Conference Speakers
Genni Brown: is a Registered Nurse / Midwife with a graduate certificate in Child & Family Health nursing and IBCLC. Genni has over 30 years nursing experience primarily in Childbirth education, Community Midwifery, and Child and Family Health with a strong interest and focus on Breastfeeding support and education.
Genni is currently employed by Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) a Division of Women’s and Children’s Health Network as a Clinical Practice Consultant for the Far Country North region of the state of SA. Genni has recently attained the position of BFHI coordinator for CaFHS; the first community organisation in Australia to be assessed against the 7 point plan and successively achieve BFHI accreditation.
Genni is currently employed by Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) a Division of Women’s and Children’s Health Network as a Clinical Practice Consultant for the Far Country North region of the state of SA. Genni has recently attained the position of BFHI coordinator for CaFHS; the first community organisation in Australia to be assessed against the 7 point plan and successively achieve BFHI accreditation.
Jill Bruce: "I have been a midwife for 36 years and a Lactation Consultant for the last 25 years. I was involved with the inaugural LC group in South Australia, and have continued involvement with our local SA Region at committee level.
I have been supporting breastfeeding women through various Breastfeeding projects, hospital support services, general practice & now my private practice.
I am currently secretary of Lactation Consultants of Australia & New Zealand.
It’s very exciting to be involved at a National/Trans Tasman level with LCANZ, and to see further growth and development of our LC’s. Also to be able to have a “bigger” voice on behalf of
LC’s in Australia & New Zealand.
I’m married with 3 adult children."
Martin Gare: Martin has been a social worker for over twenty years, working in the fields of child
protection, education and child and adolescent mental health. He currently works with families across a wide range of issues, supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people and their families. He has a particular interest in issues around adolescent family violence, family therapy, and the interplay between community, family and the individual. Martin will be speaking
from both personal and professional perspectives on the challenges of incorporating father friendly practices into family support services, as well as sharing some ideas on how each of us can find the meaning and purpose that drives us to do the work we do.
I have been supporting breastfeeding women through various Breastfeeding projects, hospital support services, general practice & now my private practice.
I am currently secretary of Lactation Consultants of Australia & New Zealand.
It’s very exciting to be involved at a National/Trans Tasman level with LCANZ, and to see further growth and development of our LC’s. Also to be able to have a “bigger” voice on behalf of
LC’s in Australia & New Zealand.
I’m married with 3 adult children."
Martin Gare: Martin has been a social worker for over twenty years, working in the fields of child
protection, education and child and adolescent mental health. He currently works with families across a wide range of issues, supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people and their families. He has a particular interest in issues around adolescent family violence, family therapy, and the interplay between community, family and the individual. Martin will be speaking
from both personal and professional perspectives on the challenges of incorporating father friendly practices into family support services, as well as sharing some ideas on how each of us can find the meaning and purpose that drives us to do the work we do.
Rowan Brookes: has been volunteering with the ABA for six years. She holds her Cert IV in breastfeeding education, community and counselling and her TAE. During her time with ABA she has been a Breast Pump Hire Officer, Group Leader and now acts as the Online Training Coordinator. Taking on the role of Online Training Coordinator has combined Rowan's interest in
educational technology and breastfeeding. In this role she enjoys supporting mums to become the next generation of ABA leaders. Rowan is the mother to three children aged 8, 5 & 2. In her paid role, Rowan is a lecturer in Environmental Science at a major University.
Deb Yates: started out as an early childhood teacher and became interested in the non-profit sector after working in a not for profit community based child care centre. Deb went back to university and completed Post Graduate studies in Management of Non-profit Organisations. In the mean time she had two beautiful boys, now 11 and 8 years old with her partner Pat and became a member of ABA. She took on the role of BH Manager in 2008, sharing the position with Nerida, the magnificent! Deb is a member of Qld Correspondence Group - a virtual group in outback Qld and is active in her branch team as well via Skype. She is also a BC and training to be a TAE.
Wendy Norris: "Having been a midwife since 1980, I have always been involved with the Breastfeeding Dyad. In 2005 I became certified as a Lactation Consultant and loved the way it opened up the why, behind what we say in educating and supporting new parents. I have been employed at Flinders Private Hospital since 1999 and a Lactation Consultant there since 2005. We have a fortnightly Antenatal Breast Feeding class, which I facilitate. I aim to visit all the mums who birth with us by working two half days on the ward visiting. Weekly we have a Postnatal Drop in Service where parents can come back for up to 12 weeks to ask questions after discharge. It is a real honour to be able support these families at such a crucial time of their lives. My work covers working with the premature babies and their mothers providing milk long term as well as other complex breast feeding problems. I find having ABA as a back up to my work a real asset."
Christine Morris: Director Health Promotion SA Dental Service.
