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Board of Directors

    Fiscal Year 2023-2024

    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 – Aimee Teslaw, MA

    Second Board Term: 2021-2024
    Barrington, Illinois

    Aimee has been helping mothers and babies to breastfeed since 2010, and became a Breastfeeding USA Counselor in 2012. She serves two chapters of Breastfeeding USA in both Algonquin and Barrington, Illinois, and especially enjoys facilitating in-person mother-to-mother support. She has also served Breastfeeding USA in the Applications workgroup, the Grants workgroup, and most recently as the Chair of Funding and Development. She has experience writing, teaching writing, and working in corporate training.

    Aimee makes a home in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with her husband, two children, and a dog, and where she also volunteers at school and church. She is an adult student of guitar, and enjoys travel, being active, spending time outdoors, knitting, and reading.

    Vice-president – Emily Zuck

    First Board Term: 2024-2026
    Jamestown, North Dakota

    Since 2017, Emily has been passionate about supporting mothers to breastfeed after facing challenges herself following the birth of her first child. In 2020, she became a Breastfeeding USA Counselor to help women seeking breastfeeding support. Her involvement at a national level brought her great satisfaction, leading her to participate in the Community Engagement Workgroup, the organization’s rebranding, managing the warmline, and serving on the Editorial Review Board.

    Emily is pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and resides in Jamestown, North Dakota, with her husband, three children, three dogs, and four cats. She volunteers as a figure skating coach, and is also involved in local nonprofits supporting women’s rights and public health. Emily’s interests include reading, music, crocheting, baking bread, painting, hiking, and camping.

    Treasurer – Kati Johnson

    First Board Term: Through 2025
    Boulder, Colorado

    Kati became a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor through BFUSA 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 continues to breastfeed her youngest, who is almost 5.

    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.

    Director – Amie Rakosky Hood

    Second Board Term: 2022-2025
    Indianapolis, Indiana

    Initial challenges with nursing her babies turned Amie into an advocate for other families. She has been a Breastfeeding Counselor for 10 years with Indy Breastfeeding and Chestfeeding Parents, helping lead meetings, answering calls and Facebook questions, and making occasional home visits. Since joining the board, Amie has helped with strategic planning, community engagement, rebranding, website maintenance and most recently serves as Treasurer.

    Amie lives in Indianapolis with her husband and three children. Her background is in music (violin performance and history), community organizing, and finance (banking and investing). These days, she can be found coding, homeschooling, gardening, and performing with a community orchestra.

    Secretary – Sharon Knorr, BSMT (ASCP)

    First Board Term: 2020-2023
    Loveland, Colorado

    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 BreastfeedingUSA and served for two consecutive terms on the BOD when BFUSA 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 – Dana Saccomano

    First Board Term: 2022-2025
    Vernon, Connecticut

    Dana Saccomano fell in love with breastfeeding after the birth of her first child in 2019. She became a breastfeeding counselor for Breastfeeding USA after her son turned one and went on to pursue her Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) credential while postpartum with her second son. She has been on the board of directors for the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition (CBC) and has served on the membership engagement committee for United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC). 

    Dana’s works full time as an elementary school strings teacher, teaching over 230 students in East Hartford, CT. She performs regularly on violin and viola with professional orchestras in Connecticut and Massachusetts and is a member of Andante Strings, an ensemble who provides music for weddings and other special events.