How We Came Together to Create Happy Bambino
In early 2004, Alison and Lea were introduced through a mutual friend (thanks Laurie!) who had heard both women talk about creating a place where families can come together to create community, ask questions and buy products that they need.  Happy Bambino opened nine months later...

In 2009 long-time customer, Carolynn, joined the team.  Read more...

Alison Dodge, Co-owner

Alison is co-founder of Happy Bambino and proud mama to Liam (2003), Ariana (2007), and Rocky (2009).

Background:
Alison brought a human resources background to Happy Bambino, but her love of children and fascination with the childbearing year have been with her from an early age. Alison is passionate about parental empowerment and choice in health care and the advancement of family-friendly social policies.

Lactation Work:
Alison is a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), assisting with Happy Bambino's Nursing Mamas Resource Station and answering breastfeeding-related questions in the store. Alison teaches the Breastfeeding & Newborn Care and the Breastfeeding: Return to Work classes at Happy Bambino

Outside Projects:
- Alison is the administrator for the Madison Nursing is Normal Project
- Alison is the web administrator and a volunteer for the Mother's Milk Association of Wisconsin (MMAW).

 

Lea Wolf, Co-owner

Lea Wolf is mother to daughter Ma'iingan (2002) and co-founder of Happy Bambino.

Background:
Lea was raised in Bad River, up on the shores of Lake Superior, by a whole lotta strong women who were involved in health and social services.  She became a mama while in grad school for Educational Policy and took a "year or two" off to open Happy Bambino.  Over the course of the past five years, she has, in addition to HB responsibilities, become a doula, childbirth educator, and photographer.  Yes, she's crazy.  But she enjoys very much spending time with babies, children, and families; as well as advocating for better birth, breastfeeding and family policies.  

Special Interests...
Family, photography, lotsa fiction and obsessive blog reading, eating out too often, enjoying chai at Mermaid Cafe, beadwork, and perfecting homemade popcorn.  Lea recently had a lot of fun volunteering as the photographer for the Nursing is Normal - Madison project.

Family...
Lotsa ladies in Lea's family!  A mama, three aunties, a sister, a daughter, three nieces, and her grandpa - the lone male, all of whom (with the exception of her kiddo of course) are at home in Odanah.  She's lucky to escape HB and doula obligations every other month or so to get home.  Her daughter Ma'iingan attends 2nd grade at The Madison Waldorf School (see if you can recognize Lea's "mini-me" on the home page!).  Lea is grateful to have a good co-parenting relationship with her daughter's father and stepmother, and is also happy to have the help of Ma'iingan's grandparents who live in Monona.
 

Carolynn Black Schwarz
Co-owner

Carolynn brings a special passion for locally made and US-made products to her position as Happy Bambino's co-owner & buyer. Carolynn is always interested in what our customers have to say, so don't be shy and say "hi." .

Special Interests... Carolynn is an accomplished musician/vocalist and the the lead singer of local r&b group Vibe Syndicate.

Family...She is the mother of uber toddler Zeke (2007), wife to husband Tom and they are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of "Sweet Pea" later this fall. [Carolynn and Zeke were the first mom/baby nursing pair photographed for the Madison Nursing is Normal Project.]

 

Laura Anderson
Sales Staff & Book Buyer

Laura has been with Happy Bambino off & on since shortly after the store opened. She has done a variety of different things around the store, but is currently serving as the Book Buyer and as well as occasional sales staff. Don't miss Laura's book reviews on Happy Bambino's blog!

Special Interests...Laura is a doula, & has attended over 40 births in the past six years. When not hanging with her family or attending births, she reads.

Family...Laura is married to Eric & a Mama of two, Sophia 8 & Niko 3.

 

Becky Held
Sales Staff & "Merchandising Maven"

Becky has been with Happy Bambino since shortly after the new location on Monona Dr. opened. For the past three years she enjoyed being a stay at home mom to her two kids. Becky believes that parenting is a rewarding job but it can also be a challenge to navigate all the choices out there. As a parent who practices attachment parenting, she saw Happy Bambino as an outlet to help new parents who are seeking knowledge and looking for products that are healthy for their children.

Special Interests: include cooking healthy vegetarian meals, listening to live music and traveling.

Family: Becky is married to Steve and has two wonderful kids, Lydia age 8 and Cameron age 3.

Becky was a baby once, too (aww!)

Alice Delaquess
Sales Staff & "Scheduling Goddess"

Alice joined the Happy Bambino sales staff in February 2010. She enjoys helping growing families find resources they need, and especially delights in meeting the babies that were inside those beautiful enormous bellies. Alice is a former La Leche League leader.

Special interests: Gardening, cooking and a variety of creative pursuits (eg. building a giant dragon puppet)

Family: Alice and Philip are the parents of two teenage daughters. Together they are the P.E.A.R family.

Emily Usinowicz
Sales Staff

Emily is a part-time sales associate who picked up some holiday hours in 2009 and just never left. She graduated from College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine) with a degree in Education, but spent most of the following six years managing a restaurant. Always passionate about pregnancy and breastfeeding, she began training to become a doula and lactation consultant with the birth of her second child. She lives with her husband, Jacob, and two boys Hayden (6) and Trilian (1) here in Madison.

Emily was a baby once, too (aww!)

Hilary Joyner
Bookkeeper & Web Sales Manager

Hilary attended Arizona State University where she received a B.S. in psychology with a minor in family and human development. We don't know what we ever did at HB before Hilary came. A Jill of All Trades, Hilary works as the Bookkeeper, Resource Center Director, and Web Sales Manager, and enjoys working with customers, paying personal attention to each package that we send, analyzing data, and gift wrapping.

Special Interests... include riding her bike, cooking, hiking and traveling.

Family...Hilary currently lives with her sister and dog Heidi.


 

Adria Cannon, IBCLC
Nursing Mamas Resource Station

Adria has been helping mothers and babies one way or another for the last 18 years -- and loving it the whole time.

Lactation Work... Adria has been a La Leche League International leader since 1996 and a Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2006. Adria blogs about breastfeeding news for families in the greater Madison area at MadisonBreastfeedingHelp.com.

Special Interests... Before I started helping breastfeeding mothers, I studied physiology, ecology, and statistics. In other words, I watched lizards run around, kept track of what they did, and tried to create computer models to explain what they did. Now I homeschool our four children and innovative education has become one of my passions. In any spare moments I knit, spin, dye, bake, garden, and keep bees.

Family...Adria started out as a breastfeeding mother in 1991 and breastfed all four of her children.

"I think successful breastfeeding experiences nurture babies and empower mothers. We all know about the benefits of breastfeeding but women often struggle to make it work. I want to help mothers succeed at breastfeeding by providing up-to-date information and caring support. My goal is for each mother to feel good about the time she spends breastfeeding her baby."