Becky Mannel
COBA Chair
MPH, IBCLC, FILCA
Becky has worked in lactation for over 30 years. She developed and then managed the hospital-wide lactation service at OU Medical Center for 15 years. She is currently Director of the Oklahoma Breastfeeding Resource Center in the Department of OB/GYN at OU Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and Executive Director for the Oklahoma Mothers’ Milk Bank (OMMB). She leads the Becoming Baby-Friendly in Oklahoma project sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Becky also developed and oversees the Oklahoma Breastfeeding Hotline and provides professional training/education to Oklahoma hospitals to improve their breastfeeding care and outcomes, both OSDH-funded projects.
As a faculty member at OUHSC, Becky has developed a variety of trainings for health care and public health providers including the first formal clinical training in Oklahoma for aspiring lactation consultants. She has presented extensively at state, national and international professional conferences. Becky served 4 years on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Human Lactation and has served as Lead Editor for two editions of the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) textbook, Core Curriculum for Lactation Consultant Practice. She co-edited the 2018 Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care sponsored by the Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee.
Becky served a 2-year term, 2021 – 2022, as President of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) Board of Directors and represents HMBANA on the US Breastfeeding Committee. She is past Chair of the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) and past President of ILCA. Becky has represented the lactation consultant profession at national-level meetings, including those for the development of the 2011 U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding and at national strategy meetings sponsored by the CDC from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, Becky was elected as a full member of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and is involved in several lactation related research studies.
In 2017, Becky was awarded the Warren Crosby Champion for Maternal and Infant Health Award by the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative. This award is given for “championing efforts to improve outcomes for Oklahoma’s mothers and infants and going above and beyond to do what is right for the patients”.
Becky has been involved in COBA since its founding in 2000 and has served in various offices, including Chair 2006-2009 and 2012-2017.
She lives with her husband in Edmond, has 3 grown children and is a proud grandmother of 2.
Julia “JP” Profit has been a nurse since 1998, and received her bachelor’s degree with honors in nursing from Oklahoma City University in 2016. She is a member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and serves as Legislative Representative and a Director at Large with Region 2 of the Oklahoma Nurses Association (ONA).
Julia is Birthing Center Manager at Bailey Medical Center in Owasso, where she strives to empower her staff to take care of their patients and prepare her patients to take care of their babies. When JP wanted to help mothers stay close to home preparing for birth, she developed the curriculum, trained staff and launched a community-based childbirth education program so mothers wouldn’t have to drive to Tulsa to get the education they needed. In 2015, Julia received a Spirit of Achieving Cost Savings Award from the Oklahoma Hospital Association for a training program partnership with Hillcrest Medical Center which strengthened the Birthing Center staff’s involvement and flexibility.
Julia enjoys spending time with her family, including Dayton and Hunter — her beautiful grandchildren and the joy of her life.
Cheryl is a retired from active practice. She has been a registered nurse for over 47 years and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for 13 years. She served as the lead for Hillcrest Medical Center’s initial Baby-Friendly designation.
Prior to working at Hillcrest, Cheryl worked as an Education Specialist and Clinical Nurse Manager at Oklahoma State University Medical Center. She has served as a board member with the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) for 14 years in various capacities, including Director of Public Relations, Secretary, President-Elect and President. She was on the faculty for ICEA Basic Teacher Training and Postnatal Educator Workshops for many years.
Cheryl lives in Verdigris, Oklahoma with husband, Bob. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Cheryl is passionate about Sooner sports, the Chicago Cubs, Oklahoma City Thunder, breastfeeding families, and doing the Happy Breastmilk Dance.
As a teen mother, Alexis struggled to breastfeed her son and felt incredibly defeated. She saw very little support or guidance from her community. When she was pregnant with her second child 3 years later, she knew she would try to breastfeed again though she was full of doubt and fear. It was during this pregnancy that she discovered her local La Leche League group. With the support of a kind Leader and group of regularly attending women, she was able to successfully breastfeed her second son until he was 18 months old. She has since added two more breastfed children to her family.
