Speakers
Speakers
LaCresha “Cree” Cunningham, LCSW is a passionate Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Authenticity Coach, and Spiritualist with a primary focus on mental health and wellness. With over ten years of experience in the social services sector, she has walked in her purpose to help heal emotional and psychological scars intuitively. As the Founder and Clinical Director of Healing Sacred Scars Holistic Wellness LLC, she assists clients as they birth new phases of life rooted in purpose. By utilizing culturally specific designs, clinically relevant strategies, and evidence-based practices, Cree offers services via a holistic lens.
Ms. Cunningham is a Perinatal & Holistic Wellness Advisor; a Facilitator and Master Speaker/Trainer for the Inspire 2 Empower Me International Training Team; a Mental Health Partner with Blu Magnolia Birth Services; a Mental Health & Holistic Wellness Partner with Malawi’s House Holistic Birth Services and Clinical Therapist with Restoring the Whole U, LLC. Over the years, she has counseled and championed United States (US) Citizens, Veterans, Servicemembers, and women alike. Her specialty tracks are perinatal mental health and clinical social work with families, military servicemembers, and veterans.
LaCresha is a current Ph.D. student and obtained a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Southern California. She is the mother of two spectacular sons, an avid traveler, a proven foodie, and is dedicated to lifting the vibration of the Earth through her work, writing, and prayer.
Presentation: From Pressure to Progress: Navigating Parenthood through Authenticity and Grace
Kim Hawley, MA, MPH, IBCLC is a Holistic Sleep Coach, Lactation Consultant, Peaceful Parenting Educator, and the host of The
Responsive Family Sleep Podcast. She helps tired parents bring together developmental knowledge, sleep science, and their intuition to improve family sleep. Her specialty is holistic, responsive sleep support for babies, toddlers, and nursing families. Kim lives in Capitol Hill, Washington DC with her husband, 2 kids, guide dog, and cat. She loves running, listening to audio books, coffee, chocolate, and wine. Intuitive Parenting DC
Presentation: Start Here: What Every Sleep Consultant Needs to Know about Child Development
Adam is a spouse and father who experiences fear, worry, and doubt at least as much as the next person. He likes playing basketball, enjoys movies, and drinks too much chocolate milk. He is also a registered psychotherapist who has been in practice for over a decade. He draws predominantly on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) to help people increase their mindful awareness and interact more flexibly with their thoughts and feelings, so they are less pushed around by the difficult ones. His aim is to help people connect with the present more fully, enrich their relationships, accomplish their meaningful goals, and flexibly engage in their chosen life pursuits. In other words, to "Live Well Now".
Presentation: Helping Parents Worry Well: Neutralizing Caregiver Anxiety Through Mindful Awareness, Acceptance, and Purpose-Oriented Focus
Dr. Cara graduated from Arizona State University with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. She is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner in addition to having her IBCLC certification. Dr. Cara is also a diplomate of the American Board of Laser Surgery, specializing in “Oral Surgery in Infants, Toddler, and Adults. Dr Cara describes her career as a diversifying adventure: research, teaching, nursing, and now breastfeeding medicine specialist. She strives to provide meaningful, evidence-based care to mother-baby dyads. Her mission is to support mothers where they are at and help them journey into the breastfeeding relationship they desire. She strives to make sure that each patient is able to reach their desired goal and have an amazing breastfeeding relationship.
Presentation: Deconstructing Colic: Detective Work to Identify the True Root Cause
Camera Lumumba is a Family Nurse Practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, who lives in Ahwatukee, Arizona. She has a bachelor’s in nutrition and Dietetics from The University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in nursing from Brigham Young University. Camera supports mothers and babies at Sisters Not Twins, an in-office breastfeeding practice. When Camera is not caring for patients, she is caring for her family of three, one husband, one daughter, and one bearded dragon. She loves to read, run, and spend time with family and friends.
Presentation: Sleep Nutrition: How Nutrition Impacts Sleep and How Foods Can Improve Sleep
Irene Gouge is a former educator turned Gentle Sleep Coach since 2011. Irene is also trained and certified as a Postpartum Doula, Infant Feeding Specialist and has additional training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. As an educator since 2001 she has experience with children from birth to age 12, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her vision of creating a world where everybody sleeps peacefully.
Irene's holistic approach integrates her training and experience in all of her sleep programs Through individualized support and group coaching, she emphasizes building a healthy parent-child relationship through flexible routines. Her course, “A Healthy Sleep Foundation & The Sleep Workshop," aims to transform sleepless nights helping parents be responsive and communicate more effectively with their child and get sleep.
As the founder of Loving Lessons Sleep Solutions, Irene is on a mission to help parents become more calm, confident, and rested in their parenting journey.
Irene lives in Holly Springs, North Carolina, with her husband and two sons, who inspire her work. She loves drinking coffee, listening to books, podcasts, and courses, and supporting parentpreneurs!
