About Us
Our team at Milkify is deeply committed to ensuring the safety of your milk. Our processing team has more than 40 years of sterile handling experience - we are the experts you can trust to deliver a high-quality product for you and your baby.
The Milkify Processing Team


Trisha Cole, RN
Registered Nurse
State-Certified Food Handler
Breast Milk Processing Team
Mama of 2
The Milkify Tracking Team

Patricia Armitage
State-certified food handler
Breast Milk Tracking Team Lead
Mama of 2

Amy Selesky
Breast Milk Tracking Team
Mama of 2

Patricia Winburne
Breast Milk Tracking Team
Mama of 4
Our Experts
These experts have helped turn the vision for Milkify into reality.
ALLY WARD, MSN, APN, NNP-BC

Medical Expert
Ally is a neonatal nurse practitioner with over 15 years of experience caring for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Performing helicopter transport of critically ill newborns has been one of Ally's most valuable experiences as this has allowed her to build relationships with healthcare professionals and families under extraordinary an... Read More
Ally is a neonatal nurse practitioner with over 15 years of experience caring for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Performing helicopter transport of critically ill newborns has been one of Ally's most valuable experiences as this has allowed her to build relationships with healthcare professionals and families under extraordinary and complex circumstances. Ally has been a member of a wide-variety of healthcare, research, non-profit, and business entities and has acted as conduit between physicians and clinical care teams. Ally is also the mother of fraternal twin boys, who were born 10 weeks premature. Her experience as a nurse practitioner and a parent has given her a unique perspective on the intersection of healthcare and parenting.
SUZANNE KUJAWA-SMITH, APN,CPNP-PC
Medical Expert
Suzy is a board certified pediatric nurse practitioner and has worked in a variety of clinical setting including a Level IV NICU, freestanding pediatric children's hospital in both acute and primary care settings and now is part of a specialty care program. Suzy has over 20 years of experience working in healthcare as a licensed provider. She is... Read More
Suzy is a board certified pediatric nurse practitioner and has worked in a variety of clinical setting including a Level IV NICU, freestanding pediatric children's hospital in both acute and primary care settings and now is part of a specialty care program. Suzy has over 20 years of experience working in healthcare as a licensed provider. She is published in academic journals, participated in clinical research and has worked in her roles to advance patient and family education. She has collaborated across healthcare disciplines to optimize patient success, including the development of clinical pathways to ensure patient safety. Suzy is also the practicing mother of 3 boys.
ZACHARY CARTWRIGHT, PHD

FoodScience / Shelf-life Expert
Zachary Cartwright is a lead food scientist and isotherm application specialist with AQUALAB. He helps partners in the food and pharma industries to better understand the water in their products so they can speed up R&D processes, verify quality and safety, and hit specs during production. Zachary received his PhD in food science from Washingt... Read More
Zachary Cartwright is a lead food scientist and isotherm application specialist with AQUALAB. He helps partners in the food and pharma industries to better understand the water in their products so they can speed up R&D processes, verify quality and safety, and hit specs during production. Zachary received his PhD in food science from Washington State University and has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from New Mexico State University. To highlight AQUALAB solutions, he also hosts the Water in Food podcast where he talks with scientists, industry members and university professors about how their partnership has led to success stories.
SANDRA SERRA, RS

Food Safety Expert
Sandra is certified by The Texas Department of State Health services as a Registered Sanitarian and is a member of Texas Environmental Health Association (TEHA). Sandra worked for the City of Houston for 15 years conducting Health Inspections and teaching the Food Manager Certification Classes. She is the owner and operator of Food Safety Intern... Read More
Sandra is certified by The Texas Department of State Health services as a Registered Sanitarian and is a member of Texas Environmental Health Association (TEHA). Sandra worked for the City of Houston for 15 years conducting Health Inspections and teaching the Food Manager Certification Classes. She is the owner and operator of Food Safety International, which specializes in Third Party Inspections, Manager Certification Classes, Food Handler Training courses and TABC certifications.
AMY LUCAS, MBA, RDN, LD