Alexis has served her community in many ways. She became a La Leche League Leader in 2013 where she served the rural communities of South West Oklahoma, then she relocated to Mustang, Oklahoma where she continues to serve that part of Central Oklahoma. In 2016 she partnered with the Best for Babes Foundation as a volunteer Miracle Milk Stroll Coordinator and social media contributor. In 2017 she accepted a position as a WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor at the largest WIC clinic in the state of Oklahoma. In 2018 she became an Emerging Leader with United Way of Oklahoma. These positions I have given her the opportunity to support nursing families while bringing awareness and education to underserved communities. Her hope for COBA is that it can grow to fully accommodate our state’s needs while reducing disparities in breastfeeding.
When they have down time, Alexis and her husband Steven and four children enjoy traveling and loving on their small flock of chickens.
Malinda Webb
COBA Board Member at Large
MD
A native of Beaver, Oklahoma, Malinda completed her undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University. She attended the University of Oklahoma for medical school. Her pediatric residency was completed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She then stayed in Little Rock to run the newborn nursery rotation for residents and medical students. She also completed WellStart training in San Diego, one of the first lactation educational curriculums for physicians. She later worked part time for the Arkansas Department of Health’s Office of Breastfeeding Services.
Dr. Webb and her family moved to Stillwater in 1997 where she joined the large pediatric group in town that later became Stillwater Pediatrics. She still practices full time. Since moving to Oklahoma, she has served as the OKAAP Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator for more than one term. She has helped with WIC training on breastfeeding and has given several presentations regarding lactation. She is a current member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and the Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding.
Malinda and her husband Steve love living in Stillwater. They have a daughter who has received her PhD from Stanford in Art History and is currently doing a postdoctoral fellowship in Istanbul, Turkey. Their son lives with his wife in Little Rock where he works as an engineer for a large trucking firm and she attends nursing school. The family dog, Roxie, is the latest member of the family and keeps them both busy. When not working, Malinda enjoys reading, needlework and taking the dog for walks.
Maggie Green
COBA Board Member at Large
LCSW, CFSW
Maggie Green is a licensed clinical social worker and is the founder of Greenwercs Coaching, Counseling, Consulting Services. Maggie has over 10 years of clinical social work experience in the medical and public health arena, with emphasis in social determinants of health, health equity, maternal mental health, infant mortality, and medical social work. She has been chosen as an Oklahoma NextGen Under 30 and has been featured on panels, in newspaper articles, and facilitated classes advocating for better health in Oklahoma.
Maggie was born and raised in Oklahoma City and earned a full division 1 athletic scholarship in basketball to Nicholls State University. Afterwards, she went on to get her master’s in social work at Wichita State University. In completion of her master’s program, Maggie decided to move back home to Oklahoma City to serve her community. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, and the Links Incorporated where she serves on the executive board for both organizations. Her immediate family consists of her partner, Jessica, soon-to-be-born baby boy Ayden Elijah, her parents Maggie and Elbert, her brother Bryson, and 3 dogs. Maggie enjoys traveling, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.
In her spare time she likes to spend time with her family and sorority sisters. Her favorite quote is “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”-Maya Angelou
Rose Hurd
COBA Board Member at Large
Rose Hurd is a certified lactation counselor and says her love for maternal health began when she was young. She would often hear stories about her midwife great grandmother and was curious to know more about childbirth. Rose studied at Oklahoma State University earning a bachelor of science degree in human development and family sciences with an early childhood education emphasis.
In addition to her role as WIC breastfeeding peer counselor in Tulsa, she is a certified birth doula and GentleBirth educator at With Love Doulas where she helps facilitate safe, positive and empowering birth experiences by offering information and emotional and physical support needed during this time.
