About HEAL Academy

HEAL Academy is a professional education and training platform dedicated to strengthening equity-centered practice in lactation, maternal-infant health, and public health systems. We prepare professionals and organizations to move beyond awareness into action—bridging evidence-based care with cultural humility, ethical accountability, and systems-level change.

Founded in response to persistent disparities in breastfeeding outcomes, maternal morbidity, and infant mortality among Black, Brown, and marginalized families, HEAL Academy exists to address the gap between what professionals know and what families experience. Our work centers on the realities of families while equipping practitioners with practical tools to deliver inclusive, respectful, and effective care across clinical and community settings.

HEAL Academy serves as the educational and professional development arm within the broader Conner Equity Hub ecosystem, aligning scholarship, community engagement, and workforce development to advance health equity at scale.

Health Equity, Allyship & Lactation Academy

Our History

HEAL Academy was born out of more than a decade of direct practice, scholarship, and community leadership in maternal and infant health. Its foundation reflects the lived experience of working across hospitals, public health departments, community-based organizations, academic institutions, and policy spaces—often witnessing firsthand how systems fail families despite good intentions.

The Academy emerged from a clear need: professionals required structured, equity-centered education that translated into real-world practice, ethical decision-making, and sustainable systems of care. Traditional training models often focused on technical skills without adequately addressing bias, power dynamics, cultural context, or institutional barriers that shape health-seeking behaviors and outcomes.

HEAL Academy was created to fill that gap—offering learning experiences grounded in research, lived experience, and applied practice. Today, the Academy provides workshops, certificates, IBCLC Pathway 3 education support, and organizational capacity building that reflect the complexities of real-life care delivery while holding professionals accountable to equity, ethics, and excellence.

What HEAL Means

HEAL stands for:

Health Equity, Allyship & Lactation

Each component represents a core pillar of our work:

Health Equity:
Advancing fair and just access to care by addressing structural barriers, systemic inequities, and social determinants that shape maternal and infant health outcomes.
Allyship:
Moving beyond performative support to ethical, accountable action. Allyship at HEAL Academy emphasizes humility, reflection, shared responsibility, and systems-level change.
Lactation:
Centering lactation and infant feeding as critical public health issues—intersecting with race, class, employment, trauma, policy, and access to care.

Together, these pillars form an integrated approach to professional education that honors families’ lived experiences while strengthening workforce capacity.

Our Mission

HEAL Academy’s mission is to prepare professionals and organizations to deliver culturally congruent, evidence-based care that dismantles barriers, builds trust, and improves maternal-infant health outcomes—particularly for Black, Brown, and marginalized families.

Our Vision

We envision a future in which:

Families receive lactation and maternal-infant care that is respectful, affirming, and responsive to their lived realities.
Professionals are equipped to recognize and challenge bias while delivering high-quality, ethical care.
Organizations build systems that support equity not as an initiative, but as standard practice.
Lactation, maternal health, and public health professionals lead with accountability, cultural humility, and justice-centered leadership.

Our Approach

HEAL Academy’s work is grounded in public health ethics, equity frameworks, and applied learning. Our approach includes:

Evidence-Based Education:
Training informed by current research, clinical standards, and public health best practices.
Justice-Centered Frameworks:
Integrating health equity, cultural humility, trauma-informed care, and systems thinking.
Applied Learning:
Case studies, reflection, and practical tools are designed for immediate use in practice.
Ethical Accountability:
Emphasizing confidentiality, professionalism, documentation integrity, and scope of practice.
Systems-Level Impact:
Supporting professionals and organizations in building sustainable, equity-driven workflows and policies.

Who We Serve

HEAL Academy serves individuals and organizations working across the maternal-infant health ecosystem, including:

Lactation professionals and IBCLCs
Doulas and perinatal support providers
Nurses, midwives, physicians, and clinic teams
Community health workers and home visiting staff
Public health professionals and program leaders
Hospitals, nonprofits, coalitions, and health systems

Our programs are designed to meet learners where they are—while challenging them to grow in competence, humility, and impact.

Leadership & Expertise

HEAL Academy is led by Dr. Natashia L. Conner, PhD, MPhil, IBCLC, a public health scholar-practitioner, health equity strategist, and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with extensive experience across clinical, nonprofit, government, and academic settings.

Dr. Conner’s work integrates lactation science, maternal-infant health, health education, and equity-driven program leadership. Her career has focused on addressing disparities through research, workforce development, community engagement, and policy-informed practice. Under her leadership, HEAL Academy reflects both academic rigor and deep respect for community wisdom.

Our Commitment

HEAL Academy is committed to:

Ethical, responsible professional education
Cultural humility and continuous learning
Accountability to families and communities
Transparency in scope, expectations, and outcomes
Advancing equity through action—not rhetoric

We believe that healing systems require both technical skill and moral clarity—and that professionals deserve training that honors both.

Closing Statement

HEAL Academy exists to support professionals who are ready to do this work with integrity, humility, and courage. By strengthening practice and challenging systems, we contribute to a future where families are supported, seen, and respected—everywhere care is delivered.

Start With HEAL Academy

Whether you are an individual learner or an organization, HEAL Academy is here to support your goals.

About HEAL Academy