Our Team
Monica Banks is our Chief Guru. Prior to becoming the founder and CEO of Gugu Guru, Monica was a branding and marketing consultant in the Mom & Baby industry. She currently lives with her husband, two children and dog in Long Island, New York.
Krysta Harrick is our Operations Guru. Krysta lives in New Jersey with her husband and children. She has experience in the juvenile retail industry and loves working as a liaison for our valued vendor partners. She is excited to help new parents through exciting times in their lives.
Liz Humphrey is our Ecommerce Guru. Having a background in the baby product industry, she is passionate about finding solutions for overwhelmed parents-to-be and caregivers. Liz believes choosing the right products for a family’s lifestyle can both simplify and facilitate their life. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two dogs and is proud to be a part of the Gugu Guru community.
Abby Ludwig is our Parent Experience Guru. She is a mom to two sets of twins. She lives in the Chicagoland area. As a former Kindergarten teacher, she loves to keep things organized. Abby is proud to have joined the Gugu Guru team in 2017.
Jenna McMeans is our Brand Success Manager. She currently resides in Virginia with her husband. A former co-founder of an influence marketing agency, Jenna joined the Gugu Guru team in 2020. She's looking forward to learning the in's and out's of the baby industry and plans to help introduce exciting brands and products to new parents!
Christine Swearingen is our Teamwork Guru. A former math teacher, Christine is a military spouse and mama residing in Utah with family. She is honored to be a part of the Gugu Guru team and help parents along this crazy journey we call parenthood!
Trusted Experts
Naomi Alon
Little Crown Interiors
Full Bio
Naomi Alon is the owner of Little Crown Interiors, a niche design studio in Southern California offering local and nationwide e-design services just for nurseries and children’s spaces. She has designed over 200 spaces, and her work has been featured widely in print, web and on television.
Lori Bregman
Doula, Life Coach
Full Bio
Lori Bregman is a renowned doula, life coach, author, and cofounder of Seedlyfe- Superfood smoothie blends. She is also the founder of the "Rooted for life program." Lori has studied with some of the most renowned healers and spiritual teachers across the world. She is well versed in aromatherapy oils, the healing power of foods and holistic healing.
Julie Burt Nichols
Twiniversity
Full Bio
Julie Burt Nichols is “The Wizard” behind the curtain at Twiniversity — the #1 global resource and support network for parents of twins — where she serves as Editor-in-Chief and Instructor for the Chicago Twiniversity expecting twins classes. Julie is a proud mom of twin boys. Julie is a child passenger safety technician and the Twiniversity resident jingle writer.
Lori Caden
COO & Co-Founder of Belly Bandit
Full Bio
Lori Caden is the COO & Co-founder of Belly Bandit®, a company dedicated to helping women look and feel their absolute best before, during and after pregnancy. In 2008, Lori and her two sisters, introduced the Belly Bandit® Belly Wrap, a postpartum compression wrap that revolutionized the body after baby marketplace. In 2020, Lori and her sisters launched Proof®, a female empowerment company that delivers meticulously designed and expertly constructed leakproof undies for women ages nine to ninety.
Gina Ciagne
Momseze
Full Bio
Gina Ciagne, a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) for over 20 years, has led health education campaigns at the World Bank, HHS, and Lansinoh, where she was the company spokesperson, and led healthcare engagement for over a decade. She is proudly now a part of Momseze, a support and education service that connects parents 24/7 remotely to healthcare providers on a range of topics like feeding and baby care. Gina and her partner, Rob, and children life in Virginia.
Colleen Curtis
Chief Community Officer
Full Bio
Colleen spent 9 years at Yelp where she most recently served as the VP of International Community & Marketing, overseeing a multi-cultural team dedicated to delightful user experience and market expansion across 27 countries. She's advised startup clients in the art of user communication and acquisition, community building and infrastructure as well as international expansion of user communities and scaling internal culture. Colleen holds a B.B.A. in Marketing from Loyola University Chicago and a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University.
Tara Darnley
Founder Darlyng & Co.
Full Bio
Tara Darnley is a serial entrepreneur and innovation strategist known for her award-winning baby brand and lifestyle company, Darlyng & Co. Tara is a 6-year entrepreneurial expert who’s been featured in Essence, Marie Claire, The Steve Harvey Morning Show and more. After scaling her own business to success, she decided to begin the journey to helping other business owners do the same. As an avid dreamer, Tara knows the challenges business owners face when their visions aren’t quite clear enough to become a reality. Tara uses her expertise, wisdom, and business skills to work with business owners who desire to clarify, strategize, and execute a business based on their dreams. Along with her husband, Carl, Tara uses her experience with the largest eCommerce platform, Amazon, to guide blossoming business owners through the process of product development, product branding, and eCommerce retail store launches.
Natalie Diaz
Twiniversity
Full Bio
Natalie Diaz founded Twiniversity in 2009 to bring together parents of twins. Over a million parents a week flock to Twiniversity’s resources. Natalie is an author with a global bestseller, “What To Do When You’re Having Two”. She is also a Certified Lactation Counselor and Child Passenger Safety Technician.
Elina Furman
Media Marketer
Full Bio
Elina Furman is a seasoned media personality, marketer, travel journalist and bestselling author. Her work includes acting as Director of Marketing for DockATot and marketer/growth strategist at her own boutique digital agency, Elfin Media, for many sought-after children’s brands. Elina has deep-level expertise in the baby/kids industry and has been featured as a spokesperson on national television networks and in top media outlets and publications.