Kelsey Watkins
COBA Board Member at Large
MS-RDN LD
Kelsey is a registered dietitian nutritionist and licensed dietitian with a Bachelor of Arts in Nutrition Sciences from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Arts in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. Kelsey started her career in a private pediatrics practice and then became the WIC breastfeeding coordinator and lead dietitian at Variety Care, a non-profit community health center in Oklahoma City, where she led group nutrition and breastfeeding education classes covering topics including nutrition during pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding, and iron deficiency. She most recently served the WIC State Office as breastfeeding resource specialist , designing and implementing virtual breast pump trainings for local staff. She also adapted the annual WIC Breastfeeding Educator Course to be conducted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelsey resides in Bixby with her husband and young son.
Jariann Thomas
COBA Board Member at Large
Attorney
Jariann is a 3rd generation Oklahoman from El Reno. She has lived in Oklahoma for all her adult life and is married to Michael Thomas, a technology entrepreneur. They have three children: Madison (8), Mila (6) and Mae (3 months), of which all have been breastfed.
Jariann graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Public Relations and then earned a Juris Doctorate from the OU College of Law. She worked on the regulatory side of the oil and gas industry at two law firms after passing the bar exam, before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom in 2020.
DeAndre Opoku
COBA Board Member at Large
Director of Health Equity and Wellness, YWCA-Tulsa
Originally from Okmulgee, DeAndre received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Langston University and master’s degree in Public Health from Florida International University. She was then commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Public Health Officer. For six years, she managed Occupational and Community Health programs, completed multiple Humanitarian Deployments in Central America, and International Flight Medicine and Public Health missions. After fulfilling her military commitment, she worked for the Texas Department of Health as a HIV/STD Manager and Maryland Department of Health as the Biomedical Intervention Coordinator.
In her role at the YWCA, she oversees the health and wellness programming and expands YWCA’s focus to include health equity. In her leisure time, she enjoys being a soccer/gymnastic/dance/football mom to her 9-year-old twins.
Heidi was drawn to the Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates and the executive director position in part due to COBA’s dedicated and committed volunteer board of directors, its focused strategic plan, and its endless potential. She finds it tremendously encouraging to see the partnership possibilities with statewide and national organizations willing to collaborate and share resources to ensure Oklahoma families feel supported and empowered as they strive to give their children every opportunity to grow healthy and strong.
Heidi is excited to utilize her 25-plus years as a nonprofit healthcare fundraising professional to promote, protect and support breastfeeding in Oklahoma, and is eager to learn about our community and meet our key stakeholders.
Heidi is the youngest of five children with number four being her identical twin sister, Heather. The sisters are so close they even chose the same profession, planning numerous projects and events together over the years. Several years ago, Heather introduced Heidi to a phrase she now repeats frequently: teamwork makes the dream work!
Heidi Fun Facts: Native Michigander; raised in northeastern Oklahoma (hello Green Country!); married 25 years with one son who begins at the University of Oklahoma (Boomer!) this fall; loves Jazzercise, weekends at the lake, and walking her Doberman, Diamond; carries her Kindle almost everywhere.
Favorite quote:
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi
Maggie Green, LCSW
Oklahoma City
Owner, Greenwerks Counseling, Coaching, Consulting
Social Worker, OKC County Health Dept.
Maternal & Child Health Outreach
Monica Henning, MD
Tulsa
OB/GYN faculty, University of Oklahoma
Focus Forward Oklahoma—a joint initiative with Oklahoma HealthCare Authority, OU and OSU Health Sciences Centers.
Student Clerkship
Director
Donna Lawrence, MS
Oklahoma City
President and Founder
Success Redesign
April Stuart, MPH
Oklahoma City
Director of Grants & Programs
Presbyterian Health Foundation
Amanda Swain, JD
Oklahoma City
Partner
Swain Trusts & Estates Law
Malinda Webb, MD
Stillwater
Pediatrician
Breastfeeding Chair, OK AAP
