Executive Committee
The principal responsibilities of the Executive Committee are to ensure that the mission and vision of the BCO are reflected in our goals, activities and governance.
Current BCO Executive Committee members:
Amelia Psmythe
Amelia Psmythe is the BCO Director.
Amelia Psmythe was a peer counselor and then Executive Director of Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon from 1999-2009. She has coordinated the Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon (BCO) since its inception in 2004, and was a leader in passing, promoting and implementing Oregon's landmark Rest Breaks for Breast Milk Expression laws, upon which the new federal protections for breastfeeding employees, Reasonable Breaks for Nursing Mothers, was based.
Amelia serves on the Milk Expression Advisory Committee for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry, the WorkLaw Taskforce of the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), and is the elected West Region Coalition Representative to the USBC. A major new area of work for 2011, Amelia leads a hospital outreach project to support evidence-based infant feeding practices and policies. An accomplished public speaker and advocatae, Amelia maintains the BCO website while serving as spokesperson for the coalition.
Amelia and her family live in Portland, Oregon, where the abundance of rain feeds their passion for whitewater rafting.
Contact: Amelia Psmythe, BCO Director | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Helen Bellanca, MD, MPH
Helen Bellanca serves the BCO Executive Committe as the medical advisor.
Helen is a family physicianwho has worked in health policy and advocacy for four years. Through her work at Oregon Public Health Institute, she was the coordinator of OHIPP (Oregon Health Insurers Partnering for Prevention) which is a collaborative effort of health plans to engage them in meaningful disease prevention efforts with a focus on breastfeeding. She also was the Principal Investigator on a survey-based assessment of all licensed child care providers in Multnomah County which examined their role in the prevention of childhood obesity. Accommodation of breastfeeding in child care settings was one of four key areas examined.
When Helen is not at work, she enjoys time with her husband Charles, their daughter Anya, dog LoLa, and two mischievous kittens Stella and Maxine. Helen loves hiking, kayaking, biking, gardening and cooking, and is always reading two or three books at a time.
Sheri McLoughlin
Sheri McLoughlin serves the BCO Executive Committee as the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon representative.
Sheri has been affiliated with Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon since 2001. She has served as President of the Board of Directors, as a Board Member At-Large and as a volunteer Development Chair. Prior to her involvement with Nursing Mothers Counsel, Ms. McLoughlin served four years with the Greater Birmingham (Alabama) affiliate of Habitat for Humanity where she co-founded a campus chapter and served as a member of the affiliate Board of Directors. Ms. McLouglin holds a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Samford University in Birmingham, AL and has worked as a teacher in Alabama and Oregon. She and her husband Sean live in Portland, OR with their three (formerly breastfed) children: Katie, Ellie and Jackson.
Debbie Alba, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Debbie Alba serves the BCO Executive Committee as the Western Steering Committee Chair.
Debbie Alba is a Lactation Consultant and Maternal Child Health Nurse for Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis where she serves new parents in the inpatient, outpatient, and home settings. Prior to this, Debbie has worked as a public health nurse for Benton County with pregnant and parenting teens, as a private lactation consultant for the Portland Tri-met area, and in a hospital based lactation program in San Fransisco. She has served on the steering committee and Board of Directors for the Oregon Washington Lactation Association, as president and initiator of the Breastfeeding Coalition of Benton County and has worked to form and facilitate an interdisciplinary group of breastfeeding advocates through Samaritan Lactation Services.
Debbie holds a Bachelor's in Science from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor's in Nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University. Sher received her nursing degree with honors in 2000 and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2002.
Debbie lives with her husband, children, goats, chickens, cats and dogs, outside of Philomath.
Marilyn Watkins, RN, IBCLC
Marilyn Watkins serves the BCO Executive Committee as the Eastern Steering Committee Chair.
Marilyn has been a Labor and Delivery Nurse for over twenty years with St Charles Medical Center in Redmond, Oregon. Early on, she found her passion in lactation and has focused on this for the last seventeen years. She became an IBCLC about eleven years ago. She has been attending the Central Oregon Breastfeeding Coalition for close to twenty years.
Marilyn loves working with new families and helping them to get a good start. She believes breastfeeding is often difficult, but support can the "tipping factor". Evidence-based care is changing the face of Lactation, helping to gain acceptance and ground within the scientific Medical Community. It is an exciting time to be involved, and Marilyn looks forward to working with the BCO to further the vision of supporting families and improving health.
Marilyn has three beautiful grandchildren who she loves to spoil. Her favorite activities are any kind of outside adventure. Living in beautiful, sunny Central Oregon allows her great opportunities for outdoor fun. She enjoys growing healthy organic food. She also loves to cook.
