Meet your 2026/2027 BCIA Board candidates! Read their full bios below
Members may vote for one or all four of these candidates at the end of this post. Voting opens on Tuesday, September 29th and closes on October 5, 2026.
Eric Childs
USA – Ergobaby
Eric Childs is the Director of Global Product & Regulatory Compliance for Ergobaby, overseeing the Ergobaby, Tula, and Belly Bandit brands. Based in California, he built his foundation on the testing and compliance side of the industry — as a Lab Technician and Key Account Manager at UL Laboratories, then as a Compliance and Quality Engineer at Infantino — before moving into his current role, which has given him strong working relationships with key testing laboratories in the industry today.
Eric currently chairs the ASTM F2236 committee for Soft Infant and Toddler Carriers and the ASTM F2549 committee for Frame Child Carriers and serves as Vice Chairperson of the Baby Safety Alliance Technical Committee. Internationally, he’s a participating member of CEN TC 252, ISO TC 310 and Standards Australia.
He intends to bring that regulatory and technical background to the BCIA board — helping members navigate the increasingly complex web of domestic and international compliance requirements, and supporting testing, validation, and risk-mitigation planning as standards continue to evolve across markets and retailers.
Hulya Cinscicekci
Turkey – Neko Slings & Carriers
Hulya Cinscicekci is the founder and managing director of Neko Slings & Carriers, a baby carrier brand and manufacturer based in Izmir, Türkiye. She is also a certified babywearing educator through Die Trageschule. Her journey in babywearing has grown over the years from a personal passion into designing, developing and manufacturing carriers, while staying closely connected with the educators and families who use them.
Today, through Neko, Hulya works with babywearing educators, retailers and distributors across Europe, Latin America and other international markets. Being involved in everything from product development and textile production to safety, compliance and international distribution has given her a broad and very practical view of the babywearing industry. She especially values the relationships and exchange of knowledge that make the babywearing community so unique.
Hulya would be happy to bring the perspective of an independent manufacturer, educator and international brand to the BCIA Board, and to contribute to stronger connections between manufacturers, educators, retailers and the wider babywearing community around the world.
Joanna McNeilly
USA – Center For Babywearing Studies (CBWS)
Joanna McNeilly founded the Center for Babywearing Studies (CBWS) and has worked in the babywearing industry for more than 22 years as a retailer, educator, trainer, researcher, and small business owner. She was also a founding member of the BCIA Board and has remained involved with the organization as a member and industry professional.
Through her work with CBWS and across the broader babywearing community, Joanna has developed a wide-ranging perspective on the needs of manufacturers, retailers, educators, hospitals, and families. Her experience includes education and training, having trained more than 2500 professionals; product and business consulting, including a business group with over 70 members; and helping companies, nonprofits, and hospitals understand the importance of safety, compliance, and responsible industry practices.
Joanna would bring to the BCIA Board a focus on strengthening the practical value of membership, particularly around compliance and regulatory resources, while building stronger connections between manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and educators. She is also interested in creating more opportunities for member engagement so BCIA can continue adapting to the baby carrier industry’s changing needs.
Laura Brown
USA – BabywearingLA / Mamabird Los Angeles
Laura Brown is a former BCIA Board Member, and has been a babywearing consultant and industry leader for close to two decades. Based in Los Angeles, she founded and directs BabywearingLA, one of the largest babywearing community groups in the nation, and was Education & Events for Ergobaby for 5 years.
She currently teaches and consults in all areas of the baby carrier industry; directly with parents, events, mentorship for educators and perinatal professionals, and specializes in working with carrier manufacturers on design & development, education and marketing. She also regularly contributes to major media outlets such as Forbes, Babylist, The Bump & Baby Center. In addition to being a babywearing consultant, she is a postpartum doula, certified child passenger safety technician (CPST) and Certified Lactation Counselor.
Laura hopes to bring her passion for practicality and balanced babywearing – uniting educators, manufacturers, retailers and parents to work together for long term, community based education and sustainability.
We are excited to have a variety of perspectives represented by these candidates and are hoping all four will join our board for 2026/2027. Board members generally serve a 3 year term at minimum.
Ballot
If you have any trouble submitting your vote, please email us and let us know!