Mom & Me MD
by Jess Daigle M.D. FAAP
Concierge Newborn & Postpartum Care
Tieast K. Leverett
❤ Opening Keynote Speaker
From NICU to Home: What Families Need for the Journey Ahead
Tieast K. Leverett is a NICU parent, advocate, and organizational leader. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the NICU Parent Network, a national organization focused on strengthening the role of families in newborn and infant care.
That commitment to how people are supported carries into her professional work. As Manager of Philanthropy, Corporate Volunteerism, and Business Resource Groups at Stellantis North America, Tieast builds the structures that determine whether an organization genuinely supports its people or only intends to. She leads the company's North American volunteerism program, oversees eleven employee resource groups, and co-chairs its accessibility-focused group both regionally and globally. She is a national conference speaker and panelist, most recently at the Disability: IN Global Conference.
She holds a B.A. in Biology from DePaul University and is completing an MBA with a concentration in AI Management at the Jack Welch Management Institute.
Tieast is the mother of three, including a son whose NICU journey shaped her advocacy for families navigating life after discharge. She lives in Michigan.
SESSION 1 - 10:15–11:15 AM
When the Monitors Are Gone: Preparing for the Transition from NICU to Home
Coming home from the NICU can bring relief, joy, uncertainty, and a whole new set of questions.
This opening panel explores what families may experience once the monitors are gone and the care team is no longer just down the hall. Together, clinicians and parent voices will discuss discharge preparation, follow-up care, readmission concerns, care coordination, and the practical realities of those first days and weeks at home.
This session is designed to help families feel less blindsided by the transition and more supported as they begin navigating life beyond the NICU.
Moderator
Jessica Daigle, MD, FAAP
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Dr. Jessica Daigle is a board-certified pediatrician, neonatal/pediatric hospitalist, speaker, author, and Founder & CEO of Mom & Me MD. As a mother of two preemies, including a NICU graduate, she understands the NICU journey from both sides of the bedside. That lived and clinical experience led her to create the NICU to Home™ Conference—because discharge may end the hospitalization, but it does not end the questions, adjustment, healing, or support families need.
A nationally recognized speaker and educator, Dr. Daigle has delivered keynote presentations for neonatal and maternal-infant health conferences and has been featured as a guest on national podcasts focused on pregnancy, birth trauma, NICU care, and the postpartum experience. Through her clinical work, education, and advocacy, she is committed to helping families feel prepared, supported, and empowered after discharge while helping professionals better understand what families continue to carry beyond the NICU. She is also building Tiny Steps NICU Grad Care, a specialized follow-up model supporting feeding, growth, development, care coordination, and family well-being after discharge.
Panelist
Alyssa S. BSN, RN
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Alyssa is a NICU nurse with 5 years of experience caring for critically ill newborns, including extremely premature and medically complex infants.
Her experience at the bedside and in a NICU follow-up clinic has shaped her passion for helping families better understand the NICU experience and feel more prepared as they transition home. Outside of the NICU, Alyssa is a mom and content creator who shares approachable, easy-to-digest education about newborn and NICU care.
Through her work, she aims to make intensive care feel a little less intimidating for both new parents and new nurses. She is passionate about bridging the gap between the NICU and home by empowering parents with knowledge, confidence, and support as they navigate their baby's journey.
Panelist
Danielle Maillet, MSNEd, RNC-NIC, C-NNIC, CNE
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Danielle is a NICU Discharge Coordinator with over 30 years of nursing experience, mostly in neonatal care.
She is an educator and is pursuing her PhD in nursing with a research focus in neonatal neurodevelopment. She is passionate about the tiniest patients and their families and works to optimize outcomes in the NICU and transition-to-home space. Danielle received her BSN at Fairfield University in Connecticut, then served in the Army Nurse Corps.
After 25 years of bedside nursing and homeschooling her kids, she earned her MSNEd from Western Governors University and is on track to graduate with her PhD from Augusta University in Georgia. Danielle wants everyone to know that it is never too late to pursue your dreams.
