Board of Directors

Dr. Applegate is a public health physician, with special interest in maternal and infant health.  Promoting breastfeeding as a vital public health issue is one of Dr. Applegate’s long-time priorities.  She served for 15 years as medical director in the Division of Family Health at the New York State Department of Health, overseeing programs in maternal, infant, child and adolescent health.   She then served for 10 years as Associate Dean at the University at Albany (SUNY) School of Public Health.  Throughout both periods, she taught in the Department of Health Policy Management, and Behavior at the School, and she directed the New York State Preventive Medicine Residency Program, preparing physicians for leadership careers in public health.  She recently retired from the University, but retains a position as Clinical Professor of Social Behavior and Community Health.  In retirement, she is helping the school to strengthen its offerings in maternal & child health, and she is active in state and local organizations promoting breastfeeding and birth justice.  Dr. Applegate holds a BA in biochemistry from Smith College, an MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  She completed preventive medicine residency training at the New York State Department of Health and is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.  She is a past member of the Boards of Directors of the American College of Preventive Medicine and the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Lisa Eiland, MD, is the Division Lead for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, in Hackensack, New Jersey. In that role, she is responsible for caring for critically ill infants and their families. Throughout her career, she has worked to diminish the stress that patients and families experience during a NICU stay. A cornerstone of her efforts is family engagement, building a partnership to achieve optimal health and ensure patients meet their greatest potential. Lisa is the immediate Past President of the New York State Chapter 3 of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the State Health Equity Champion.

With over two decades of experience in clinical and public health practice as well as program development and policy advocacy at all levels, Kinkini has worked on a broad range of issues impacting the health and economic well-being of children, women and gender expansive persons, families and communities of color. She is the Founder and Principal of Sage Transformations, and partners with government, philanthropy, academia, social movements, communities, non-profit organizations and corporations to bring about organizational and leadership transformations to advance social, health and economic justice. Prior to this, Kinkini was Director of Community-Centered Design and Network in the Education Initiative of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropy with a Whole Child Approach to student success, managing a significant portfolio of partnerships and grants. She was the Director of Coalitions at the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), where she co-led the organization’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), belonging, and justice journey from its inception. Kinkini is committed to building ecosystems which advance new narratives and center the wisdom, leadership and decision-making power of individuals and communities which bear the greatest brunt of inequities in opportunities and access.

Dr. Berens received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas, Houston where she subsequently joined the faculty. Currently she serves as Professor and Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. She has an active clinical practice and teaches medical student and residents. She is an IBCLC and sees mothers referred for consultation with difficult breastfeeding complications. Her area of academic and educational focus has a foundation surrounding pregnancy and postpartum care, breastfeeding and breastfeeding complications. She is active in the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine previously serving as a board member, meeting co-chair and contributing to 3 separate ABM protocols. She has participated in various research projects related to breastfeeding. She is also active in outreach multidisciplinary breastfeeding education across the state of Texas with the Texas Department of State Health Services. She served as a physician co-leader for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality Texas Breastfeeding Learning Collaborative. In this role, she worked to encourage hospitals and providers across Texas to incorporate Baby Friendly Hospital Practices. She participates with the ACOG Breastfeeding Expert Work Group formed in 2014 and assists with their various endeavors to promote breastfeeding and educate Obstetricians further about the topic. She has written book chapters and published research on breastfeeding topics primarily relating to the maternal perspective and maternal breastfeeding complications.

Patrice has served women and children for the past 18 years, holding the positions of clinical nurse, charge nurse, lactation consultant, and nurse manager over the course of her career. She taught human lactation and breastfeeding for Columbia University medical students, while serving as the lead Lactation Consultant at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2018 with a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Currently, she is a Full Professor at Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences in Utah. She lives in Florida with her husband and two children, Samuel and Sariah.

Brian is the Director of Public Policy at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), where he advances safe and inclusive learning environments for LGBTQI+ students. A New Jersey native, Brian is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School. He has more than a decade of experience in federal policy, having worked to secure new civil rights protections, increased investments in the annual appropriations process, and improvements to federal programs. Brian served as the inaugural advocacy chair of the National LGBTQ+ Anti-Poverty Action Network and has previously worked in the anti-poverty, child nutrition, and disability rights communities. Most relevant to BFUSA is Brian’s work for six years at the National WIC Association. There he led a policy portfolio to strengthen nutrition and breastfeeding services for WIC families and was the leading public spokesperson for the Association during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 infant formula shortages. Brian fought to expand the value of the WIC benefit, enhance the nutritional quality of foods provided through WIC, shift program services to telehealth and online shopping as well as protect immigrant access to WIC services. In this role, he worked to elevate breastfeeding through increased investment in peer counseling services and advocating systems-level change in the wake of the 2022 infant formula recall.