As a part of our ongoing commitment to transform world health through breastfeeding and skilled lactation care, ILCA is honored to welcome Michele Griswold, PhD, MPH, RN, IBCLC as our new advocacy advisor.
This position was created in response to requests from members and partners to strengthen ILCA’s position and representation of breastfeeding and skilled lactation care issues globally. The Advocacy Advisor will provide strategic support to the organization, coordination across ILCA’s current liaisons and global partnerships and also work with volunteers to advance issues related to breastfeeding and skilled lactation care at the regional and country levels.
By creating this new role, ILCA also hopes to further support the advocacy work of its Partners and deepen its participation in major efforts such as the Global Breastfeeding Collective, which brings together implementers and donors from governments, philanthropies, international organizations, civil society and is led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We are thrilled that Michele has agreed to step into this new role,” said ILCA President Mudiwah Kadeshe, MSN, RNC, LNC, IBCLC. “The additional coordination and support she will provide will serve to multiply many times over the critical efforts of our advocacy team.”
Griswold brings almost 20 years of experience in breastfeeding advocacy, including leading her state breastfeeding coalition’s policy and advocacy efforts. She has also held leadership positions in ILCA’s advocacy work since 2011. Specifically, she served as Chair of the former Global Outreach Committee, as an ILCA Liaison to the United Nations, and in 2014, was elected as Global Outreach Director to ILCA’s Board. Under her leadership, ILCA became engaged with the Global Breastfeeding Collective and NetCode, and she represented ILCA at key global meetings. As the outgoing ILCA board president, she also brings a deep knowledge of ILCA as an institution and how to best leverage ILCA’s strengths to support advocacy efforts.
“Advancing breastfeeding on the global agenda can have a powerful impact locally, both for families seeking skilled lactation support and for professionals who deliver that care,” said Griswold. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to focus on amplifying the work of our advocacy team.”
This role will also increase ILCA’s capacity to provide the expert guidance of our community when matters of breastfeeding are addressed at the global scale. “Lactation consultants are experts in the clinical support of breastfeeding families,” Griswold added. “Our collective knowledge should inform decision making surrounding global policies directly impacting breastfeeding families in our care.”
To contact Michele, please email her at michelegriswold@ilca.org.