Glenda Criss-Forshey, President/Secretary

Glenda Criss-Forshey received her B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Columbus University and is currently pursuing her M.S. in the Science of Instruction through Drexel University. She has worked in early childhood education for seven years as both a teacher and an administrator. Glenda owned and operated a baby carrier business, which she sold to devote her time to promoting babywearing education in the nonprofit sector.

In addition to serving as President/Secretary of Babywearing International, Glenda was a founding leader of the Triangle Babywearers, a babywearing organization based in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina. She is also the advertising manager for TheBabyWearer.com. She started babywearing when her first son was born in 2004.

Alma Gordillo, Treasurer

Alma Gordillo earned her B.A. in Communications, Psychology, and Political Science, as well as her law degree, from the University of Houston. She has also done graduate work in Communications. She has been involved in nonprofit organizations for over 10 years.

Alma has been babywearing since she was a young girl, and it came only natural to her to wear her own children. She grew up in Mexico, where rebozos and babywearing are commonplace, and was taught at a young age that babywearing is the easiest and most practical way to take care of a child and still get other things done. She started babywearing with her own children in 2006 when her daughter Kate was born, and it helped her deal with the problems that her daughter had in early infancy.

Alma is also one of the leaders of Houston Baby Wearers, a 2-year-old organization that has been making strides in making babywearing a part of the Houston culture. She is a certified public accountant and works full-time doing corporate accounting. In the little spare time she has, she likes to paint and take college courses.

Lois Shiow-Balster

Lois Shiow-Balster earned her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of California, Berkeley, her medical degree from the Ohio State University, and completed her pediatrics residency at Columbus Children’s Hospital/Ohio State University. From 2002-2005, she was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Ohio State University and taught medical students and residents in the outpatient clinics and in the newborn nursery wards. Her time working with newborns and their mothers inspired her to develop a breastfeeding curriculum for pediatric residents, and to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Since 2005, she has been in private pediatrics practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lois is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the International Lactation Consultants Association (ILCA), the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABFM), and is a Medical Associate member of the La Leche League International (LLLI). She has been using baby carriers since the birth of her first child, but became passionate about babywearing after the 2004 birth of her second child who was born prematurely and battled gastroesophageal reflux during infancy.

Born in Ohio, Lois was raised in the East Bay suburbs of Northern California and then lived in Columbus Ohio for 10 years, where she met her husband and where her two sons were born. Lois and her family currently reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they still root for the Buckeyes.

Crystal Eastburn

Crystal Eastburn recently completed a successful federal grant program, focusing on prevention through community collaboration. She has professional experience and training in both social marketing and governmental accounting. She considers the design and implementation of two successful social marketing campaigns to be the highlight of her time with the initiative. Previously she served the citizens of her county as their Chief Deputy Collector. She currently serves her community on the local board of equalization.

Crystal began wearing her son shortly after his birth in 2005 and continues the tradition with her daughter, who was born in the summer 2007. As a working parent, she finds babywearing to be an invaluable tool to stay connected with her children - both at the office and at home. Crystal is a leader of The Greater Ozarks Babywearers, which she co-founded in the summer of 2006. She enjoys teaching new parents to safely and effectively use their slings.