✨ New Service Alert ✨ The Lactation Learning Collective is now offering Postpartum Doula Support — gentle, personalized care for you and your baby in the early days and beyond!
✨ New Service Alert ✨ The Lactation Learning Collective is now offering Postpartum Doula Support — gentle, personalized care for you and your baby in the early days and beyond!
Who We Are
Lactation Learning Collective is the creation of Allison, LaShanda and Patricia co-founders who met at Beth Israel Medical Center’s Breastfeeding Center in 2012. Each went on to have private practice’s where they served lactation families around NYC. They also each had a passion for helping to grow the lactation profession by offering mentorship for individuals looking for mentorship hours, a requirement for sitting for the IBLCE exam to become a Lactation Consultant.
In 2019 the common thread they each shared of having lactation support groups throughout NYC where families can come and receive guidance and support from an IBCLC for an affordable price and frequent request from fellow birth workers looking for mentorship for IBCLC cumulated in the creation of the Lactation Learning Collective.
Lactation Learning Collective addresses the needs of the lactation community by offering access for families needing lactation support, mentorship for aspiring IBCLCs looking for affordable mentorship opportunities and overall growing the lactation profession by cultivating competent mentorship guidance for a more diverse lactation field.
MEET OUR TEAM
Allison Walsh IBCLC LCCE FACCE is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (2006), Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (2000), and doula (2000) in private practice providing in-home and virtual visits in New York City. She is a co-founder of the Lactation Learning Collective and loves both aspects of mentoring future IBCLCs and supporting families. Allison is a Past President of Lamaze International and has served in various leadership and committee roles within the organization. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Haven Midwifery Collective and also the New York City Breastfeeding Leadership Council. She is a member of the New York Lactation Consultant Association, and an active La Leche League Leader. She is a graduate of Syracuse University and mother of three formerly breastfed children.
Patricia McGuire
IBCLC BS
Patricia is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant , IBCLC, in private practice since 2008. Along with being a co-founder of Lactation Learning Collective she works part-time as a lactation consultant on NYU hospital’s mother/baby unit.
Patricia leads the lactation support group at “The Wild” in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Patricia has a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Media from City College.
LaShanda Dandrich
LaShanda started her career in birthwork as a postpartum doula because of her passion for the postpartum period. She then went on to pursue and expand her love of breastfeeding and practiced as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) for over a decade. She recently resumed her role as postpartum doula supporting families through the transformative early stages of parenthood. Her work is rooted in a deep passion for the postpartum period, a time she believes deserves as much care, attention, and guidance as pregnancy and birth.
LaShanda provides comprehensive postpartum support, including lactation and infant feeding guidance, as well as both daytime and overnight care tailored to each family’s needs. She specializes in helping families confidently navigate feeding, recovery, sleep, and the emotional adjustments that come with welcoming a new baby. Known for her calm and grounding presence, she creates a space where parents feel seen, heard, and empowered to trust themselves.
Her approach is grounded in human development, honoring the biological and emotional needs of infants while supporting the natural instincts of parents. LaShanda blends clinical expertise with intuitive care, offering guidance that is both evidence-based and deeply compassionate. Through her work, she helps families build confidence, strengthen the parent-infant bond, and step fully into their identity as parents.