Meet Our Team
Ashlee Brown, BS, IBCLC
Owner, Lactation Consultant
My name is Ashlee. I’m a mom to three little ones: Two wild boys and a sweet baby girl. I know personally the highs and lows of feeding a baby! With my first, I battled mastitis and undiagnosed oral ties; my second nursed well for two years; and my third and current nursling – well, let’s just say it hasn’t been a walk in the park. I’ve been a mom for nearly seven years and I’m here to tell you: It gets easier!
My husband is an Army veteran. We met in college at EKU, and soon after graduation, we moved all over! Once we moved to Virginia, I decided to pursue my IBCLC certification due to the unlimited resources available to me in the DC metro area. I was fortunate enough to gain my clinical hours inside of a hospital and I learned so much!
I convinced my husband to make the move back home to Kentucky so that I could support families in the area and we now live in Versailles with our crazy crew (including two dogs)! Since moving back, I have worked as an independent contractor for another IBCLC, who I learned so much from.
I have specialized training in oral function in addition to my standardized training as a lactation consultant. I work closely with local preferred providers to create care plans for babies who have tongue ties before and after releases (if needed). I have additional training in breast pumps and flange fittings. I am also trained as a childbirth educator!
If there’s one thing I want you to know about me, it’s that I want you to meet your goals. Feeding your baby doesn’t have to look a certain way – let’s figure out how it will look for you.
Ashlee was featured in a segment on Everyday Kentucky. Watch it here!
Amber Valetine Forston, MS, CCC SLP, IBCLC
Lactation Consultant and Speech Pathologist
Amber has been practicing as an adult and pediatric Speech Language Pathologist for over 16 years. She graduated from EKU with a BS in Communication Disorders and a minor in American Sign Language.
She then went on to finish her MS in Communication Disorders from the University of Kentucky. She has since received her aboard Certification in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders as well as Certified Neonatal Therapy credentials. She completed her CLC in 2011 and finished her IBCLC in 2013. She has been working with breastfeeding dyads in the NICU, Mother/Baby floors, and outpatient settings.
She is married to her husband Michael, they have four kids and three dogs together. They love to travel, hike, bike, and kayak together!
Amber accepts insurance and offers both office and home visits.
Jessica McDaniel, IBCLC
Lactation Consultant
My name is Jessica and I am a wife, mom of two, and IBCLC. I found with my first, 6 years ago, that breastfeeding support was incredibly difficult to find in my area. I knew through advocating for my own journey that no other parent should have to navigate that alone.
I worked in veterinary medicine for 11 years before making the move into the world of lactation and feeding. I became a La Leche League Leader in 2019 while working through a Lactation Educator program and completing all of the training and requirements to sit for the IBCLC exam.
Our family recently made the huge move from California here to Kentucky and we could not be happier. I look forward to continuing to offer famliies guilt-free support and ensuring you are meeting your own feeding goals one step at a time.
Abbey Fields, OTR/L, CST, IBCLC
Occupational Therapist, Cranial Sacral Therapist, Lactation Consultant
My name is Abbey Fields and I have been practicing pediatric therapy for over 5 years working with infants, children, and their families with a variety of diagnoses. I have specialties in feeding and infant development with training in SOS feeding approach, oral motor, sensory processing, torticollis, infant NDT, and TOTs. I have always loved working with littles and their families in both feeding and motor development. I have been able to work with babies as an OT with feeding difficulties and collaborated with both IBCLCs and pediatric dentists to get them to a more functional feeding state. l am a wife and mother of one boy. My son had a lot of issues with development as an infant and that gave me the perspective as a mom as opposed to a therapist and has really given me more motivation to obtain my CST and IBCLC, both of which I completed in 2024. My goal is to be able to utilize my OT and CST knowledge and experience in combination with lactation so that I can provide full body care for babies and moms to thrive with both feeding and development.
Emma Newland, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC
Speech Language Pathologist, Lactation Counselor
Hi! I’m Emma and I have been a speech therapist for 2 and a half years. I’m originally from Henderson, KY, and after high school I went to school at the University of Kentucky. During my time in grad school, I was out to find my niche in the speech world, as there are so many areas to specialize in. In my last clinical rotation, I found it! I became super interested in infant feeding, especially in the NICU. I got a job at Baptist Health in Lexington, where I currently work. I have learned so much since diving into this field, including all things breastfeeding! Never in a million years did I imagine myself doing this type of speech therapy, but I have found that it’s my passion to help couplets bond in this way in the first few days of life. I am so excited to see these breastfeeding relationships flourish beyond the first few days in the hospital with this new opportunity!
Hannah Lyons
Practice Manager
Hannah Lyons is our Practice Manager and helps with all things insurance, scheduling, and any other questions you need to be answered!
Hannah is a wife and a mom. She used to be an HR Manager full-time but transitioned to being a stay-at-home mom once her little babe was born, and now works part-time with us!
Feel free to reach out to Hannah with any scheduling or insurance needs at contact@ashleeibclc.com.
Mika Cowan
Administrative Coordinator
Hi, I’m Mika!
Motherhood was always something I looked forward to. As soon as I was walking and talking, I was begging to rock the smaller babies at the daycare to sleep. I was referred to as the ‘little mama.’ I have even bottle raised countless kittens, puppies and various other critters over the years.
When I became a mother, I prepared for months for labor and delivery, but I didn’t anticipate a difficult breastfeeding journey – and I definitely didn’t anticipate needing to search for support in simply feeding my baby. Enter Ashlee IBCLC – finally, help!
Throughout my struggles, my passion for making sure new and veteran mamas feel seen, heard and supported in their breastfeeding journey (whatever that looks like!) has grown exponentially. I look forward to helping connect other mamas with the specialized lactation support they deserve!