Meet your Board Certified Lactation Consultants and
Lavender Lactation® Team:
Dawnalea Robinson Kneese, BSN, RN, IBCLC
Dawnalea was born and raised in California and set down roots in Nashville. She is the Founder of Lavender Lactation® and has always had a calling to assist families in meeting their breastfeeding and lactation goals. Dawnalea is a Registered Nurse who holds a Bachelors degree in science. She has worked in many fields of nursing, including emergency medicine, critical care, and pediatrics.
why Lactation?
When my first child was born, I struggled with breastfeeding and this fueled my desire to pursue a career in human lactation. My passion grew and expanded as I began offering support both online and in clinical settings.
becoming an ibclc
The primary focus was to bridge the gap in family-based education around breastfeeding and human lactation. Five years her first breastfeeding journey began, she passed the exam to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, achieving the most rigorous credential for lactation care. Dawnalea is a mother to 3 children, owner of Lavender Lactation established in 2016, and has been Board Certified since 2018. Dawnalea has also assisted in the mentorship of new IBCLC’s and Pathway 3 interns.
Training: Dawnalea has completed the IBCLC Masterclass with advanced training in tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip, and buccal ties) and oral habilitation of the breastfeeding dyad. This includes training on oral motor exercises and pre and post care for release. Dawnalea has also taken advanced training in bottle refusal and the maternal to infant microbiome.
Jessica Neely: IBCLC, Childbirth Educator, AND Birth and Postpartum DOULA
Jess is a proud Nashville native, born and raised here in middle Tennessee. Her passion for women’s health and family wellness has been a driving force for as long as she can remember. For over three years, she worked at Music City Health Center, a Chiropractic and Functional Medicine practice, where she loved supporting families through every season-from pediatrics to prenatal and beyond.
Why Lactation?
After welcoming her first child in 2023, Jess experienced firsthand how profoundly breastfeeding can shape the postpartum journey. This personal insight fueled her mission to bridge the gaps in breastfeeding education and ensure that families feel deeply supported through pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
Jess earned her IBCLC credential in 2025, completing pathway 3 mentorship through Lavender Lactation. She has pursued advanced training as a low milk supply specialist and is currently enrolled in the IBCLC masterclass which specializes in tethered oral tissue and oral rehabilitation of the breastfeeding dyad. In addition, Jess is also a birth and postpartum doula, and certified babywearing consultant.
Today, Jess integrates her skills as a lactation consultant, doula, and educator, to provide compassionate, evidence-based care. She is deeply committed to empowering mothers and families with knowledge, confidence, and connection they need to thrive.
Joy Johnson, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Joy was born in California and spent most of her formative years in Chicago, later returning to California, where she earned her Bachelor of science in nursing. Joy spent 23 years working in maternal and child health. Joy has extensive experience in the NICU and postpartum/nursery. Joy has also worked as a certified lactation educator (CLE), teaching prenatal and breastfeeding classes. Joy spent 20 years of her career visiting NICU babies after hospital discharge and helping them return to the breast and feed better. This experience motivated her to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and in 2019 she obtained the board certification. More than half of the twin mothers she has helped since became exclusively breastfeeding “Mother of Multiples.” Joy loves challenges and won't give up if you don't.
Why lactation?
In 1977, after bottle-feeding almost all the babies in the newborn nursery every night, Joy realized very few mothers even tried to breastfeed. We were a bottle-feeding culture. Helping mothers become successful at breastfeeding has been her passion since nursing her three children, even when it was not popular. She learned many things through personal experience, taking many courses, and guiding families to success.
Joy donates her time to local ministry at Long Hollow Church, where she helps expectant parents and single mothers. She has four grandchildren and resides in middle Tennessee
Donna Wisniewski, RN, BSN, RNC-NIC, IBCLC
If you’ve met Donna, you know her passion for mothers and babies shines through in every interaction. Her calm, encouraging energy fills the room with kindness and compassion, helping families feel supported and empowered in their feeding journey.
Originally from Milwaukee, Donna moved to Franklin, Tennessee, with her family thirteen years ago. She began her nursing career in 1996 in the adult ICU before transitioning to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where she spent more than a decade caring for premature and medically fragile infants. In 2010, she earned her specialty certification as a NICU nurse (RNC-NIC).
Why Lactation?
Donna’s passion for lactation support began with her own breastfeeding challenges as a new mother. Those experiences ignited her commitment to helping other families navigate feeding with confidence. In 2019, she pursued her certification in lactation and began working as a Lactation Consultant at St. Thomas Midtown in Nashville, becoming an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2021.
In addition to her clinical work, Donna now serves as an IBCLC part time and full time Clinical Education Manager, mentoring the next generation of nurses and educators. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in nursing to continue advancing her knowledge and leadership.
Since 2021, Donna has partnered with Lavender Lactation to offer compassionate, evidence-based care through home, office, and virtual lactation consults. She proudly serves families throughout Franklin, Cool Springs, and Brentwood, Tennessee.
leanne Rogers, certified breastfeeding specialist
Meet Leanne! Leanne may be present at your next visit as our lactation intern.
Leanne is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and IBCLC intern originally from Silverdale, Washington, now proud to call Hendersonville, Tennessee home. Outside of her work with families, Leanne loves exploring new places, making music through singing and piano, attending concerts, and spending as much time as possible with her family.
Earlier in her life, Leanne owned and operated a girls’ singing company dedicated to helping young girls find their voice and trust that it mattered. Supporting women in building confidence—at every stage of life—has long been central to her work and is a value she brings wholeheartedly into her care of new mothers.
Why Lactation?
Leanne’s path into lactation support was shaped by both personal experience and years of mentoring other mothers. As a mother of three, she has navigated breastfeeding, pumping, and combination feeding with both preterm and full-term babies. Alongside her own journey, she has guided countless women through the challenges and joys of early motherhood.
Through these experiences, Leanne witnessed firsthand the profound difference that compassionate, individualized care can make—care that goes beyond clinical guidance to truly center the mother and honor her unique story. This realization inspired her to dedicate herself to lactation support.
Leanne is currently completing her IBCLC credential through Pathway 3, gaining hands-on experience and mentorship to ensure the highest standard of evidence-based lactation care. She brings a warm, educational, and supportive approach to every visit, with the hope that families leave feeling calm, capable, and confident—deeply trusting that they are the expert on their own baby. We are so excited to welcome her to Lavender Lactation.
Lavender Lactation provides in-home, office, and virtual lactation consulting in Goodlettsville & Nashville. Board-certified IBCLCs for breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, and tongue tie support.