Presentation: Sweet Dreams for all Temperaments: Navigating Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences in Your Sleep Coaching Plan
Fahreen is a social worker specializing in perinatal mental health, couples therapy, infant and child sleep consultations, parenting coaching, and adult ADHD. With degrees from McGill University, Lakehead University, and the University of Toronto, Fahreen brings a robust educational foundation to her role as a trusted resource for individuals, couples, and parents navigating the intricacies of family life. Beyond her professional expertise, Fahreen is a mother to a sensitive daughter and two fur babies. This personal connection enriches her understanding and empathy when working with families, allowing her to approach each case with a unique sensitivity.
Presentation: Nurturing Families Through Empathic Guidance and Strategies Focused on Sleep for Toddlers and Children
Macall has a master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle where she is a Senior Lecturer in the graduate Counseling Psychology program. She also has a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University. She has conducted and presented research on temperament, sleep, and parenting advice at conferences around the world including the World Association for Infant Mental Health, the International Congress for Infant Studies, and the Society for Research in Child Development.
She is a certified Gentle Sleep Coach in private practice as well as a Featured Provider with the women’s telehealth platform, Maven Clinic. She has been featured on a variety of podcasts and recently on Parents.com. She has an upcoming book, co-authored with Kim West, MSW (published November 2024 by Benbella Books) called “Why Won’t You SLEEP?! A gamechanging approach for exhausted parents of nonstop, super alert, big feeling kids.”
She comes to this work because she had two sensitive, alert, intense children, and she didn’t sleep for 18 years.
Presentation: Understanding the Research Behind Popular Parenting Advice on Sleep Training: Dissecting an Article from Popsugar
Jennifer Hansen is a Certified Child Life Specialist at Banner Children’s at Desert in Mesa, Arizona. She provides psychosocial care for pediatric patients and their families, offering developmental interventions, education, preparation, play, and emotional support for babies, toddlers, children, and teens. Working primarily in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, she offers Family Centered Care for diverse families experiencing serious, acute, and sensitive medical circumstances.
Her work also includes trauma support and end-of-life support as she provides legacy building activities, coping plans, and appropriate developmental education and resources about illness and death to patients, siblings and caregivers. During her Child Life career, she has also worked in the Emergency Department, burn unit, general pediatric unit, and under the disciplines of cardiac, oncology, radiology, and surgery.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Family and Human Development with a Certificate in Child Life Studies from Arizona State University. Working toward Child Life Certification, Jennifer continued her post-graduate studies with a practicum at the Arizona Burn Center and completed a 600-hour internship at Cardon Children’s. She continues to pursue her personal and professional goal towards better understanding the complexity of the human growth experience and the never-ending educational journey of self-help, emotional well-being, and self-repair.
Jennifer loves to read historical fiction and biographies, bake sophisticated cakes, sing, hike, and Pilates. Her obsessions will always be babies and kids of all ages, wrapping paper, home improvement projects, and trees. Her greatest sources of joy are her husband, four adult children and their spouses and two grandchildren. She and her husband Greg live the empty-nester life in Phoenix, Arizona.
Presentation: It Starts with You: Emotionally and Developmentally Supporting Infants and Children
Andrea is a trained Gentle and Holistic Sleep Consultant, coach, educator, and author. She did her training in a variety of programs including: Holistic Sleep Coaching, Gentle Sleep Coaching, Naturally Nurturing, Infant Sleep Education, CBT for Insomnia, and Sleep: Neurobiology & Society. She has an associates degree in Marriage and Family Studies, two certificates in Infant Mental Health and university certificates in Advanced Marriage and Family Functioning, Human Relations, and Home and Family.
Andrea has spent the past ten years training and mentoring Sleep Consultants and Night Coaches. She is an instructor in the UK-based Gentle Sleep Educator Programs, as well as the Child Sleep Institute's Sleep Strategies Toolkit. In 2020, Andrea founded the Sleep Coach Collective membership program, where she provides advanced training and mentorship for Sleep Consultants.
Andrea started her sleep practice in 2004 after supporting families as a Birth and Postpartum Doula. Since then, she has helped over 10,000 families get better sleep. She also has extensive hands-on experience working with babies throughout the night, which has given her unique learning experiences and perspectives. Andrea is the author of Gentle Night Weaning the Kinder Way, The Kinder Method, and co-author with Jen Varela of Loved to Sleep. Andrea is the Founder of the Child Sleep Institute and the Program Chair of the Sleeposium series of Sleep Conferences, now in their 7th year.
Tracy Spackman is a trained and certified Gentle Sleep Coach. Tracy primarily works with families one on one from all over the world to help improve sleep working with ages 4 months to 8 years old. Tracy uses many methods and leans towards the gentle side of these methods to blend them into unique family solutions.
Tracy also works with Andrea Strang at the Child Sleep Institute to help develop programs and offer supportive assistance to other sleep coaching professionals.
Tracy has been practicing since 2011. She is happily married and has 5 children. Many non-professionals think that 5 children would qualify her to give sleep advice, but it doesn’t. It gives her empathy to the sleep deprived families she works with, and Tracy collects trainings in sleep and parenting to help her give the best advice possible.
Tracy grew up in Canada but now lives in the United States in Arizona. She loves to work with women to help them be the best parents they want to be. She also teaches monthly to her Relief Society Women’s organization, loves to walk with friends or alone on the treadmill, and play amateur games of pickleball at the local park. (Winter in Arizona is the best time to play outside.)