Panelist
Deepti Topare, MHA / NICU Mom
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Deepti Topare is a healthcare professional with a background in Dentistry from India and a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) in the United States. Her professional experience gives her a strong foundation in healthcare, while becoming a mother to two premature babies born at 24 and 31 weeks gave her a deep understanding of the emotional and practical realities of the NICU.
Having lived through the uncertainty, fear, resilience, and hope of the NICU, Deepti understands how overwhelming it can be for parents to process medical information, make decisions, and find their voice during an intensely vulnerable time. Her experience fuels her commitment to advocacy and shapes writing that is clear, compassionate, and grounded in the realities NICU families face.
Through her voice, Deepti helps NICU parents better understand their baby’s care, prepare for conversations with healthcare providers, and advocate with greater confidence. She offers reassurance, practical perspective, and emotional support to help parents feel less alone and more empowered throughout their journey. Her purpose is to remind families that their questions matter, their voices belong in their baby’s care, and even in the smallest moments, hope can take root and carry them forward.
Panelist
Marcia Bishop, DNP, NNP-BC
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Marcia Bishop, pronounced “mar-see-uh,” is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner with more than four decades of experience in neonatal care. She began her career as a bedside NICU nurse and has since served in neonatal transport, NICU leadership, research, education, and advanced clinical practice.
Marcia currently co-chairs the Education and Protocol Development Committee for the Neonatology Division of Millennium Medical Group and serves with several maternal-infant health, professionalism, and peacebuilding organizations.
Her work is rooted in evidence-based practice, family-centered care, and improving outcomes for babies and families during and beyond the NICU experience.
SESSION 2 - 11:15 AM–12:15 PM
Feeding From NICU to Home — Why It Can Still Feel So Hard
Feeding after the NICU can be one of the most emotional and confusing parts of the transition home.
This session brings together lactation, feeding therapy, medical, and parent perspectives to talk about the questions families often carry around feeding, growth, weight gain, feeding plans, oral skills, stress at mealtimes, and knowing when to ask for more support.
Whether a baby is bottle-feeding, breastfeeding/chestfeeding, tube-feeding, combination feeding, or still finding their rhythm, this conversation is here to help families feel more informed, more supported, and less alone.
Moderator
Portia L. Williams, BSN, RN, IBCLC, RLC
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Portia Williams is a Maternal Child Health Quality Improvement Advocate, registered nurse, subject matter expert, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and PreEclampsia/NICU survivor with more than 21 years of maternal-child health experience.
Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, Portia serves as Director of Clinical Lactation for HER Institute, Regional Coordinator for Baby Café USA, a member of the PreEclampsia Foundation Patient Advisory Council, and the first Black Chair of the IBLCE Commission on Practice.
Her personal NICU and PreEclampsia experience fuels her passion for supporting families through culturally relevant care, breastfeeding education, and community-based support. She is committed to increasing the number of minority lactation consultants, mentoring future birthing and breastfeeding professionals of color, and helping reduce breastfeeding, infant, and maternal health disparities.
Panelist
Adriana Rusch, MOT, OTR/L, SWC, SCFES, NTMTC, IBCLC, CNT
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Adriana is a licensed Occupational Therapist, Certified Neonatal Therapist, Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the founder of Brilliant Babies. Specialized in infant neurodevelopment and feeding, she brings years of intensive NICU experience to help families navigate the transition from hospital to home.
Adriana holds California advanced practice and AOTA certifications in feeding, eating, and swallowing, as well as certification in Neonatal Touch and Massage. Dedicated to supporting medically complex infants, she bridges the gap between clinical care and everyday life at home. Known for her compassionate approach, Adriana provides parents with the practical tools and support they need during the critical early months. My mission is to support families through every step of their infant’s feeding journey by addressing complex feeding concerns, nurturing developmental skill progression, and helping parents build the confidence to turn mealtime into a place of connection and joy.
Panelist
Amanda Dickinson, PhD, parent, disability advocate
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Amanda Dickinson, PhD, is a mother, educator, writer, and disability advocate whose personal and professional worlds have become deeply intertwined.
A former professor and director of Exercise Science, Amanda’s greatest education has come through raising her two sons, Kaden and Kaleb. Kaleb’s complex medical and disability journey has shaped much of her advocacy work, including serving in medical outreach with the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network, speaking to families and professionals, and serving on multiple boards.
