Updated September 2026. This page replaces the April 2026 organizational chart.
Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities (BFFC) is the umbrella organization: an independent 501(c)(3) since October 2020, based in Durham, North Carolina, working from the Ten Steps to a Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community. Under that umbrella sit our pilot project, Breastfeed Durham; our national emergency-feeding project, the SAFE Infant Feeding Team; the communities we contract with or coach; and the students, volunteers, funders and research partners who make the work possible. This page shows how the pieces fit.
The umbrella: Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities
BFFC supports coalitions across five states. Our sites: breastfeedingcommunities.org (the model and the movement), breastfeeddurham.org (the pilot), safeinfantfeeding.org (emergencies), breastfeedfranklin.org and breastfeedorangenc.org. Reach us through the contact form.
- Steps 1 and 2, government and welcoming atmosphere: proclamation, signage, first responders trained, federal law upheld.
- Steps 3 to 5, health care: WHO optimal feeding guidance, pregnant families informed, breastfeeding friendly facilities.
- Step 6, community lactation support: services and support groups fully available.
- Steps 7 to 9, business: welcoming locations, the Code of Marketing, workplace accommodation.
- Step 10, education: supportive curricula at every level.
Breastfeed Durham: the pilot, since 2018
BFFC’s closest and longest-running implementation. Eight of ten steps passed, a county Human Milk Feeding Strategic Plan signed in 2025, nearly 400 recognized businesses and organizations, and a coalition of more than 2,000 advocates. Affinity coalitions: the Black Breastfeeding Coalition, Lactancia Latina and Un Día a la Vez, the LGBTQ+ Human Milk Feeding Coalition, the Tea and Milk Coalition, and Breastfeeding Friendly Healthcare Providers. Institutional partners include the Durham County Department of Public Health, Durham Public Schools and La Leche League of Durham. Detail lives at breastfeeddurham.org.
SAFE Infant Feeding Team: the national project, since 2024
Support and Advocacy for Infant Feeding in Emergencies. A project of BFFC, cofounded by the North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition, BFFC and the Asheville Breastfeeding Coalition, and launched in the Hurricane Helene response. SAFE has since consulted on emergencies in Virginia, Texas, California and Wisconsin, completed the eleven-session Nourishing Resilience training series, and is recognized as a deployable resource by national emergency-management partners. If BFFC is the blue skies strategy, SAFE is the gray skies strategy. Detail lives at safeinfantfeeding.org.
Communities
Contracted or funded implementation
- Breastfeed Durham, Durham County, NC. Pilot since 2018, in partnership with the Durham County Department of Public Health.
- Breastfeed Franklin, Franklin County, NC. Rural coalition coaching in partnership with the Franklin County Department of Public Health since 2023. Business pledges, first responder training, childcare designations, park signage.
- Breastfeed Guilford, Guilford County, NC. Began as a county health department contract and has become BFFC’s own project; BFFC employs the community health workers and a recruitment coordinator, and the county has the widest infant mortality disparity among North Carolina’s five largest counties. First responder training built here.
Technical assistance and coaching
- Breastfeed Orange NC (Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough). The original 2015 pilot. Carrboro completed all Ten Steps on June 17, 2025, the first community to do so; Chapel Hill and Hillsborough continue.
- Asheville and Buncombe County, NC. Locally funded coalition since 2019; its first responder relationships made the Helene response possible.
- Alleghany County, NC. Early stage, led by AppHealthCare; self-appraisal completed fall 2025.
- Northeast NC (eight counties). Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank and Perquimans; early coalition building and resource mapping.
- Sandhills Collaborative (five counties). Cumberland, Hoke, Montgomery, Richmond and Scotland; BFFC provides free technical assistance.
- Chatham County, NC. The EMBRACe coalition, nurtured with BFFC support, is now an independent nonprofit.
- Hampton Roads Region, VA. Coalition building toward the Ten Steps; self-appraisal completed fall 2025.
- Tuskegee, AL. A community in the making; self-appraisal completed December 2025.
- Wood County, WI. Paused; re-engagement planned.
- Pennsylvania (Chester, Wilkinsburg, Lycoming Clinton, PA AAP Chapter). Technical assistance only; strategic guidance as capacity allows.
Communities BFFC has worked with in the past are listed on Communities We Have Worked With. Self-appraisals are indexed at Community Self-Appraisals.
Statewide partner: North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition
NCBfC is BFFC’s statewide partner on special projects including the SAFE Infant Feeding Team, and several BFFC team members hold dual roles there. Chair: Love Anderson. Past Chair: Brandi Harrison. Health Equity Coordinator and Executive Assistant: Briana Smith. Awards Coordinator: Kathleen Anderson. ncbfc.org
University and research partners
- UNC Chapel Hill, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI): origin of the framework. Catherine Sullivan (Director) and Julia Bourg.
- UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health: Dr. Stephanie Martin and Dr. Heather Wasser, IYCF-E research and evaluation; MPH practicum students each year. An independent UNC study is testing whether Ten Steps implementation shows up in infant mortality data across BFFC communities.
- Temple University: MPH and MSW practicum students in program planning, policy and communications.
- UNC School of Social Work and Southern New Hampshire University: practicum placements beginning 2026.
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Dr. Cecilia Tomori, sociocultural determinants and equity-centered practice.
- Duke University: Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist, human milk sharing, ethics, SAFE training modules and the Photovoice project.
- NACCHO: BFFC is a 2026 Blueprint Peer Ambassador, helping local health departments implement the Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support Blueprint.
