Speakers
Mary Ellen Honeyfield, MS, RN, NNP-BC
Mary Ellen has held the position of affiliate faculty at Regis University, Denver, Colorado, since August, 2003 where she is co- director of the Masters Program, NNP option. Mary Ellen is also a practicing NNP at The Children’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado. She holds staff appointments in the Denver metro area and in Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas. Mary Ellen is a contributing reviewer on several neonatal texts and has published numerous research articles.
Renatta Osterdock, MD
Dr. Renatta Osterdock completed medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, internship at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, residency at Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana and Fellowship at University of Tennessee, LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Osterdock came to Denver in February, 2008, from Loma Linda University where she served as the Chief of Pediatric Neuorsurgery and Medical Director of the Pediatric Neuroscience Center from 2001-2007. She has been internationally recognized for her role in leading the team that separated the Craniopagus twins at Loma Linda. Dr. Osterdock has also been involved in volunteer medical mission work in Thailand, China and Viet Nam. She has appeared on NBC Nightline and MSNBC as well as other nationally televised shows to speak of her work experiences and for serving the community through her expertise.
Marianne Neifert, MD, MTS, FAAP
Marianne Neifert, MD, MTS, FAAP, also known as Dr. Mom®, is a pediatrician and nationally recognized expert in breastfeeding promotion and lactation management. Dr. Neifert was a Co-founder and long-time Medical Consultant to The Lactation Program in Denver, one of the first breastfeeding centers in the U.S. (1985-2009). She also is a clinical professor of Pediatrics at University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine; a founding member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine; a co-founder of the Denver Mothers’ Milk Bank; a Colorado AAP Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator; a founding member and past Chair of the Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition; and a member of the Health Advisory Council of La Leche League, International. A long-time leader in the field of breastfeeding medicine, Dr. Neifert piloted decades ago many of the current breastfeeding clinical management strategies, including the infant test-weighing procedure, “prevention pumping,” “triple feeding,” and the electric pump double collection system. Dr. Neifert has published numerous articles in the medical literature on the topic of breastfeeding and lactation management and has addressed audiences within the healthcare community in 48 states and internationally. She is the author of hundreds of magazine articles on children’s health and behavior and five parenting books.
Karen J. Zimmerman, MSN, PNNP
Karen is a Perinatal Nurse Practitioner for OBSTETRIX Medical Group of Colorado. Her healthcare career began as a Police/Fire/EMS Dispatcher and evolved over the years. She has worked as a Labor and Delivery staff nurse, Flight Nurse, Perinatal Transport Nurse and Coordinator, and as a Perinatal Nurse Practitioner in the inpatient and community settings. Karen has been a contributing author on several texts, one of which is at press.