She founded and leads Mighty Miracles Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities and their families. Amanda is also a writer and speaker who uses storytelling, humor, and hard-earned perspective to encourage others navigating life’s unexpected turns. She and her husband, TJ, also own and operate multiple SERVPRO franchises in Oklahoma.
Panelist
Derica N. Sams, MD
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Derica N. Sams, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician with subspecialty fellowship training in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition. She completed her fellowship at Vanderbilt University and pediatric residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her MD from Morehouse School of Medicine and a BS in Biology with a minor in Educational Studies from Emory University.
Her clinical interests include functional GI disorders, weight management, and integrative pediatrics. Dr. Sams is an active member of NASPGHAN, OMA, ABGH, AMA, AMWA, and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. She received the American Gastroenterological Association’s “Poster of Distinction” for inflammatory bowel disease research, as well as an NIH T32 training grant for pediatric obesity research. She was recently named an Atlanta Magazine Top Doc for 2026!
Dr. Sams serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine and enjoys family time, reading, music, and meditation.
Panelist
Mina Ognjanovic, MHA, IBCLC, PMH-C
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As a lactation consultant at UCLA Health and Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, I provide evidence-based, non-judgmental, and individualized support to mothers and families in the NICU and outpatient settings. I have over 17 years of experience as an IBCLC, certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®), and a background in women's and child health.
My passion is to help parents discover the joy and fulfillment of parenthood through breastfeeding, especially in challenging situations such as prematurity, tongue tie, low milk production, and other complex feeding issues. I collaborate with pediatricians and other specialty providers in the area and participate in performance and quality improvement activities and outcomes projects. I also educate staff and the community on basic and advanced breastfeeding management. I strive to create a culture of empathy, curiosity, and vulnerability that enables us to do our best work.
SESSION 3 - 12:15–1:15 PM
Healing Beyond the NICU: Grief, Trauma, and the Story You Are Still Carrying
The NICU experience does not always end when a baby comes home.
For many families, the emotional weight of the NICU can show up days, months, or even years later — through grief, anxiety, fear, hypervigilance, medical trauma, or the quiet realization that survival mode never fully turned off.
This session creates space for the emotional story families may still be carrying after discharge. Through clinical insight, trauma-informed support, bereavement perspective, and lived experience, this conversation will explore what healing can look like when families are finally given room to name what they have been through.
Moderator
Jessica Daigle, MD, FAAP
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Dr. Jessica Daigle is a board-certified pediatrician, neonatal/pediatric hospitalist, speaker, author, and Founder & CEO of Mom & Me MD. As a mother of two preemies, including a NICU graduate, she understands the NICU journey from both sides of the bedside. That lived and clinical experience led her to create the NICU to Home™ Conference—because discharge may end the hospitalization, but it does not end the questions, adjustment, healing, or support families need.
A nationally recognized speaker and educator, Dr. Daigle has delivered keynote presentations for neonatal and maternal-infant health conferences and has been featured as a guest on national podcasts focused on pregnancy, birth trauma, NICU care, and the postpartum experience. Through her clinical work, education, and advocacy, she is committed to helping families feel prepared, supported, and empowered after discharge while helping professionals better understand what families continue to carry beyond the NICU. She is also building Tiny Steps NICU Grad Care, a specialized follow-up model supporting feeding, growth, development, care coordination, and family well-being after discharge.
Panelist
Anitra J. Green, LCSW
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Anitra J Green is a licensed clinical social worker and the CEO of Taylormade Behavioral Health Solutions, a mental health counseling, consulting and training company that specializes in grief and loss.
Anitra is also the author of a children's grief book called The Day Grandpop's Music Stopped published in 2024. Anitra resides in Delaware with her husband and her daughter Amari.
Panelist
Atara Parkinson, LMFT
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Atara is a licensed mental health clinician and has been practicing for 14 years. She is a 3x NICU mom and co-founder of the NICU Hearts Collective, an online community and resource library for NICU families.