Since being appointed she has had a strong focus on reducing inequities that contribute to poor oral health and on raising awareness of the importance of oral health in overall health and well-being. Christine has worked in a range of public health and health promotion positions including ten years in tobacco control with the Cancer Council.
She has a Masters of Public Health, Degree in Social Science and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1997. She was a member of the National Oral Health Promotion Plan Committee
that is working towards providing recommendations to the Commonwealth Minister of Health regarding a national oral health plan.
She was a Breastfeeding Counsellor, group leader and training coordinator for ABA in the 1970-80s.
Brooke Finlayson: BAppSC(DisSt) BEd(SpecEd) MEd(SpecEd)
Brooke has been involved in the field of special education for 15 years. She has experience in teaching and coordinating in special and mainstream school environments and in tertiary
teaching on the topics of inclusive approaches, educational psychology and teacher and learner wellbeing. Brooke also has many years of experience as a private tutor and therapist to children with a range of needs including Autism Spectrum and learning difficulties.
Brooke is passionate about making learning accessible for all children by supporting educators working with children who have extra needs through incorporating specialist recommendations
into their teaching. She is familiar with a number of effective and fun programs which can be implemented at a school, class and individual level to help to break down barriers to learning.
Brooke has experience in working with and supporting many families as they navigate through the maze of options available to them and as they attempt to coordinate services to meet the
needs of their child.
Discussion Group: Sensory development - ‘Maximising learning and sensory development for your child – empowering families through team building and individualised intervention’ .
Vanessa Schwarz: "I am an Early Childhood Educator with 20 years experience working as a Nanny, Childcare Worker, Kindergarten Teacher and Director. The last 17 years have been spent working in a rural Integrated Service in Bordertown – a service providing care and education for 0 – 5 year old children. With a weekly attendance of well over 100 children and staff team of 20, it is a dynamic and fun place to work.
I joined ABA in 2004, am a Community Educator, recently qualified as a Breastfeeding
Counsellor, and the Group Leader for the Upper Limestone Coast Group.
Breastfeeding Education for staff and children in Childcare, Preschool and School.
Caregivers
Guide to the Breastfed Baby – a power point presentation to be used for training with Early Childhood staff. * Ideas for incorporating breastfeeding into the Early Years curriculum , including resources
* How my worksite is breastfeeding friendly for children , staff and parents
* What is the national working party and the resource drop box and how to access the resources and some examples
* Hope to provide you with some ideas to pass on to your local childcare centre and
pre school
Milk Sharing: Mel Campbell, Melissa Ward and Narelle Latreia are members of the Mount Barker and Districts group. Between them they have five children under four years old, and have a diverse range of experiences with various forms of informal milk sharing. They will be sharing their personal experiences of the joys and challenges of milk sharing, exploring the ways in which milk sharing arrangements can facilitate successful breastfeeding, and highlighting some of the hidden traps of milk sharing that can inadvertently undermine breastfeeding
success.
Tracy Roper: Tracy has been a Counsellor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association since 2000, after being a member as a midwife since 1990. During this time she has had various group roles including locality mum, pre loved clothes sales and group leader for 6 years. In 2008 she completed a Trainer and Assessment certificate (TAA) and soon became the course coordinator for SANT. In 2009 the Branch Training Manager position became vacant and she transferred to this role which she still holds today. Tracy has also completed her Certificate IV in Breastfeeding and has recently upgraded her qualification to the TAE certificate. She has enjoyed seeing the growth of training in SANT and hopes to see this continue. She is supported by Matt and 3 teenage daughters, especially whilst doing a monthly Friday night helpline shift. Tracy works as a practice nurse in private rooms along with volunteering time to the local non-competitive
calisthenics club to sew for 70 girls in the club.
Kathy Lynch: "I've been a midwife for more than 20 years with experience in public and private sectors both in Melbourne and Adelaide. Most of my experience has been working in continuity of care models in which I provide antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. I have provided midwifery care to women who choose to birth at home but also to others who choose to have elective caesarean sections. I am currently working in a private midwifery practice as a eligible midwife, which means the women I see can claim a Medicare rebate for my visits. At the moment I see predominantly postnatal women from birth until 7 weeks postnatal.
My passion is educating and empowering women in all aspects of pregnancy, birth and postnatal care in order to enable a positive experience which will facilitate a positive beginning to
parenthood. I certified as a Lactation Consultant in 1997 and I will resit the exam in July 2013."
Alison Fleming: Alison has a Diploma of Teaching from Flinders University. She trained as a
Breastfeeding Counsellor with the Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia and qualified in 1985 when her third baby was born. She worked as a Counsellor, Community Educator and Group Leader for about 6 years. In 1989 Alison trained to become a Fertility Educator in Adelaide
where she worked at Natural Fertility Services until 1994. She went back to music teaching in schools for some years before returning to Fertility Education in 2005 in Sydney.
