Board of Directors
Mallie Burton
she/her
Board President
About Mallie
As a Black woman who enjoys life and smiles a lot, I enjoy spending my time with family and friends. Growing up as a child my mom always told me “Black is Beautiful.” To this day I know Black is Beautiful and I love my melanin. I have been natural for sixteen years and have had my sisterlocks for one year. I have listening ears, which often help put a smile on the faces of people who I serve as I want to make our world a better place.
A’lil’ about me: My name is Mallie Burton (She/Her/Hers) and mom of an eleven month old son.
I was born in New York and raised in San Antonio, Texas and Greensboro, North Carolina. My family origins are from Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. I currently live in Charlotte, NC and have been receiving awesome lactation support from the Charlotte CMC Chapter. I am personally passionate about CMC as a new mother who breastfeeds and feels empowered at every monthly CMC meeting. I want everyone who attends CMC meetings to be empowered.
I received my Bachelor of Social Work degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and Master of Social Work degree from the Joint MSW program between North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I have been a social worker for over twenty years and have worked in schools, medical settings and universities. My profession and serving on many other local and state Boards has given me the opportunity to advocate for people of the African Diaspora. My work includes education, food, healthcare, and housing. I look forward to supporting the mission, vision, and core values of CMC.
One interesting thing about me: I have three more continents to visit: Antarctica, Australia and South America. I am diligent, friendly, hardworking, kind-hearted and resourceful. I am elated to serve on the Chocolate Milk Café board.
Chelawnta Lewis
she/her
Board Vice President
About Chelawnta
Image of a black woman wearing brown glasses & a black shirt. With a two-tone Half-up half-down honey blonde and black Afro with two buns, beads & gold hair jewelry. Wearing gold hoop earrings.
My name is Chelawnta Lewis my pronouns are she/her. I am from Kansas City, Mo. I am a 31-year-old wife and mother of 4. In June 2020 I joined my first CMC meeting in preparation to breastfeed my son after a failed attempt with my daughter in 2019. Coming to that meeting completely impacted not only my breastfeeding journey but my life. It sparked a fire in me to serve an unserved community. My community, my people. To serve the black families who are failing to succeed due to the missed education about lactation. From that moment forward I started my journey to educate as many people as I could. I became a doula in February of 2022 with the understanding that proper lactation support starts while the baby is still in the womb. My long-term goal is to support as many black families as I can in lactation support so that we can reclaim something so beautiful and so powerful.
I am a Stay at Home Mom so most of my time is spent taking care of the people I love the most, my family. I also serve alongside my husband as the leader of our youth ministry at church. My family, my faith, and my community are the most important thing to me. Serving my family and church has taught me to always serve with love, grace, and kindness.
I consider myself to be a self-starting leader that easily impacts and influences others. I pride myself on my ability to see a need and come up with a solution. I believe I am truly an asset to my community and I do what is necessary to increase our overall success. I am an advocate for good postpartum mental health for the entire birthing family. I believe good mental health brings forth greater success in the 4th trimester and assists in overall success during lactation.
I can truly say that my overall goal in life is to educate as many black families as possible. Also to make prenatal, postpartum & lactation as safe and comfortable as possible for the families I serve. Whatever capacity I find myself in while serving CMC I know will have a positive impact on the community we serve.
Chantal Wallace
she/her
Board Secretary
About Chantal
In front of a cream color wall with a white door is a smiling black woman with dark blue glasses and long black box braids. She has on a black t-shirt with white letters and blue backslashes obscured by her hair.
My name is Chantal Wallace (she/her). I live on the tribal lands of the Karankawa, Atakapa and Akokisa people, also known as Houston, Texas. I learned about Chocolate Milk Café through baby carrying friends, and came to love the organization while supporting staff in learning transformative justice practices. I am not a parent yet, but I want to be one day. And I believe deeply in the need for the lactation education and support CMC provides to the community, especially as a Black-centered, LGBTQ-friendly space. I am a caring, goal-driven, detail-oriented person, and I would love the opportunity to be the Secretary for the Board of Chocolate Milk Café. On a personal note, in my free time, I love dancing tango and cooking for people I care about. Thank you for your consideration.
I can truly say that my overall goal in life is to educate as many black families as possible. Also to make prenatal, postpartum & lactation as safe and comfortable as possible for the families I serve. Whatever capacity I find myself in while serving CMC I know will have a positive impact on the community we serve.
Open
Board Treasurer
Mikayla Winn
she/her
Board Member
About Mikayla
This portrait is mostly my face with a big smile, high cheekbones and dark brown eyes. I have brown skin and I have high-top locs styled in a curly bun. I am wearing a hot pink blouse.
Hi, my name is Mikayla Winn (she/her). I am a Kansas City, MO native who has lived on the East side all of my life. I graduated high school from Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and continued to stay in KC for college. I graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2013 and I am a current student there, and I will obtain my Master of Public Administration this summer. I love my hometown, but I also enjoy traveling. It’s one of my favorite activities and is how I met my husband 5 years ago. We are a family that includes a ten-year-old son and our first child together, an 8-month-old daughter. It was during my pregnancy that I connected with an awesome doula at Uzazi Village who introduced me to Chocolate Milk Café (CMC). My breastfeeding journey has been magical! It has been a beautiful experience to bond with my child in such a unique way while also providing the best nutrients for her. The vision and core values of CMC strongly align with my own values. I want to do my part to help this organization flourish and exceed any goals it sets out to achieve. Being a Black woman and a new mother, I feel it is imperative to give back to the community and foster unity in our community. I am passionate, determined and caring, I believe these qualities will be critical to CMC advocacy and furthering its mission.