Panelist
Onyi Okeke, MD
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Dr. Onyi Okeke is a Yale-trained women’s mental health and child and adolescent psychiatrist who serves as co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Muna Psychiatry Group, a physician-led psychiatric practice serving women, children, and families across Texas. She is board-certified in Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Her clinical work focuses on women’s mental health, reproductive psychiatry, and supporting mothers and families through pregnancy, postpartum transitions, medical complexity, and periods of significant stress. Her work includes addressing the emotional and psychiatric impact of high-risk pregnancy, complicated birth experiences, and NICU hospitalization on mothers and the broader family system. Dr. Okeke is passionate about ensuring that maternal mental health is recognized as essential to caring for the whole family.
Panelist
Stephanie Vaughan,
MPS, CAPM®
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Stephanie Vaughan is an innovator and parent-advocate reimagining how families and clinicians understand early medical trauma. As Co-Founder and Head of Research and Innovation at Nurtureum, she develops predictive recovery tools that unite biomedical discovery with trauma-informed care.
Inspired by her family's experience with the NICU, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), Stephanie works to translate science into compassionate, practical solutions that strengthen resilience from the start of life. Her mission blends rigorous research with human connection—creating pathways that help newborns, children, and their families heal and thrive together.
SESSION 4 - 2:00–3:00 PM
Growing Beyond the NICU: Development, Everyday Life & the First Year at Home
After the NICU, many families wonder what to expect next.
Is my baby on track?
Should I be using corrected age?
When should I ask for a referral?
What kind of support is available if something feels different?
This session focuses on development, movement, regulation, sleep, early intervention, and the first one to two years after NICU discharge. With perspectives from developmental care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, sleep support, and lived experience, this panel will help families better understand what growth can look like beyond the NICU — with less panic, more context, and more practical next steps.
Moderator
Erin Kinney, MA
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Erin Kinney is a self-advocate, speaker, and human services professional whose work is rooted in her own history as a micro-preemie and recipient of early intervention services. She serves as Secretary and Outreach Coordinator for See Us Shine, a Northern Nevada nonprofit dedicated to helping the special needs community access resources and navigate services.
She has spent over 15 years in Nevada’s human services system, including roles as a Developmental Specialist under the state’s Early Intervention program, and currently serves as Consulting Administrator for The Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices, a national nonprofit advancing person-centered thinking in human services. An active Toastmasters member, she speaks widely on transition, advocacy, and the lived experience of growing up in early intervention and disability services.
Panelist
Jane Cranston, OTR-MOT, BCP, CNT, NTMTC
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Jane Cranston, OTR-MOT, BCP, CNT, NTMTC, is a board-certified pediatric and nationally certified neonatal occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience supporting high-risk infants and families across NICU, early intervention, and home-based settings.
She specializes in neuroprotective, trauma-informed care and has completed advanced training in Trauma-Informed Care, with a deep commitment to advancing equitable, family-centered services from hospital to home.
Jane is the founder of Tiny Transitions Therapy Consulting PLLC, a practice focused on developmental therapy, caregiver coaching, mentorship, and professional education. She has presented nationally in the U.S. at AOTA and NANT and internationally at WFOT and in Brazil. She also serves as a guest lecturer for several university occupational therapy programs.
Jane was recently elected to the Board of Directors for NBCOT and currently serves as the University and Student Liaison for the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT), where she works to expand student engagement and promote increased representation in neonatal care worldwide.
Panelist
Jenna Lammers, MSR/PT, CNT, PCS
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Jenna Lammers, MPT, CNT, PCS, is a pediatric physical therapist, researcher, and co-founder of Boost Therapeutic Innovations. For more than 25 years, she has partnered with medically complex infants, children, and families across NICU, PICU, outpatient, home, and community settings.
Jenna is the inventor of the Therapeutic Play Gym, a caregiver-mediated rehabilitation system designed to increase opportunities for self-initiated movement. Study participants demonstrated significant improvements in fitness, function, and caregiver-reported quality of life. Caregiver insights from this work inspired the Neonatal Therapeutic Play Gym and Hospital2Home concepts, which extend developmental support across hospitalization, discharge, and home life.