Alexzandra “Xza” Higgins
Entrepreneur
Full Bio
Alexzandra "Xza" Higgins is mother to two children and lives in Chicago. She is a serial entrepreneur whose current businesses focus on new parents. The MommyCon event travels around the country connecting thousands of parents with brands within the baby space. Since launching MommyCon in 2013, DaddyCon and KidCon are now part of the Parent & Co. family of brands.
Jessica Hill
The Parent Collective
Full Bio
Jessica Hill is the founder of The Parent Collective (TPC), which offers evidence-based prenatal and parenting education. Jessica hopes that couples taking their series will cultivate a social network through weekly participation, forge a robust prenatal/parental support system and of course, gather playmates for the little ones on the way.
Alison Jacobson
CEO of First Candle
Full Bio
Alison Jacobson has been the Executive Director/CEO of First Candle since 2016. She has done collaborative work with organizations including the National Institutes of Health, Consumer Products Safety Commission and American Academy of Pediatrics. Alison is the mom of four children, step-mom to two and caregiver for her husband with Multiple Sclerosis and son with intellectual disabilities.
Brandi Jordan
Postpartum Care Expert
Full Bio
Brandi Jordan has been helping new families grow, adjust, and find balance for almost two decades. Brandi is a Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Pediatric Sleep Specialist, Newborn Care Specialist, and a Postpartum Doula. She holds a BA in Child Development and a Master's of Social Work from USC. Over the past few years, Brandi has made headlines with a few high-profile clients such as Rosamund Pike, Megan Fox + Brian Austin Green, and Julia Stiles who praise her approach, combining modern ideas and technology with age-old wisdom and protocols. Brandi’s goal is to help all moms regardless of profile, and every client loves her most-used mantra: Calm Is Contagious”. In 2009, she opened The Cradle Company, a pregnancy, and postpartum resource center, which now serves families all over the world. Brandi's work as a consultant, parenting leader, and in-home practitioner has led her to develop a unique philosophy of gentle parenting techniques that are a pragmatic, practical, and healthy approach for the "whole" family.
Tara Campbell Lussier
Co-founder of Arrow Birth
Full Bio
Tara Campbell Lussier is the co-founder of Arrow Birth, a virtual education and 1:1 support platform for every step of the parenthood path. Arrow connects today's families, employers, and enterprises with next-gen parenting resources where everyone wins. Tara is a former doula in the DC area, where she supported over 300 families throughout the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. Tara lives in Northern VA with her husband and four young children, including a set of twins.
Kelly Mariotti
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
Full Bio
Kelly Mariotti is the Executive Director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. She was the cover model for the April 2008 issue of Working Mother, where her company, Green Frog Art, was honored nationally as Best Women Owned Business. After selling her business, she joined JPMA in 2013. Kelly resides in Florida with her husband and daughter.
Becky Miller
Tinyhood
Full Bio
Becky Miller is co-founder & CEO of Tinyhood, the premiere provider of online classes for new and expectant parents. With a background in engineering and a first-hand desire to build a better way forward for fellow parents everywhere, Becky and her co-founder work with top certified experts to curate and deliver world-class online education and personalized services.
Mahaley Patel
Certified Pediatric
Sleep Consultant
Full Bio
Mahaley Patel is a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant. She is also a Master's Candidate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at Pepperdine University. Beginning in 2020, Mahaley will be a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee. Her passion lies in helping moms through the journey of motherhood. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and dog.
Jen Saxton
Founder & CEO
of Tot Squad
Full Bio
Jen Saxton is the Founder & CEO of Tot Squad, a baby services marketplace that connects new parents with health, wellness and safety services. Jen received her MBA from Northwestern University and her BS at Duke University. She is a Child Passenger Safety Technician and Certified Franchise Executive. Jen lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.
Jada Shapiro
Founder of Birth Day
Presence & Boober
Full Bio
Jada Shapiro is the founder of Birth Day Presence and Boober. This femtech startup connects expectant and new parents to expert, in-person care providers. Shapiro is a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, certified lactation counselor, birth photographer, and mother. Her experience makes her sought out by platforms such as the New York Times, The Today Show, NBC, and CBS.
Emily Sylvester
Founder and CEO of Nurture Talk
Full Bio
Emily Sylvester, MS, RD, LDN, IBCLC is the Founder and CEO of NurtureTalk. Emily has worked as a pediatric Registered Dietitian and IBCLC for over 9 years working closely with breastfeeding families, NICU babies, and infants who need help to grow and thrive by providing nutrition care in homes, community groups, and outpatient clinics. Emily is the 2019-2021 president of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition and was recognized as Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Emily founded NurtureTalk to reinvent how communities connect to equitable infant feeding information and is the proud mother of 3 babies under the age of 6.
Halle Tecco
Founder & CEO of Natalist
Full Bio
Halle Tecco is a mom and the Founder & CEO of Natalist. Previously she founded early-stage digital health venture fund Rock Health, and was an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School. Halle is an advocate for women in the workplace, as well as family planning and fertility. Halle was named as one of Goldman Sach’s Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs and listed on the Forbes 30 under 30. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and MPH from Johns Hopkins.
Kim West
The Sleep Lady
Full Bio
Kim West, “The Sleep Lady”, is the mother of two daughters and has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 27 years. She has appeared on national television programs and written multiple books on her sleep methods. Kim started the Gentle Sleep Coach® Training and Certification program in 2010 - the first and most comprehensive training program in the world.