Tonya Lang is a co-founder of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Lactation Collaborative of California. She advocates for AANHPI breastfeeding equity at the national, state, and local levels. She was Co-founder and Chair of the Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Task Force (ASAP!) and have served as Co-Chair and on the Steering Committee of the Alameda County Breastfeeding Coalition.

In 2021-2022, Tonya acquired a NACCHO grant to culturally tailor a prenatal toolkit for the Chinese and Vietnamese breastfeeding communities, and a Friends of La Leche League (LLL) grant to create the ASAP! Social Media Toolkit which contains six culturally relevant educational messages in eleven AANHPI languages.

Tonya is passionate about growing AANHPI Lactation Support Professionals. She secured funds for two students to train for the IBCLC exam. Tonya advocates for data collection that accurately reflects the AANHPI groups breastfeeding rates. To advance the AANHPI lactation narrative, Tonya gives presentations at the California Breastfeeding Coalition, California WIC Association, and United States Breastfeeding Committee.

Tonya has also been an active LLL Leader for almost two decades. She supports families in Oakland and Alameda, and is an experienced Board member of the LLL of Northern California, Hawaii, and Northern Nevada Area. She guides the Area in maintaining its nonprofit status, organizing speaker events, and obtaining CEUs for participants.

Besides working strategically to elevate AANHPI breastfeeding families’ and lactation providers’ voices, dedicating herself to LLL, breastfeeding families and her co-Leaders, Tonya builds relationships and mentors anyone seeking her support. Thank you Tonya for all you do for the Lactation Profession!