An APTA Innovation Shark Tank winner and national presenter, Jenna is passionate about translating research into practical tools that equip caregivers with confidence, hope, and evidence-informed strategies. Her work focuses on reducing barriers to pediatric rehabilitation and helping children experience meaningful opportunities for movement, play, participation, and connection throughout the NICU-to-home journey.
Panelist
Jessica Kalia, DO, FAAP, IBCLC
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Dr. Jessica Kalia is a board certified neonatologist and pediatrician that practices in several South Florida NICUs and has been in practice for over 18 years.
She grew up in NJ and completed her medical training in the midwest and northeast. She helped establish a neonatal follow up clinic in Reading, Pennsylvania before relocating to South Florida with her family in 2015. In 2022, she started a private practice where she saw newborns, NICU graduates and provided 4th Trimester care for families.
Although she no longer sees patients in her private practice, she is available in the community to help parents navigate the post NICU world. She speaks at hospital events and parent support groups and often posts helpful NICU related topics to instagram, facebook, and on her website at www.preemiepeds.com.
In addition, Dr. Kalia is an international board certified lactation consultant. Her knowledge of breastfeeding helps families both in and out of the NICU. She loves being a resource for parents to help navigate the post NICU world.
Panelist
Kenyon Gatlin, Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant | NICU & G-Tube Mom
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Kenyon Gatlin is a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant, founder of Nite Nite Baby, and a NICU mom to a medically complex child. Her family’s journey included navigating a G-tube, ongoing therapies, developmental support, and the many challenges that can come with bringing a medically complex baby home from the NICU. That experience showed her firsthand how overwhelming the transition home can be physically, mentally, and emotionally, especially when chronic sleep deprivation is layered on top.
Today, Kenyon supports families of children ages 0–5 in helping their children build healthy, independent sleep skills in a way that considers the needs of the child and family as a whole. She also uses her platform to support NICU families after discharge by sharing resources around growth, development, medical equipment, safe sleep, and finding the support families often need once they are home.
SESSION 5 - 3:10–4:10 PM
Finding Your Voice: Advocacy, Support and Asking for What Your Family Needs
The NICU experience does not always end when a baby comes home.
For many families, the emotional weight of the NICU can show up days, months, or even years later — through grief, anxiety, fear, hypervigilance, medical trauma, or the quiet realization that survival mode never fully turned off.
This session creates space for the emotional story families may still be carrying after discharge. Through clinical insight, trauma-informed support, bereavement perspective, and lived experience, this conversation will explore what healing can look like when families are finally given room to name what they have been through.
Moderator
Nekia Mba, PMP®, Founder & Executive Director, Faces of H.O.P.E.
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Nekia Mba, PMP®, is a Continuity of Care Advocate, strategist, speaker, and Founder of Faces of H.O.P.E., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing education, advocacy, and continuity of care for families navigating NICU stays, high-risk pregnancy, and pregnancy and infant loss, with a particular commitment to military-connected families.
As a military spouse and NICU mother, Nekia understands firsthand the complexities families can face navigating care across providers, communities, duty stations, and major life transitions. Her professional background in strategy, program development, and project management informs her systems-focused approach to strengthening healthcare handoffs, improving access to information and resources, and helping families remain connected to needed support.
Through Faces of H.O.P.E., Nekia works to bridge gaps between clinical care, home, and community so families are better equipped and supported throughout their journey.
Panelist
Annah Mobus, CMAA | Healthcare Administrator, Parent & Disability Advocate, Lactation Specialist
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Annah Mobus, CMAA, is a healthcare administrator, parent advocate, disability advocate, and lactation specialist from Bowling Green, Kentucky. For more than a decade, she has worked in Kentucky’s Medicaid waiver and home-health system, managing documentation and eligibility processes while hiring, training, and supervising healthcare staff. She has also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and Citizen Foster Care Review Board volunteer.
As a disabled mother with spinal muscular atrophy, Annah brings firsthand experience from her son’s birth at 28 weeks, his 87-day NICU stay, and multiple respiratory PICU admissions after discharge. She previously spoke at a Cure SMA Summit about NICU parenting from a disabled mother’s perspective. Her work focuses on helping families find their voices, navigate complex systems, and receive informed, compassionate, and accessible support.
