Communications Director, Alliance for Patient Access

Amanda Conschafter is communications director for the Alliance for Patient Access and oversees the creation and dissemination of videos, policy papers, infographics and other content that educates policymakers and empowers advocates.

Amanda’s background is rooted in writing, communications, education and public affairs. Prior to joining AfPA, she served Fortune 500 clients at a Washington, DC-based public affairs agency and worked on the marketing and proposal team of a Northern Virginia technology firm. Amanda has freelanced on behalf of private and non-profit organizations. She previously served on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

Amanda holds a B.A. summa cum laude in English and a master’s in English education from Converse University in Spartanburg, SC. She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband and three children.

Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Director of the Maternal-Child and Pediatric Global Health Program at the Institute for Global Health and Translational Science, SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Dr. Joseph Domachowske is a Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. There he serves as the Director of the Maternal-Child and Pediatric Global Health Program at the Institute for Global Health and Translational Science focusing his research efforts on broadening the understanding and reducing the morbidity of respiratory viral infections in newborns, infants and young children. Dr. Domachowske is also charged with overseeing clinical trials designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new immunization candidates across vulnerable populations, including newborns, infants, young children and pregnant women. He has served as the Principal Investigator for RSV and influenza treatment and prevention studies for more than 25 years and for infant, pediatric and adolescent COVID19 vaccine trials since the first children were enrolled in the spring of 2021. His efforts have led to the publication of more than 130 scientific papers in high impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, Pediatrics, and Vaccine.  

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Pediatrix Medical Group of TN | Council of International Neonatal Nurses

Dr. Eklund has been in nursing for more than 30 years, working the last 20 years as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in Nashville, TN. She has been an active member of neonatal organizations both nationally and internationally, advocating for infants and their families through education, research, publication and more. She designed and led a webinar series in the midst of the pandemic in late 2020 in Japan reaching more than 1,000 neonatal professionals to emphasize the harm of parent-infant separation and to discuss various strategies to emphasize families as essential caregivers. As a board member of the Council of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN), she is engaged in global initiatives that address critical needs of infants and their family members. She is also committed to the promotion of health equity and diversity discussions and currently serves on the Equity and Diversity Board at the Vermont Oxford Network.  

Vice President, Government Affairs & Intellectual Property, Prolacta Bioscience  

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Aly Fuller, JD, Ph.D., is a scientist turned lawyer who has spent most of her career working to assist biotechnology clients in procuring and defending their intellectual property. Since joining Prolacta in 2017, Aly has taken on the additional role of leading the company’s Government Affairs team and is passionate about bringing equitable access to safe human milk products to all babies in the NICU that need it. Aly also created and leads the Women’s Leadership Development Academy (WLDA) at Prolacta. This group provides professional development and mentorship and is designed to educate and empower the women of Prolacta and our communities. 

National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT)  

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Dr. Christy Gliniak is a neonatal occupational therapist from the Pacific Northwest who is deeply committed to advancing trauma-informed, neuroprotective, developmental care practices in the neonatal intensive care unit. She currently serves as the communications manager for the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT), co-chair of the annual NANT conference, and Board Member of the National Perinatal Association. Christy is a certified neonatal therapist (CNT) at MultiCare, a certified patient experience professional (CPXP) and transitioned recently to Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program at Whitworth University. Christy is passionate about domestic and global initiatives that advance infant mental health, parent empowerment and perinatal programs for underserved/high-risk infant-parent dyads. Dr. Gliniak strives to use innovation, advocacy, and research to elevate the NICU experience and long-term developmental outcomes for infants and families. Christy calls Spokane, WA her home where she resides as a military spouse and mother of two.  

Professor of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital | Medical Director,  National Coalition for Infant Health

Dr. Goldstein attended the University of Miami’s Honor Program in Medical Education and completed his pediatric residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Goldstein is board certified in Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.   

Dr. Goldstein is Editor-in-Chief of Neonatology Today, Chairman of Physicians Against Drugs Shortages, and Medical Director of the National Coalition for Infant Health. He is also the National Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Multidisciplinary Action Group 2 Section Forum Management Committee and past president of the National Perinatal Association.    

Dr. Goldstein advocates for improving the physician-industry relationship as crucial in providing exceptional care. He supports transparency, dialogue, and better engagement with industry to ensure that the most advanced pharmaceuticals and medical devices are developed and available for the most at-risk pediatric patients. 

Director of Maternal Health, Black Women’s Health Imperative

Dr. Harris currently serves as the director of maternal health for the Black Women’s Health Imperative. She is a behavioral health scientist, with a special focus on health equity, maternal health and women’s health. She is a mother of three, near miss survivor, doula, and birth justice advocate. She also serves as the Maternal Health Equity Advisor for the State of Maryland and the public health expert for the lactation commission in Washington, DC.

Dr. Harris is co-directing and producing a documentary called “Listen to Me” which explores four women at the frontlines of the Black maternal health movement walking the tightrope of racism and birth in America funded by Black Public Media.

She received her master’s degree in public health and international development from Morehouse School of Medicine and her PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan.

Executive Director, National Coalition for Infant Health

Susan Hepworth serves as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Infant Health, a collaborative of professional, clinical, community health and family support organizations focused on improving the lives of infants and their families. The coalition educates and advocates on behalf of infants from birth to age two and their families. Susan has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism and lives in Washington, DC.

Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology, Univ. of WI-Milwaukee 

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Michael Hynan is the father of Chris, who spent 42 days in a NICU in 1980. Afterward, he and his colleagues published a series of research studies on emotional distress in high-risk parents. He developed a questionnaire, the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ), which has been used both clinically and in many research studies. He was a board member of the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC). He serves on the editorial board of Journal of Perinatology. He is an emeritus board member of the National Perinatal Association (NPA) and a member of the NICU Parent Network. He is also a mentor for the National Network of NICU Psychologists. Mike has received the Outstanding Individual Award from Parent Care, the Callon-Leonard Award from WAPC, the Stanley Graven Award from NPA, and the Stanley and Mavis Graven Award from the Graven’s Conference. His e-mail is hynan@uwm.edu. 

Associate Director, CDER Drug Shortage Staff, FDA

Valerie Jensen is Associate Director of the Drug Shortage Staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She received a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Iowa in 1990. She completed an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Specialized Residency in Ambulatory Care at the White River Indian Health Service hospital in White River, Arizona in 1991. She worked as a clinical pharmacist for Indian Health Service hospitals in Arizona and New Mexico before joining FDA in 1999. She was one of the initial developers of FDA’s Drug Shortage Program and was named Associate Director in 2012.

Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA

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Susan Mayne is the Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this position, Dr. Mayne leads the Center’s development and implementation of programs and policies related to the composition, quality, safety, and labeling of foods, food and color additives, and cosmetics. CFSAN’s responsibilities also include fostering the development of healthier foods and ensuring that consumers have access to accurate and useful information to make healthy food choices.

An internationally recognized public health leader and scientist, Dr. Mayne received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Colorado. She earned a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, with minors in biochemistry and toxicology, from Cornell University.

As Director at CFSAN, she has overseen landmark activities including issuing numerous rules to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, releasing an updated Nutrition Facts label which includes added sugars for the first time, determining that industrially produced trans fats are not generally recognized as safe and thus cannot be added to foods, implementing menu labeling requirements, and issuing sodium reduction targets for industry to improve the healthfulness of the U.S. food supply.

CEO, Empowering NICU Parents | Novant Healthcare 

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Nicole Nyberg received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a minor in Psychology from Purdue University in 1998. She was a NICU nurse for over 10 years before she pursued her master’s degree from Rush University and became a board-certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in 2013. She started her NNP career at Carle Foundation Hospital where she was actively involved in her unit’s Family-Centered Care Committee and the Vermont Oxford Network Family-Centered Care Workgroup. She currently works as an NNP for OSF Healthcare and Novant Healthcare in the greater Charlotte area.  

After her son was delivered at 23 weeks, Nicole devoted herself to bringing awareness to the multitude of benefits of family-centered care by educating NICU families and members of the NICU care team. With her unique perspective, she brings awareness to the importance of parent partnerships by speaking at national conferences.  

Nicole shares her passion of supporting, educating, and empowering NICU parents outside of work through the organization she founded, Empowering NICU Parents. Nicole recently became a published author with the release of Our NICU Roadmap, a comprehensive NICU Journal.   

Clinical Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing | Policy Advisor, National Coalition for Infant Health

Suzanne Staebler, DNP, NNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN is currently a Clinical Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She maintains her clinical practice as an NP in Atlanta and works with the National Coalition for Infant Health as a policy advisor. 

Dr. Staebler completed her DNP at Texas Christian University where her doctoral work focused on designing regionalized care systems for high-risk mothers and neonates and the policy/cost implications of regionalized care delivery models. 

Her impact in health policy has been far reaching and she has received many prestigious awards and has held two policy fellowships including Faculty Policy Intensive Fellow from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the inaugural Georgia Nursing Health Policy Fellowship with the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University. She is a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing.

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Florida

Dr. Sandra Sullivan is a neonatologist, lactation consultant, and breastfeeding researcher in Florida. Dr. Sullivan earned her Bachelor of Science degree with honors and her Medical Degree from UF. She completed her pediatric residency and neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship also at UF. She founded the UF Health Center for Breastfeeding and Newborns, served as Medical Director of Lactation Services at UF Health Shands Children's Hospital and Medical Director of the UF Health NICU Follow-Up Clinic. She is board-certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics, and in lactation by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. 

Dr. Sullivan was integral in UF Health's achievements of Baby Friendly Hospital designation. She serves as a Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator for Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is a fellow of the AAP, and a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. She has presented as an invited lecturer and is involved in advocacy and civic activities. 

Physician Advocate, Nationwide Children's Hospital 

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Dr. Valencia P. Walker serves as Associate Chief Diversity and Health Equity Officer for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Additionally, she holds joint appointments as Associate Division Chief of Health Equity and Inclusion for the Division of Neonatology and Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. A practicing neonatologist, she champions the elimination of health inequities for pregnant people and their infants. Columbus, Ohio Mayor Andrew Ginther appointed her to CelebrateOne’s Strategic Planning Operational Working Group, which focuses on decreasing infant mortality rates, particularly for Black infants. Dr. Walker completed undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University and received her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. She finished a Pediatrics residency at UT Memphis and a Neonatology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She also obtained an MPH in Health Policy from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.