Meet the BirthSwell Team
Jeanette McCulloch, BirthSwell Lead Strategist
Jeanette McCulloch brings together strategic communications skills with practical experience providing birth and breastfeeding services and a proven record of maternal/infant health advocacy.
Jeanette worked for more than a decade on health policy and other issues though public interest and public relations campaigns. As an account supervisor with Valerie Denney Communications, she oversaw communications strategies for local Chicago-based community organizations, statewide legislative and PR campaigns, and national advocacy efforts. Her primary issue areas included low-income access to health care, environmental justice, criminal justice and grassroots community organizing.
Since the birth of her two children, both born with midwives, Jeanette has focused her efforts on supporting families in the childbearing year. In addition to role at BirthSwell, she is an IBCLC and serves on the board of Citizens for Midwifery.
Jeanette has led numerous trainings and message development sessions for nonprofit organizations, including birth advocacy efforts. She has co-published (with Amber McCann) in the Journal of Human Lactation on the topic of establishing an online and social media presence for your IBCLC practice, and co-authored abstracts and posters for the APHA and ACOG on birth consumers’ use of social media and communications needs. She blogs on birth and lactation research, use of social media, and consumer activism.
She lives in Ithaca, New York with her partner Tanya and two children. When she’s not engaging with the BirthSwell community, she unplugs with her family and enjoys hiking the gorges and kayaking the waters of the Fingerlakes.
Amisha Grasty, Project Manager
Amisha Grasty brings many years of experience in project management, general administration, technical support, and digital marketing to BirthSwell, and loves supporting their mission to advance birth and breastfeeding advocacy worldwide. It is a cause that is true to her heart as she struggled finding acceptance and support in the workforce while nursing her son. Amisha works with BirthSwell in several capacities, including project management, graphic design, social media and blog post updates, video editing, and digital advertising to name a few. In her free time, she enjoys continuing education, reading, and spending time with family.
Amisha has an AAS in Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix, 8 professional IT certifications from CompTIA and CIW, and a certification in Digital Marketing from Hubspot Academy.
Aniella Knightley, Social Media Specialist
Gillian Knightley (Aniella) has worked at BirthSwell for nine years and loves being involved in advocating maternity and healthcare rights for women and people of color. Her experience in editing, managing website content, and her interest in social justice are what first drew her to work with BirthSwell. Aniella believes in the importance of social media in educating people about racism and sexism within the fields of women's health and maternity care, and providing them with tools to advocate for better care for themselves and their community members.
Outside of the office, Aniella enjoys storytelling, spending time with her wife, snuggling with their two cats, and travelling the globe. She has a BA in Celtic Ethnomusicology from the University of Vermont.
Diya Craft, Graphic Design & Digital Media Specialist
With several years of public relations experience, Diya is excited to bring her love of PR and Marketing to the BirthSwell team through graphic design and social media. She's passionate about marketing and is very eager to dive into your project.
In her daily life, Diya likes to create art through music, writing, and enjoys bike rides at sunset. Diya earned her BA in Public Relations at University of North Texas.
Laura Ulrich, Science Writer
Laura brings more than 25 years of journalism experience to her role at BirthSwell, spanning community newspaper and national magazine work as well as online platforms, scientific journal editing, and book editing.
Following the births of her two children, Laura fell in love with the magic of birth and lactation, becoming first a La Leche League leader and then an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Working at BirthSwell provides the unprecedented opportunity to merge her professional skill set and background as a journalist with her passion for birth, lactation, and parenting, in the critical service of advocating for a world where all birthing people and children can thrive.
Laura’s role at BirthSwell includes translating the science of birth and lactation via diverse media, from blogs and social media posts to course descriptions and flyers, all with the goal supporting each of our clients’ unique education and advocacy goals. In addition to her role at BirthSwell, she serves as an editor for Birth: Issues in Perinatal Health. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.
Laura lives with her two sons in Trumansburg, New York (USA), where she deeply enjoys supporting their passions of baseball and music. In her spare time, she loves hiking, running, strength training, reading fiction, and drinking (all the) coffee.
BirthSwell Collaborators
Adriana Lozada - Strategic Graphic Design
As both a birth professional and graphic designer, Adriana brings a deep knowledge of your target audience to every project. As a result she crafts logos and visuals that connect and communicate while saving time and budget. Adriana provides design concepts for websites, visuals, print materials, and other design projects. You can see her design work at International Lactation Consultant Association, in the overhaul of the BirthSwell logo and iconography, and on her own birth services website.
Amber McCann, IBCLC - Strategy, Project Management, and Execution
BirthSwell regularly collaborates with Amber McCann, IBCLC. Amber is a nationally recognized expert on communicating with families during the childbearing year and brings critical strategy, project management, and execution skills. She also is a key influencer in the lactation world and brings a powerful network that helps expand the reach of our work. Amber is currently taking a medical leave. We support her in her healing journey and looking forward to collaborating with on future projects.
Denice Cox, Graphic Design & Digital Media Specialist
Denice Cox brings several years of experience in graphic design and digital communications to BirthSwell, and loves supporting their mission to advance birth and breastfeeding advocacy worldwide. Denice works with BirthSwell in a variety of capacities, including graphic and website design, social media management, email communications, and more! In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, and doing yoga.
Denice has a BA in Psychology from Yale University and a certificate in Graphic Design from Pasadena City College.
About co-founder Hillary Boucher
Hillary Boucher is the much-beloved co-founder of BirthSwell. Her creativity, love for social media as an organizing tool, and commitment to birthing and breastfeeding families helped make our organization what it is today. Hillary has since moved on to The Community Roundtable, where, in her role as Director of Networks, she facilitates a peer network of online community managers. She consults with BirthSwell on an as-needed basis. Those of us at BirthSwell who live in Ithaca are always happy to run into her at the Farmers Market or the local food co-op.