Our mission.

We empower breastfeeding mothers and new parents at work and at home.

As a women-owned and staffed business, we champion parents from all professions and backgrounds. We work with parents and employers to provide the tools to support their lactation needs in every workplace situation. For over 30 years, Healthy Horizons has supported over 2 million parents, families, and employees with expertise and compassion.

You'll find our welcoming lactation spaces and new parent programs in Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, universities, government agencies, and nonprofits, spanning 125+ cities throughout the US and Canada. Our team of women, representing diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, and experiences, has fostered happy and healthy communities since 1991.

Cassi Janakos Chavez

M.Eng.

Co-Founder and COO

How it all started. And why we dream big.

Learn about our story.

"I wanted every family to have access to nonjudgmental support for their breastfeeding journey."

Learn how we started from one mom on a mission to help other parents achieve their breastfeeding goals. Today Healthy Horizons supports lactation programs for top workplaces across North America and continues to provide compassionate breastfeeding support for 2 million employees and growing.

Get acquainted with the mother-daughter powerhouse at the helm of Healthy Horizons.

Sheila Janakos and Cassi Janakos, mom and daughter, lead Healthy Horizons breastfeeding centers and corporate lactation programs. Supported by a team of talented lactation consultants and staff, they are proud of Healthy Horizons' 30 year history of empowering breastfeeding families.

Introducing Sheila,

breastfeeding pioneer.

Discouraged by her doctor from breastfeeding during her first pregnancy and lacking lactation support during her second pregnancy, Sheila Dukas-Janakos became determined to empower new mothers.

Healthy Horizons was borne 30 years ago out of a desire to provide general information and counseling to women on nutrition, human sexuality, health, and general breastfeeding support. Sheila is affectionately known as the “The Milk Fairy Godmother” to many families.

Meet Cassi, workplace lactation innovator.

Cassi Janakos Chavez is an engineer, designer, and serial problem-solver. Cassi leverages her experience in product management, leadership coaching, and design to transform how companies ease the transition of new moms returning to work.

After seeing women engineers who were new mothers abandoning careers they loved due to lack of support at work, Cassi left her own engineering job to co-found Healthy Horizons Corporate Lactation Services.

On improving working mothers’ lives, Cassi says: "No mother should feel forced to choose between her career and her little one. Our purpose is to make sure the workplace support moms need is available.”

Cassi Janakos

Cassi Janakos is an engineer, designer and serial problem solver leveraging her experience in product manager, leadership coaching and design to make disruptive changes in how companies ease the transition of new moms returning to work.

After seeing women engineers leave a career they are passionate about after having a baby because of lack of support at work, Cassi left her engineering job to co-found the Healthy Horizons Corporate Lactation Services to change this.

Cassi says “No mother should feel forced to choose between her career and her little one, our purpose is to make sure the workplace support moms need is available.”

Our History

It all started with wanting to ensure that other lactating women didn’t have to visit 13 doctors, all providing different advice, to get the necessary information and support. Her lifelong interest in all things public health, desire to educate the public (graduate thesis on working and breastfeeding), experiences with lack of support for breastfeeding and being a working mother led Sheila Janakos to found Healthy Horizons in 1991.

Since its inception Healthy Horizons has focused on helping all women with their breastfeeding goals, and to guide them finding ways to successfully combine breastfeeding with their school and work goals. After countless years of working with moms, Sheila identified a need for full-service breastfeeding centers. These breastfeeding centers were the first of their kind to offer good quality breast pumps, products along with in-depth education and support.

30 years later Sheila is still in contact with some of the original families, and is affectionately known as “The Milk Fairy Godmother” to many in the Bay Area.

As with every good business, you must continue to evolve. Evolution is what led Healthy Horizons to create industry leading and defining Corporate Lactation Support Programs. The corporate lactation support programs really grew out of a grassroots effort. New mothers had increased knowledge that they deserved breastfeeding support and accommodations at work and school. It was from the realization that women were stopping breastfeeding prematurely because of work conditions surrounding lactation accommodations.

Moms and business started reaching out and this was the genesis of such a program. We were first to market with this concept and were able to forge a truly innovative business that was driven by breastfeeding mothers' desire to provide milk for their babies in a safe clean environment with state of the art equipment and supplies. Along with up to date relevant and practical breastfeeding education and support.

Over the next 30 years, Healthy Horizons will continue to provide innovative and industry leading care. And will continue to keep this quote at the forefront of our business model.

Hello, team!

Our lactation and parenting consultants are equipped with international board certifications, technical training — and tons of experience as loving moms, dads, and baby whisperers.

Breastfeeding consultations are with healthcare professionals credentialed as International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants® (IBCLC®). They specialize in the clinical management of breastfeeding, and are experts in the fields of human lactation and breastfeeding counseling.