Alison worked for Natural Fertility Services Sydney from 2005 until 2011 when she moved back to Adelaide. She is currently in the process of re-establishing a Centre in Adelaide from which she will offer fertility support to clients wishing to achieve/avoid or delay pregnancies using the
Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning and LAM (Lactational Amenorrhoea Method). Alison is married with 3 adult daughters. At the time of publishing this she was expecting her first grandchild (due June 27th).
Fiona Logan: My name is Fiona Logan and I have been a Community Educator Trainee for sixteen months with the Lower Limestone Coast – Mount Gambier Group (also recently been made Group Administrator). Our group has had a Facebook group since last February last
year, so for eighteen months now. We have 184 members on our group, and out of our 33 ABA local members, we have 21 or so of them on our Facebook group. Our group is available to anyone to join; you do not have to be a ABA member to join our group. We set up the Facebook group to attract new people into the group and revive it! Prior to starting our ABA group, our attendance rate was extremely low, quite a lot of time, no one was attending our coffee mornings or discussion groups. Since starting our Facebook group up, we sometimes have up to 10-14 people at our get togethers now. People who were members in the past are coming back, new faces are coming and returning and our ABA membership numbers are slowly
building up. We’ve had Mum’s join the ABA purely to be a demo Mum at our Breastfeeding Education Classes. We put a post up asking for a demo Mum on our Facebook group, then this occurred. Without our Facebook Group, our local membership number would be in the mid to late teens.
ABA Code of Ethics - August 2012 - (Click to open)
Watch this space for Bio of Guest Speakers.
educational technology and breastfeeding. In this role she enjoys supporting mums to become the next generation of ABA leaders. Rowan is the mother to three children aged 8, 5 & 2. In her paid role, Rowan is a lecturer in Environmental Science at a major University.
Deb Yates: started out as an early childhood teacher and became interested in the non-profit sector after working in a not for profit community based child care centre. Deb went back to university and completed Post Graduate studies in Management of Non-profit Organisations. In the mean time she had two beautiful boys, now 11 and 8 years old with her partner Pat and became a member of ABA. She took on the role of BH Manager in 2008, sharing the position with Nerida, the magnificent! Deb is a member of Qld Correspondence Group - a virtual group in outback Qld and is active in her branch team as well via Skype. She is also a BC and training to be a TAE.
Wendy Norris: "Having been a midwife since 1980, I have always been involved with the Breastfeeding Dyad. In 2005 I became certified as a Lactation Consultant and loved the way it opened up the why, behind what we say in educating and supporting new parents. I have been employed at Flinders Private Hospital since 1999 and a Lactation Consultant there since 2005. We have a fortnightly Antenatal Breast Feeding class, which I facilitate. I aim to visit all the mums who birth with us by working two half days on the ward visiting. Weekly we have a Postnatal Drop in Service where parents can come back for up to 12 weeks to ask questions after discharge. It is a real honour to be able support these families at such a crucial time of their lives. My work covers working with the premature babies and their mothers providing milk long term as well as other complex breast feeding problems. I find having ABA as a back up to my work a real asset."
Christine Morris: Director Health Promotion SA Dental Service.
Since being appointed she has had a strong focus on reducing inequities that contribute to poor oral health and on raising awareness of the importance of oral health in overall health and well-being. Christine has worked in a range of public health and health promotion positions including ten years in tobacco control with the Cancer Council.
She has a Masters of Public Health, Degree in Social Science and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1997. She was a member of the National Oral Health Promotion Plan Committee
that is working towards providing recommendations to the Commonwealth Minister of Health regarding a national oral health plan.
She was a Breastfeeding Counsellor, group leader and training coordinator for ABA in the 1970-80s.
Brooke Finlayson: BAppSC(DisSt) BEd(SpecEd) MEd(SpecEd)
Brooke has been involved in the field of special education for 15 years. She has experience in teaching and coordinating in special and mainstream school environments and in tertiary
teaching on the topics of inclusive approaches, educational psychology and teacher and learner wellbeing. Brooke also has many years of experience as a private tutor and therapist to children with a range of needs including Autism Spectrum and learning difficulties.
Brooke is passionate about making learning accessible for all children by supporting educators working with children who have extra needs through incorporating specialist recommendations
into their teaching. She is familiar with a number of effective and fun programs which can be implemented at a school, class and individual level to help to break down barriers to learning.
Brooke has experience in working with and supporting many families as they navigate through the maze of options available to them and as they attempt to coordinate services to meet the
needs of their child.
Discussion Group: Sensory development - ‘Maximising learning and sensory development for your child – empowering families through team building and individualised intervention’ .