Panelist
Brandi Johnson, MSW, LMSW
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Brandi Johnson, MSW, LMSW, is a licensed master social worker, educator, therapist, NICU parent advocate, and co-founder of Legend’s Legacy. Her professional background includes behavioral health, public health, reproductive and maternal-child health, family support, community engagement, and social work education.
Brandi’s advocacy is also deeply personal: her son, Legend, was born at 24 weeks and 6 days and spent approximately five months in two New Orleans NICUs before coming home on supplemental oxygen. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, Brandi works to help families navigate the emotional, developmental, and systems-related challenges that can continue long after NICU discharge. She is especially passionate about culturally responsive support, parent advocacy, and helping families recognize their voice as an essential part of their child’s care team.
Panelist
Kesha Silvera, NICU RN, CCRN, IBCLC
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Kesha Silvera is a critical care NICU nurse, IBCLC, mother, and founder of Global NICU Architect, where she serves as the Global Architect of NICU-to-Home Care.
Her work is centered on redefining life after NICU discharge by helping families reconnect with their intuition, find their voice, and feel supported, secure, and empowered as they transition home. Drawing from both her clinical expertise and lived experience as a mother, Kesha is passionate about creating peaceful arrivals and calm, confident beginnings for families after the NICU.
She believes parents are essential members of the care team and should feel confident asking questions, advocating for their needs, and participating in decisions surrounding their baby’s care. Her mission is to help bridge the gap between hospital discharge and life at home through education, collaboration, and compassionate support.
Panelist
Randalle Lewis, Maternal Health Advocate/Doula NICU MOM
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Randalle Lewis is the Advocacy & Coalition Manager at the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island, where she leads regional maternal health initiatives aimed at expanding equitable access to doula care, strengthening Medicaid systems, and advancing meaningful hospital–community partnerships.
Her commitment to equity is deeply rooted in her previous work with Suffolk County, where she championed strategies that broadened access to civil service opportunities. Randalle played a key role in ensuring that information about civil service pathways was widely disseminated across underrepresented communities and worked to identify and remove structural barriers that limited participation in the civil service process. This systems‑level work continues to inform her approach to building fair, inclusive, and community‑centered health initiatives.
With a background in healthcare recruiting, Randalle brings a workforce and systems lens to strengthening maternal and behavioral health pipelines—prioritizing diversity, cultural responsiveness, and pathways that reflect the communities they serve.
As a new doula, wife, and mom of three, Randalle grounds her advocacy in lived experience. She works to ensure that policy, practice, and community voices move in alignment to improve outcomes for birthing people, families, and those most impacted by inequities in care.
Community Conversation - 4:10–5:00 PM
What Families Wish More People Understood About the NICU-to-Home Journey
Coming home from the NICU can bring relief, joy, uncertainty, and a whole new set of questions.
This opening panel explores what families may experience once the monitors are gone and the care team is no longer just down the hall. Together, clinicians and parent voices will discuss discharge preparation, follow-up care, readmission concerns, care coordination, and the practical realities of those first days and weeks at home.
This session is designed to help families feel less blindsided by the transition and more supported as they begin navigating life beyond the NICU.
Moderator
Jessica Daigle, MD, FAAP
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Dr. Jessica Daigle is a board-certified pediatrician, neonatal/pediatric hospitalist, speaker, author, and Founder & CEO of Mom & Me MD. As a mother of two preemies, including a NICU graduate, she understands the NICU journey from both sides of the bedside. That lived and clinical experience led her to create the NICU to Home™ Conference—because discharge may end the hospitalization, but it does not end the questions, adjustment, healing, or support families need.
A nationally recognized speaker and educator, Dr. Daigle has delivered keynote presentations for neonatal and maternal-infant health conferences and has been featured as a guest on national podcasts focused on pregnancy, birth trauma, NICU care, and the postpartum experience. Through her clinical work, education, and advocacy, she is committed to helping families feel prepared, supported, and empowered after discharge while helping professionals better understand what families continue to carry beyond the NICU. She is also building Tiny Steps NICU Grad Care, a specialized follow-up model supporting feeding, growth, development, care coordination, and family well-being after discharge.