Royelle McKenzie-
Jeffrey
she/her
Board Member
About Royelle
I’m a dark-skinned oval faced Black woman with light brown moles, brown eyes, medium braids in a bun on top of my head & large round dangling earrings. Wearing a black blouse with small white polka dots
My name is Royelle McKenzie-Jeffrey, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I identify as a black woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, & a friend. Five words to describe me are loving, adventurous, loyal, dedicated, & resilient. To know me is to love me. My adventurous spirit has allowed me the opportunities to take risks to ensure that my dreams become reality. I am loyal to my family and my community, and I am dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable populations. My resilience allows me to continue my path no matter the obstacles that arise.
I was born & raised in Brooklyn, New York from immigrant parents from the islands of Aruba & Grenada. My siblings and I spent most of our summer vacations running free in Grenada with our grandparents & cousins. My parents felt it was important that we understood where we come from & the strong lineage that is connected to our African roots as well as the Arawak Indians of the Caribbean. Living in a diverse community in Brooklyn, many of my friends were first generation Americans. We were all connected by our parents’ commitment to a better life for their children. I am the daughter of the African diaspora.
I have been trained as a licensed Physical therapist for 20+ years & I am currently working at the New York City Department of Education in support of students & academic success & social emotional well-being across all five boroughs. I began my career out on the ground, in schools as a staff school Physical Therapist. I transitioned into the role of Supervisor that allowed me to apply my school-based experience to continue having a meaningful impact but maintaining the objective of students receiving quality and effective physical therapy. Currently, I am the Physical Therapy Manager and I embrace the opportunity to continue to lend support, guidance, and service to the therapists, school staff, parents and most importantly the students of NYCDOE especially those communities that have been underserved for years. My role was & continues to be to advocate on behalf of our students and our communities.
When I began my own pregnancy journey, I was adamant that I wanted to breastfeed my child. Many individuals in my family were not as supportive of my commitment to breastfeed for as long as my body and mind could physically, mentally, and emotionally continue. When my son was born, breastfeeding was challenging. I reached out to the hospital lactation consultant, but I did not have a connection with her. When I was home there was no one around who had intimate knowledge of breastfeeding. The FB group (Breastfeeding support group for Black Moms) was a lifesaver. The support & knowledge they shared helped to ease many of my fears & empowered me to continue when friends & family told me I ‘need’; to stop. It is because of this support that I made 20 months in this journey. I felt encouraged to lend support to other women. I have been informally counseling, encouraging & supporting woman through their breastfeeding journey. This is why I applied to be on the board of directors. I want to be a part of a community that believes in the importance breastfeeding plays in black families & communities in the African diaspora.
Char'dae Bell
she/her
Board Member
About Char'dae
I am Char'dae Bell. My pronouns are she/her. I was born, raised, and currently living in Topeka, KS. I am blessed to be able to live and learn from 4 generations of my family right here in Topeka, KS. I am currently a PhD Student at Kansas State University working toward a doctorate in Couple and Family Therapy. I have a passion to help the Black American Community be as healthy and successful as possible. I quickly learned, if we wanted change in this country, I needed to play a part in that change. My approach to changing my community starts with Family. My goal is to strength the Black American Family. Being a single mother it was important for me to give my daughter the best start at life. For me that was breast feeding. Although I was discouraged to do so and was told the horrors of breast feeding, it never wavered my decision. I was even told to not even try because it is such a “frustrating experience”. Now 10 years later, after 11 months of breastfeed, my daughter has become a sports star, all thanks to that great beginning. I live life with the mottos, “I have overcome 100% of my Bad days” and “Life is too short for normal colored hair”. I want to spread healing vibes to all those I come in contact with. I push forward everyday to make things better for my people.
I am the unstoppable force and the immovable object.
Adventurous, Resilient, Creative, Persistent, Supportive
Tasha Phifer
she/her
Board Member
About Tasha
Photo of Tasha in front of a brick wall. I'm dressed in a white dress with black polka dots and a green coat.
Hello, my name is Tasha Phifer (she/her) and I'm originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. I moved to New York City 6 years ago in search of a fresh new chapter, which I found. I trained to become a Doula in 2020 after hearing countless stories of how black and brown women are mistreated during their prenatal care and labor & delivery experiences. Becoming a Doula has been a fulfilling journey for me. At present I am a postpartum doula and a doula coordinator with The Mothership Doula Services in partnership with The Citywide Doula Initiative. The communities we serve are Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. I met LaShanda of the Chocolate Cafe-Harlem in 2022 when my business partner and I were looking for additional resources and support for our cohort of doulas and we have been crossing paths among the Doula community ever since. The 5 adjectives that I would use to describe me are loyal, passionate, advocate, dreamer, and adventurous.