Vanessa Schwarz: "I am an Early Childhood Educator with 20 years experience working as a Nanny, Childcare Worker, Kindergarten Teacher and Director. The last 17 years have been spent working in a rural Integrated Service in Bordertown – a service providing care and education for 0 – 5 year old children. With a weekly attendance of well over 100 children and staff team of 20, it is a dynamic and fun place to work.
I joined ABA in 2004, am a Community Educator, recently qualified as a Breastfeeding
Counsellor, and the Group Leader for the Upper Limestone Coast Group.
Breastfeeding Education for staff and children in Childcare, Preschool and School.
Caregivers
Guide to the Breastfed Baby – a power point presentation to be used for training with Early Childhood staff. * Ideas for incorporating breastfeeding into the Early Years curriculum , including resources
* How my worksite is breastfeeding friendly for children , staff and parents
* What is the national working party and the resource drop box and how to access the resources and some examples
* Hope to provide you with some ideas to pass on to your local childcare centre and
pre school
Milk Sharing: Mel Campbell, Melissa Ward and Narelle Latreia are members of the Mount Barker and Districts group. Between them they have five children under four years old, and have a diverse range of experiences with various forms of informal milk sharing. They will be sharing their personal experiences of the joys and challenges of milk sharing, exploring the ways in which milk sharing arrangements can facilitate successful breastfeeding, and highlighting some of the hidden traps of milk sharing that can inadvertently undermine breastfeeding
success.
Tracy Roper: Tracy has been a Counsellor with the Australian Breastfeeding Association since 2000, after being a member as a midwife since 1990. During this time she has had various group roles including locality mum, pre loved clothes sales and group leader for 6 years. In 2008 she completed a Trainer and Assessment certificate (TAA) and soon became the course coordinator for SANT. In 2009 the Branch Training Manager position became vacant and she transferred to this role which she still holds today. Tracy has also completed her Certificate IV in Breastfeeding and has recently upgraded her qualification to the TAE certificate. She has enjoyed seeing the growth of training in SANT and hopes to see this continue. She is supported by Matt and 3 teenage daughters, especially whilst doing a monthly Friday night helpline shift. Tracy works as a practice nurse in private rooms along with volunteering time to the local non-competitive
calisthenics club to sew for 70 girls in the club.
Kathy Lynch: "I've been a midwife for more than 20 years with experience in public and private sectors both in Melbourne and Adelaide. Most of my experience has been working in continuity of care models in which I provide antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. I have provided midwifery care to women who choose to birth at home but also to others who choose to have elective caesarean sections. I am currently working in a private midwifery practice as a eligible midwife, which means the women I see can claim a Medicare rebate for my visits. At the moment I see predominantly postnatal women from birth until 7 weeks postnatal.
My passion is educating and empowering women in all aspects of pregnancy, birth and postnatal care in order to enable a positive experience which will facilitate a positive beginning to
parenthood. I certified as a Lactation Consultant in 1997 and I will resit the exam in July 2013."
Alison Fleming: Alison has a Diploma of Teaching from Flinders University. She trained as a
Breastfeeding Counsellor with the Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia and qualified in 1985 when her third baby was born. She worked as a Counsellor, Community Educator and Group Leader for about 6 years. In 1989 Alison trained to become a Fertility Educator in Adelaide
where she worked at Natural Fertility Services until 1994. She went back to music teaching in schools for some years before returning to Fertility Education in 2005 in Sydney.
Alison worked for Natural Fertility Services Sydney from 2005 until 2011 when she moved back to Adelaide. She is currently in the process of re-establishing a Centre in Adelaide from which she will offer fertility support to clients wishing to achieve/avoid or delay pregnancies using the
Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning and LAM (Lactational Amenorrhoea Method). Alison is married with 3 adult daughters. At the time of publishing this she was expecting her first grandchild (due June 27th).
Fiona Logan: My name is Fiona Logan and I have been a Community Educator Trainee for sixteen months with the Lower Limestone Coast – Mount Gambier Group (also recently been made Group Administrator). Our group has had a Facebook group since last February last
year, so for eighteen months now. We have 184 members on our group, and out of our 33 ABA local members, we have 21 or so of them on our Facebook group. Our group is available to anyone to join; you do not have to be a ABA member to join our group. We set up the Facebook group to attract new people into the group and revive it! Prior to starting our ABA group, our attendance rate was extremely low, quite a lot of time, no one was attending our coffee mornings or discussion groups. Since starting our Facebook group up, we sometimes have up to 10-14 people at our get togethers now. People who were members in the past are coming back, new faces are coming and returning and our ABA membership numbers are slowly
building up. We’ve had Mum’s join the ABA purely to be a demo Mum at our Breastfeeding Education Classes. We put a post up asking for a demo Mum on our Facebook group, then this occurred. Without our Facebook Group, our local membership number would be in the mid to late teens.
ABA Code of Ethics - August 2012 - (Click to open)
Watch this space for Bio of Guest Speakers.