Latching On for Breastfeeding Advocacy

Monday, June 24, 2019

5:30 – 7:00 pm

Libbie Mill Library
2100 Libbie Lake East St,
Henrico, VA 23230

Concerned about the barriers that keep Virginia parents from achieving their breastfeeding goals?

We are pleased to announce a free workshop designed to give you the tools you need to support change at a systems level. This program is offered in conjunction with our #RVAbreastfeeds, our Healthy Communities Action Team arm.

This workshop will give community breastfeeding advocates a foundation in legislative advocacy to enable them to engage with lawmakers and their community to push for changes in the law to support breastfeeding. Participants will leave with an action plan for starting a community team to organize for breastfeeding legislation. Please RSVP via our Facebook Event Page and share with anyone you think might be interested.

Participants will learn:

1. What types of solutions legislation can provide for breastfeeding families, with a particular focus on workplace support;
2. The main steps of the state legislative process, and which steps offer the most promising opportunities for community advocates to make a difference; and,
3. Tips for how to talk about breastfeeding in the policy advocacy setting.

Presenter Bio:

Jessica Lee is a Staff Attorney at the Center for WorkLife Law and a co-founder of the Center’s Nursing Mothers Law Project.

Jessica works to advance gender equality in the workplace and in education, with a particular focus on discrimination faced by pregnant and breastfeeding parents. Jessica’s advocacy focuses on empowering pregnant and breastfeeding students, working parents, and their advocates by providing them with the legal, policy, and strategic tools they need to overcome and dismantle structural barriers. She provides know-your-rights resources and trainings to educate parents and change-makers on the legal rights of caregivers in the workplace and in educational opportunities. Jessica also seeks to prevent discrimination by working with institutions to draft and implement family responsive policies. Among various publications, she is a co-author of the recent report Exposed: Breastfeeding Discrimination Against Breastfeeding Workers.

Jessica’s political experience ranges from lobbying on environmental, education, and health issues, to working as a campaign fundraiser, to knocking on doors as a field organizer. She has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and PACs.

Jessica earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University.