Nutrition Expert
As a business owner, chef, and dietitian, Amy has over 20 years of experience in the food industry. Amy is an expert resource for helping individuals create solutions based around science, real life, and delicious food. As a new mom, she fully understands the unique needs and challenges that a growing family may need between home cooked foods, ... Read More
As a business owner, chef, and dietitian, Amy has over 20 years of experience in the food industry. Amy is an expert resource for helping individuals create solutions based around science, real life, and delicious food. As a new mom, she fully understands the unique needs and challenges that a growing family may need between home cooked foods, dining out, or incorporating convenience foods to help get everyone fed and survive the transition to motherhood.
MIRIS

Breast Milk Nutrition Experts
Miris develops, produces, markets and sells the Miris HMA – Human Milk Analyzer (HMA). Miris, based in Uppsala, Sweden, has FDA clearance for its Human Milk Analyzer, a novel device used to test breast milk for energy, fat, carbohydrate, and protein content. The device provides results within minutes using only a small sample of milk. The HMA is... Read More
Miris develops, produces, markets and sells the Miris HMA – Human Milk Analyzer (HMA). Miris, based in Uppsala, Sweden, has FDA clearance for its Human Milk Analyzer, a novel device used to test breast milk for energy, fat, carbohydrate, and protein content. The device provides results within minutes using only a small sample of milk. The HMA is being used to analyse breast milk for individual nutrition of preterm babies in NICUs in more than 53 countries worldwide.
ABBEY DONNELL, CLC, MBA

Breastfeeding/Maternal Support Expert
Abbey Donnell is the Founder and CEO of Work & Mother, a commercial lactation suite amenity with an associated technology to support working parents. Before devoting her work full time to Work & Mother, Abbey spent her career in marketing and brand strategy. Abbey has a BS and BA in Advertising and Spanish Language from the University of Colorad... Read More
Abbey Donnell is the Founder and CEO of Work & Mother, a commercial lactation suite amenity with an associated technology to support working parents. Before devoting her work full time to Work & Mother, Abbey spent her career in marketing and brand strategy. Abbey has a BS and BA in Advertising and Spanish Language from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an MBA from Rice University, and is a Certified Lactation Counselor. She is also a working mother herself, with firsthand experience of the challenges that today's working families face.
PARKER FREEZE DRY

Freeze-Drying Experts
Parker Freeze Dry specializes in providing custom, commercial, and production-sized freeze-dryers that are scaled to meet specific needs. Parker Freeze Dry is a leader in the commercial freeze dry industry with unsurpassed industry knowledge and experience, constantly evaluating trends and opportunities for continuous improvement on an already ... Read More
Parker Freeze Dry specializes in providing custom, commercial, and production-sized freeze-dryers that are scaled to meet specific needs. Parker Freeze Dry is a leader in the commercial freeze dry industry with unsurpassed industry knowledge and experience, constantly evaluating trends and opportunities for continuous improvement on an already proven concept.
MELINDA ENGEVIK, PHD

Scientific Expert
Dr. Engevik is an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her laboratory focuses on the crosstalk between bacteria and the gastrointestinal epithelium, with a focus on microbe-mucus interactions. Dr. Engevik has authored over 100 publications in top-tier research journals and is an expert in the field of host-microbe int... Read More
Dr. Engevik is an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her laboratory focuses on the crosstalk between bacteria and the gastrointestinal epithelium, with a focus on microbe-mucus interactions. Dr. Engevik has authored over 100 publications in top-tier research journals and is an expert in the field of host-microbe interactions and probiotic mechanisms of action.

A note from the founder of Milkify
I started Milkify with the goal of finding a better way to preserve the nutritional qualities of breast milk long-term. I was particularly interested in saving the beneficial bacteria present in breast milk, which are vital to a healthy baby gut. My background is in gut microbiome research, and I know how important breast milk is to healthy infant development. However, at the time Milkify was founded, I did not yet have a child… After having my first baby, our beautiful girl Arielle, I now appreciate the desire to save every last drop of that hard-earned liquid gold. I struggled through the first year of breastfeeding and pumping, and am grateful to have been able to save my stash in freeze-dried form.
I designed our service to be as easy as possible for you to do the same!