Who funds this work
BFFC braids many small and mid-sized sources so that community health workers and coordinators stay steadily employed across grant cycles. Current and recent funders, by project. Annual financial statements and Form 990s are on our Financial Transparency page.
- BFFC national work: NACCHO (Blueprint Peer Ambassador program); individual donors.
- Breastfeed Durham: Durham County Department of Public Health; MAG Mutual Foundation (Lactation Collaborative); New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (supplies); Church of the Immaculate Conception (Un Día a la Vez).
- SAFE Infant Feeding Team: Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation (Nourishing Resilience training series); Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (IYCF-E video training series); Baby Björn; La Leche League USA (emergency preparedness); a family gift in memory of Elsie Perry.
- Breastfeed Franklin: Franklin County Department of Public Health.
- Breastfeed Guilford: Heritage Home Group Charitable Trust; Guilford County Department of Public Health (founding contract).
- Fiscal sponsorship: BFFC serves as fiscal sponsor for the Birthstone Center for Appalachian Perinatal Resilience, with support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the ChildTrust Foundation.
Our people
BFFC Board of Directors
- Love Anderson, co-founder, President and CEO
- Fariha Rahman, MS, Chief Operating Officer
- Salma Ali, MPH
- Melissa Henry
- Linels Higuera Ancidey, MPH, IBCLC (joined July 2026)
- Kathleen Anderson, Board Member Emerita; lead facilitator, Breastfeed Orange NC
BFFC staff, students and volunteers
- Love Anderson, President and CEO
- Fariha Rahman, Chief Operating Officer
- Anaiyah Morgan, MPH, financial strategy and grants
- Ty Troped, MPH, communications fellow (newsletter, blog, website)
- Faith Cathey, recruitment coordinator, Breastfeeding Friendly Community Partners (Guilford County)
- Juliette Louer, Temple University MPH practicum, program planning and implementation (Guilford and Franklin, statewide Ten Steps assessment)
- Allyson Flores, UNC Gillings MPH practicum, policy (SAFE Meals policy, NC DPI, federal advocacy)
- Ijeamaka Achebe, UNC Gillings MRT-TI Scholar, Ten Steps Delphi study
- Lavette Williams, Southern New Hampshire University practicum, infant and young child feeding in emergencies (from September 2026)
- Rachel Doll, MPH, advisor; helped develop the NACCHO county implementation toolkit
- Erin Neuwald and Joy Tong, visual communications volunteers
- Ian Anderson, volunteer Chief Technology Officer
New MPH and MSW students join us every year, bringing fresh capacity in public health, policy, communications and financial strategy. Practicum opportunities.
Breastfeed Durham team
- Bernadette Greene, Executive Director and outreach lead
- Love Anderson, co-founder
- Rachel Lewis, board member
- Nicola Young, health care, Latina families, Lactation Collaborative co-founder
- Jess Woon, Lactation Collaborative co-founder
- Marissa Griffith, Lactation Collaborative coordinator
- Linels Higuera Ancidey, MPH, IBCLC, Spanish-speaking family support, Ready, Set, Baby and Centering Pregnancy facilitation
- Claudia Hines, Black Breastfeeding Coalition coordinator
- Nikki Bronson, business outreach coordinator
- Janiah Fladger, recognition and awards system
- Ushma Mehta, PhD, evaluation lead for the Human Milk Feeding Strategic Plan and continuity supervisor for fellows
- Jaquelyne Feliciano, Temple University, community outreach and recruitment fellow (2026 to 2027)
- Antoinette Fair, UNC School of Social Work MSW, community outreach and recruitment fellow (2026 to 2027)
- Ashley Schlageter, MPH, Family Festival support
- Layne Miller, MSN, volunteer, Human Milk Feeding Strategic Plan
SAFE Infant Feeding Team board
- Love Anderson, BFFC President and CEO
- Norma Escobar, IBCLC, FILCA, bilingual lactation care, Wilmington
- Ashley Mickelson, SLP, coordinator, evidence-based emergency feeding support
- Brandi Harrison, co-founder, field deployment and volunteer training lead
- Jayne Carpenter, co-founder, trauma-informed clinical feeding, Western NC
- Melinda Delisle, MS, LCCE, Operations Director, clinical nutrition and emergency protocols
- Corey Graywood, doula, trauma-informed and reproductive justice practice
- Paris Heidt Laliberte, coordinator, doula, perinatal mental health, statewide logistics
- Rachel Fann, coordinator, backend logistics, shelter and rural community focus
- Tashery Risner, trauma-informed doula, emergency preparedness
SAFE Team support
- Natasha Bowden, Buncombe Partnership for Children, Buncombe breastfeeding coalition facilitator
- Mikayla Dowell, doula, Western NC
- Marcelle Crago, doula, birth justice
- Melanie Ham, lactation professional, field response and volunteer training
- Savannah Keener, MPH, student support
- Lisa Ince, MPH intern
Community partners, Guilford County
- Jean Workman, MA, Guilford County Public Health
- Tairra Booth, Guilford County Government
- Andrea Harrell, Assistant City Manager, City of Greensboro
- Leatrice Priest, NC A&T Pathway 2 and Cone Health IBCLC
- Kiera Hereford and Brandi Collins-Calhoun, community health workers, Breastfeed Guilford
- Faith Cathey, recruitment coordinator
Community partners, Franklin County
- Maya Crudup, Franklin County Department of Public Health
- Yasaman Heydari, Franklin County Department of Public Health
- Tarra Nweke, BFFC facilitator, Breastfeed Franklin
- Lana Cooper, community partner
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