Read more about our Board of Directors by clicking their names or photos to advance to their bios. 

Interested in board service or committee service? Email [email protected] and visit our USBC Committees webpage for more information. 

Meet Our Board of Directors

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Tiana Pyles

​Chair

 Chair Term: 9/2021 - 9/2024
Chair Elect Term: 9/2020 - 9/2021

Lindsay B. Groff

Secretary

Secretary Term: 9/2020 - 9/2024

Arissa Palmer

Treasurer

Treasurer Term: 11/2023 - 9/2025

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Amber Granite​

Elected Director

Director Term: 10/2022 - 9/2024

Petrichor Kneeland-Campbell

Elected Director

Director Term: 11/2023 - 9/2025

Stephanne R. Rupnicki

Elected Director​

Director Term: 10/2022 - 9/2024

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Jennie Toland

Elected Director​

Director Term: 11/2023 - 9/2025

Tiana Pyles, MHA, CLC

Chair

I consider the United States Breastfeeding Committee family since I first attended as a presenter for BSTARS; a Cultural Coalition listed with the USBC in 2016. In 2018, I was a recipient of the "Emerging Leader" award at the Eighth National Breastfeeding Conference & Convening. As the Executive Director for the Orange Mound Development Corporation, the Tennessee Breastfeeding Coalition and a co-founder of BSTARS (Breastfeeding Sisters That Are Receiving Support), I understand that to truly help and empower families to be prosperous in their communities, it takes a “circle of support.” This “circle of support” must include family, adequate education and health care, affordable, quality housing options, peer support and good neighbors. I work hard on forging networking partnerships at local, state and national levels in order to better serve the community, city and state I am vested in and love.

I’m a proud mother of four and come from an unbroken family lineage of breastfeeding mothers. I actively work on bridging the disparities in community development, health care, and breastfeeding in Memphis, Tennessee, and beyond, by helping to create opportunities to support the much needed work. I continue to be entrenched in this work to honor my ancestral heritage and in efforts to leave a good example for my legacy to live by and to be proud of.

Lindsay B. Groff, MBA

Secretary

My name is Lindsay and I use she/her pronouns. As a former exclusive pumping mom and milk donor, I serve on the USBC Board of Directors to ensure that donor milk continues to be included in the overall conversation around infant nutrition. I've served as Executive Director for the Human Milk Banking Association of North America for the past six years. I also serve as a volunteer on the USBC Governance Committee and as a parent advocate at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Donating to the USBC is an investment in the much-needed infrastructure for infant nutrition security. The USBC staff is a good steward of resources. I live just outside of Philadelphia where I co-parent my amazing daughter with our modern family. I love reading, cooking, the beach, authentic relationships, and a good belly laugh.

Arissa Palmer

Treasurer

​My name is Arissa Palmer and my pronouns are she/her. With over two decades of experience in the field of public health, program planning, and development, I am proud to have served as the Executive Director at BreastfeedLA since 2015. I am an active member of the Finance and Audit Committee with USBC and the board treasurer for HERStory, a local nonprofit supporting BIPOC birthing people in Orange County, California. My dedication to advancing policies and initiatives aimed at advancing lactation support, particularly for those who are most marginalized, drives my deep commitment to serve on the USBC Board of Directors. Donations to the USBC are pivotal in advancing the cause of chest/breastfeeding by enabling effective advocacy, policy, and systems changes necessary to support families. Together, we can continue to make lasting changes that support infants and their families to have the healthiest start to life!

A fun fact about me is that I have a fondness for horror movies and all things Halloween-related! This Halloween, I dressed as Weird Barbie, a character that perfectly reflects my delightful quirkiness.

Amber Granite,
​IBC, GPCE

Elected Director

My name is Amber and my pronouns are she/her/'oia. My purpose in serving on the board is to share the perspectives of lactation through a Native Hawaiian lense and to learn from others and work together towards a thriving lāhui (nation) that accepts and honors breast/chest feeding as our first food and medicine. Currently, my work includes co-coordinating the Hawaii Indigenous Breastfeeding Collaborative to support indigenous practitioners serving as the Board President of Breastfeeding Hawaii, our Hawaii state coalition. I also work in the WIC setting as a Nutrition counselor supporting families in informed decision-making for themselves and for their ohana's (family's) physical, mental, emotional, lifestyle and environmental health. 

The USBC is the kumu, the source, of understanding the vast landscape of lactation, particularly at the national policy level. In order to make or be a part of change, we need organizations like the USBC that build power for families by bringing many voices to the table to huli ka lima i lalo, turn the hands down to get the work done. Fun fact about me: my undergraduate degree is in Apparel Design. As part of my final project, I designed a rainbow-swirled evening gown for one of my favorite drag queens in Hawai'i.

Petrichor Kneeland-Campbell

Elected Director

My name is Petrichor and my pronouns are they/them. ​I am excited to serve on the USBC Board to not only be a voice for LGBTQIA+ and disabled families, but also to advocate for equity and justice for all communities. I am currently the President and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging Committee Chair for the Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition. I was a La Leche League Leader for 5 years, which also included serving as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator for LLL USA. The USBC is a change-making organization that has the ability to drive policies and programs that allow more families access to equitable lactation care. Fun fact about me: I absolutely love swimming. I was a competitive swimmer through high school, and still swim as much as I can.

Stephanne R. Rupnicki, ​CLC

Elected Director

I serve on the USBC Board of Directors to be a continued voice and advocate for Indigenous people on Turtle Island. I also serve on the KBC (Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition) board of directors (current past chair) and am a Co-Founder and Leader of PBPNBC (Priaire Band Potawatomi Nation Breastfeeding Coalition) and a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. I love to collaborate with other Lactivists.  I love connections, meeting with people and sharing space. I'm an empath, extremely sensitive and feel very passionate and deeply about everything I'm involved with. ​The USBC helps advocate for those voices not seen and heard and USBC’s passions helps drive for change and to improve policies for families.

 I graduated from an all Native American school, I've lived most of my life in or around my tribe or surrounding tribes in Kansas. I’m a daughter to passed parents, I'm a sister, an auntie, a friend and a mom to six beautiful children. ​

Jennie Toland,
​BSN, RN, IBCLC

Elected Director

​My name is Jennie and my pronouns are she/her. I was introduced to the USBC when I was honored with the Emerging Leader Award in 2022. Serving the United States Breastfeeding Committee has since been a whirlwind experience as I've worked with the Conference Planning Committee, moderated exhilarating panels, and celebrated the culmination of years of work toward major legislative wins in the First Food field. My experiences as a mom who struggled as a result of a lack of access to appropriate lactation education and support now motivate my work as a healthcare provider and lactation advocate. I started my nursing career working with families in labor and delivery and in the NICU. My experiences later expanded to nursing education, sexual assault nurse examinations, and public health nursing. Throughout these experiences, my desire to improve lactation support in my community inspired my co-founding the Ford County Breastfeeding Coalition. 

Investing in the USBC with our time, skills, and funds allows us to support the advancement of the first Food field as a whole and ultimately have a positive impact on the diverse communities that are nearest and dearest to each of us. I’ve been practicing using my voice to reach others since I was a drum major in high school!