Panelist
Adam Wood, Preemie Adventures Founder and Author
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Adam is a father of a 25 week micropreemie who spent 135 days in the NICU. He is the founder of Preemie Adventures and author of 4 children’s books about prematurity and the NICU. He is an advocate for parents and especially fathers.
Panelist
Maria Churchill, MA, CCLS
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Maria Churchill is a Basic Needs Coordinator at Michigan State University, but her professional background is rooted in supporting children and families during some of their most vulnerable moments. As a Certified Child Life Specialist, Maria worked in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), providing emotional and developmental support to children and families navigating hospitalization, medical procedures, and complex diagnoses.
Maria’s professional experience became personal when her daughter was born prematurely at 34 weeks and spent a month in the NICU. Now 20 months old, her daughter is thriving. Drawing from both her experience as a Child Life Specialist and her own journey as a NICU parent, Maria brings a unique perspective to supporting families through the uncertainty, fear, and emotional challenges of a NICU stay. Her work continues to center on family support, advocacy, and helping individuals navigate challenging circumstances with dignity and compassion.
Panelist
Nyasia Countee, IBCLC, CD(DONA), CHW
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Kesha is a Guyanese-born mother, Critical care neonatal intensive care nurse, IBCLC, and founder of Global NICU Architect. She is redefining life after NICU discharge by nurturing peaceful arrivals and confident beginnings, ensuring families feel supported, secure, and empowered at home.
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Panelist
Shahla de León, MPH, PCD(DONA), NICU parent
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Shahla de León, MPH, PCD(DONA), is the founder of Soil & Sprout Perinatal, where she supports families during the perinatal period, with a particular focus on families impacted by premature birth and the NICU. A doula, NICU family support specialist, and birth story sharing facilitator, Shahla brings together lived, academic, and professional experience—including her own experience as the parent of a baby born at 33 weeks.
For more than 15 years, Shahla has worked at the intersection of public health, equity, and systems change. She is a birth justice advocate who believes in birthing experiences characterized by dignity, autonomy, power, and joy. Across her work with families and systems, Shahla is fueled by love, humor, and hard work—and the belief that meaningful change requires all three.
Panelist
Teionna Register, Twin Mom, Medical/“Tubie” Mom
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Teionna is a mother who gave birth to twins at 32 weeks, due to preeclampsia and IUGR. Her twins, Talina and Mateo, spent 43 days in the NICU before arriving home. As the next 21 months continued, they discovered a rare genetic disorder, developmental delays, and feeding issues, resulting in a G-tube. At the same time, they discovered the strength, beauty, growth, and love that come with being a family that can always stand together even when facing the unknown. While the NICU feels like such a small part of their short life, it is a time they will never forget.
Hilary Thompson, CTSS
❤ Closing Keynote Speaker
Finding Your Way Forward: Taking Care of the PILOT after the NICU
Hilary Thompson, CTSS, is a professional speaker and consultant who combines 35 years of lived expertise with 15 years of research, data analysis (echoes from her career as a content marketing executive), caregiver education, and patient advocacy.
Originally a NICU to CICU parent, she now leads the world’s largest pediatric heart transplant caregiver support group, serving nearly 3,000 caregivers worldwide, and supports families in coping, advocacy, and recovery from medical trauma. Hilary founded The HARTT Collaborative to partner with organizations that want practical strategies that improve patient, family, and organizational outcomes.
First, she lived; then she created the THRIVE Framework© and Take Care of the PILOT Framework© to help leaders and caregivers improve compassionate care, strengthen coping skills, reduce burnout, and drastically improve outcomes. Her work to improve medically complex families’ mental health has been nationally recognized.
She resides in Central Utah with her thriving “ground crew” on a historic farm, where she holds retreats, raises bougie sheep, and chases way too many chickens.
NICU to
Home™
Conference
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Virtual Conference
Presented by Bridging the Birthing Gap™
Created by Dr. Jess Daigle
We would be honored to have you in the room! ❤
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