Fiscal Year 2026-2027
The Board of Directors are guardians of the mission of Breastfeeding USA and aim to build an effective and sustainable organization. They are responsible for establishing policies and practices that enhance the impact of Breastfeeding USA and strengthen the public’s confidence in the management of the organization. Contact the Board of Directors at bod@breastfeedingusa.org.
president – Carmen Taibi
First Board Term- 2024-2027
Carmen has been working with mothers and babies since 2009, and has been a Breastfeeding USA Counselor since 2016. She has served the Jackson County chapter in Southern Oregon since 2017. Carmen resides in Medford Oregon with her husband, two teenagers, and two cats. She enjoys spending her free time outdoors camping, reading, and visiting with her extended family.
VICE PRESIDENT – Katie Koll
First Board Term: 2024-2027
Katie Koll has been a resident of Fox River Grove, IL since 2018. She has served on the Fox River Grove District 3 School Board since 2021. Katie studied English and Spanish at Augustana College and earned an M.S.Ed. from Northwestern in 2012. She was an elementary school teacher in Palatine and Des Plaines from 2012-2018. Katie works for the McHenry County Department of Health in Illinois as a WIC Breastfeeding Counselor. She became a Breastfeeding USA BC in 2023 and co-hosts support group meetings with Aimee Teslaw at the local library. She became an IBCLC in 2024, and owns a private lactation practice called Treasure Chest Lactation.
In her free time, she listens to podcasts and audiobooks, sings in a choir called Schaumburg Choral Artists, and enjoys her friends and family. Katie is married to Tim Koll, a choir director at a high school. They have two young boys and an old Italian Greyhound.
TREASURER – Patty Jacobs
Second Board Term: 2026-2029
Patty is mom to two grown daughters and grandmother to two little ones. She’s living in her hometown of Alameda, California with husband John, and their dog Bailey. As a national volunteer, Patty enjoys the social media team, Website Workgroup, Ethics and Inclusivity Committee and Finance Committee. Patty is a past president of Breastfeeding USA and most recently held the position of Compliance Officer. Her favorite BC activity is home visits with new parents. She’s also a bookkeeper, and works for a nonprofit theatre company, and at a CPA firm during tax season. Patty received a certificate in nonprofit management from Cal State East Bay.
Secretary – Sharon Knorr, BSMT (ASCP)
Third Board Term: 2026-2029
Sharon has been working with breastfeeding families since 1983 as a volunteer counselor and then for 30 years, starting in 1987, as an IBCLC as well as continuing as a counselor. She also taught Childbirth Classes. She served on the Rochester Regional Breastfeeding Network in New York and was an active member of ILCA and was a part of the workgroup that brought USLCA into existence. In addition to her lactation practice, she helped plan, execute and also presented at many lactation conferences and workshops. She is one of the Founders of Breastfeeding USA and served for two consecutive terms on the Board of Directors when Breastfeeding USA began. After her terms, she helped with other projects. She is currently the Chairperson for the Education Committee and the Workgroup Manager for BRAID.
In addition to her lactation activities, Sharon has worked full-time in hospital laboratories as a medical technologist. She has two grown children, Josh and Rachel, who were both breastfed. Her husband, Butch, is recently retired from his IT career – they met in Hawaii where he was serving in the USN. She moved from Upstate NY in 2011 and now pursues her love of gardening and reading and chasing after her grandpuppy in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
DIRECTOR – Emily Zuck
Second Board Term: 2026-2029
Emily Zuck joined Breastfeeding USA after her second child was born in an attempt to find breastfeeding support in an area with low breastfeeding resources. Since joining the organization and becoming a breastfeeding counselor in 2019, she has worked on multiple committees and programs, including the warmline call center as the call line manager, and as the community engagement co-chair. She has a passion for helping others feel empowered in their breastfeeding journey, and providing accurate, evidence-based information to help individuals make educated decisions.
Emily currently lives in Jamestown, North Dakota, with a small zoo, including her husband, three boys, three dogs, and four cats. She is a member of the Stutsman County Breastfeeding Coalition, as well as the North Dakota Breastfeeding Coalition. She is currently working towards her Masters Degree in Clinical Counseling. Emily can often be found coaching figure skating, crocheting, reading, or gardening. She also started a microbakery for sourdough bread.
DIRECTOR – Kati Johnson
First Board Term 2026-2029
Kati became a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor through Breastfeeding USA in 2020. Since then she has supported breastfeeding parents online and over the phone. She served on the rebrand committee in 2023. While Kati grew up in a breastfeeding family where extended breastfeeding felt normal and natural, she had difficulty with her first child and very quickly learned the value of evidence-based support. She nursed her oldest for nearly four years, and she nursed her youngest past his 5th birthday.
Kati owns a sustainability-focused cleaning business, as well as an online leggings shop. She sings in a fun cover band that performs around town. Kati lives with her two kiddos and three cats. In her free time, she might be watching her son play soccer, at her daughter’s dance performance, reading, cooking, hiking, lifting weights at the gym, or scuba diving.