Board of Directors

Sarah Lazar, MPH, Board President
Sarah Lazar has a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health.  She currently manages a clinical research program at the University of California, San Diego.  She obtained her B.S. in Biology and Premedicine at Boston College and her MPH at New York University, where she also focused on health disparities and maternal-infant health.
 
Sarah has volunteered for a wide variety of nonprofits, along with volunteer time in NICUs across the country.
 
Sarah has successfully nursed all four of her young children, all with very different, challenging journeys, including one NICU baby.  She is passionate about supporting other parents throughout their own journeys and in eliminating disparities and reducing barriers to successful breastfeeding.​​

Ashley Garcia, MPA, Board Treasurer

​Ashley Garcia is a higher education fundraising and research development professional. Currently, she works at UC San Diego as Senior Director of Foundation and Research Relations where she partners with faculty in the biomedical and basics sciences to identify and secure research funding from foundations. Of particular interest to her is supporting research on human milk and breastfeeding on campus. 

Ashley credits her success in breastfeeding her son to the resources she was able to access at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. She is extremely passionate about supporting increased access to lactation education and services for families across the region and her goal is to use her fundraising background to support the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation in building a pipeline of diverse lactation consultants.

Previously, Ashley worked as a fundraiser for various nonprofits focused on behavioral health, education, and research in Los Angeles. Ashley received her Master in Public Administration from USC and her BA in International Development from UCLA.

Jonisha "JoJo" Jenkins, B.S., Board Member (Community Outreach Committee Chair)
(John-ee-sha)

Jonisha's passion for normalizing breastfeeding and lactation education began when she faced challenges nursing her first child.  With the support of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, she overcame those challenges and established a successful breastfeeding journey, twice!

Jonisha recognized the lack of diverse representation and proactive resources shared with her in preparing for birth and beyond.  She navigated her first year of breastfeeding spending countless nights on baby boards, Facebook groups, and Google searches seeking knowledge and information.  Since becoming a mother herself, she has used her personal experiences, supported by research, to help other parents on their journey.  As part of the Community Outreach Committee, Jonisha is looking forward to creating shared learning experiences and resources to prepare all parents for their postpartum journey; and ensuring folx from underrepresented groups are receiving impactful support.

Jonisha is a Human Resources professional, passionate about empowering people to be their best and truest selves.  She earned her B.S. in Exercise Science from Georgia State University and holds various Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion certificates.

Sarah Lugo-Bradford, JD, Board Member, Secretary

Sarah Lugo-Bradford is a California licensed attorney. She graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Business Administration and obtained her law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Since that time, she has been involved in non-profit legal advocacy. Sarah has worked at and directed various non-profits throughout San Diego County and has practiced in civil, family, and dependency courts guiding and representing victims of abuse and trauma. 

Sarah sought assistance from the San Diego Breastfeeding Center during her own breastfeeding journey and understands the importance of compassionate guidance, education and support. She acknowledges the importance of diverse representation in chest/breastfeeding services and became inspired to help in any way she can in the work to reduce racial and economic inequalities in accessing care.

Emaree Nickerson-Wright, CBE, CD, Board Member At Large (Community Outreach)

Emaree Nickerson-Wright is a mom to a beautiful 2 year old girl, CBE, Postpartum Doula, Visionary of THE HAUS OF WOMEN WELLNESS & a self proclaimed "MOMi" which represents the introspection that is required becoming a Mother; the healing that's necessary so you are not passing down your personal traumas on your innocent child. @MOMi.esntls on Instagram

Emaree's background is in fashion. As a wardrobe stylist, having worked with celebrities and major brands such as Vogue & Nike. She always wanted to be a mother but entered the journey uneducated and unaware of what was in store. Moving across the country and getting pregnant with no family or friends was challenging. After an intense 4-day labor experience that resulted in an unplanned c-section, issues with breastfeeding surfaced. Committed to nursing, with the help of a lactation consultant provided by the foundation, donor milk and her supportive partner, she exclusively breastfed for 2 1/2 years! Emaree continued to educate herself on what truly goes into being a mother, what their bodies and minds go through. During the span of her postpartum journey, she became a certified doula, childbirth educator and has volunteered numerous times in the community. 

Passionate about mental health, the wellbeing of women, being a Black woman and MOMi, with her unique perspective, Emaree hopes to make a difference in the community during her time on the board.