a registered IBCLC in Spring of 2021. Willicia servers as a board member on the CSRA Breastfeeding Coalition and Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition, is the administrator for ZipMilk and serves as Co-Chair of Communications for SELCA.

Shawntay Gadson, MHA, IBCLC

Communications Co-Chair

Shawntay is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with over 1500 hours of directly supervised clinical training. She has extensive public health knowledge and many years of experience working with moms and babies especially in the most challenging of situations. Shawntay has worked with countless mothers and fathers on both the Mother Baby Unit and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
She has exceptional proficiency and skill in working with premature infants. She is true to form and practices what she teaches, she has successfully breastfed her son well past his first year of life. Thus, her personal experience combined with training has informed her practice specifically on the importance of a establishing a good milk supply. Through her own breastfeeding journey she found a passion for helping and supporting mothers on their breastfeeding journey.
Shawntay lives in the Savannah area and is serving as your SELCA Co-Communications Chair.

Treasurer

Heather Markovitch, IBCLC

treasurer@selca.info

Heather is a licensed International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) who has been supporting parents on their breastfeeding journeys since 2014. She was accredited as a La Leche League Leader (LLLL) in October of 2014 and was certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners in the spring of 2018. Heather believes when provided quality education and continued support, along with clinical care when necessary, families thrive to meet their breastfeeding goals, whether that goal is six weeks or six years. She resides south of Atlanta with her husband and three sons.

Heather has experienced life as a working/breastfeeding/pumping mom. Her drive and passion through this has given her the ability to provide parents with encouragement and determination to achieve a positive breastfeeding experience.

Director- Public Member

Naima Bond, CHD (Certified Holistic Doula)

Director@selca.info

Naima Bond, CHD (Certified Holistic Doula) has been in the birthing world since 2015. She is a Matrona trained birth doula and holds other trainings and certifications in fertility advocacy, PAIL Infant Loss, Babies Signs, and Reach out and Stay Strong Essentials (aka ROSE – a postpartum mood disorder awareness and prevention program offered through the University of Michigan). She is also a Calm Birth pregnancy mediation teacher trainer.
Naima is a Breast Friend’s Advocate through ROSE (Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere) offering one on one support when new birthing people start breast and chest feeding. She is currently earning her CBS (Certified Breastfeeding Specialist) credential and is working towards becoming an IBCLC in the future.
In addition to serving as the Public Member on your SELCA Board, she also serves on the Better Brains for Babies Advisory Board for the State of Georgia, and is a doula and childbirth educator mentor through Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies and Southern Birth Justice.
Naima has now dedicated her life to supporting birthing people and to helping them have a better understanding of their bodies and the power that they hold. She resides in Atlanta and is the mother of two sons, Mashante and LaParish.

Committee Chairs

Network – Kathleen Chiu, IBCLC

network@selca.info

Licensure – Merrilee Gober, JD, RN

licensure@selca.info

Thanks for getting to know our Board members! Please consider serving in the future, whether on the board or on a committee.

Thanks to outgoing board members, Audrey Thompson, Nicki Cutrone for their service!