Learn More About ICAP
Our Working Board
Learn More About ICAP
Our Working Board
Learn More About ICAP
Our Working Board
The International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Professionals (ICAP) was formed in 2016 with the desire to have a democratic organization for healthcare professionals supporting patients affected by oral restrictions. To this end, ICAP Directors are elected by the membership through a democratic process and serve 3 year terms. The organization calls for balanced representation from multiple specific fields with as much international diversity as possible. The 10 current board members represent 9 fields from 6 countries spanning the globe.
ICAP was conceived in response to a call for an ethical, inclusive and fair organization to represent the growing number of oral ankylofrenula professionals in the world. It is our strongest belief that mutual respect and collaboration amongst all healthcare professionals working with oral restrictions is essential to furthering our knowledge and maximizing our successes in this emerging field.
Dr. Ray loves working with parents and children to create positive experiences at each visit, for every child. He believes his role is to provide all the information needed to help parents make informed choices about their child’s oral healthcare, and to develop a plan that balances the wishes of parents with the wellbeing, health and wellness of the child. Dr. “Ray” completed his Bachelors of Science (BS), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He also completed a four-year residency/fellowship in pediatric dentistry and nutrition at the University of North Carolina Hospitals and School of Dentistry.
Dr. Ray is adjunct faculty at the UNC Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and serves as the Chair for Children’s Dental Health Programs for the North Carolina Dental Society. He has hospital privileges at Wake Med Hospital in Raleigh, NC as well as the Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, NC. Outside of his clinical and academic commitments, Dr. Tseng enjoys traveling with his wife and his son, Little Ray.
Jessica has been invested in helping families struggling with oral restrictions since giving birth to a tongue tied baby in 2005, while working as a La Leche League Leader, birth, and postpartum doula. She earned her IBCLC credential in 2009 and started a private practice in the Triangle area of North Carolina, in the United States. She provides home visits there and also works regularly to provide integrative care for treatment of ties in infants through the North Carolina Intergrative Tongue Tie Center. She has worked with multiple practices around the United States to initiate an integrative model in multiple geographic areas. She’s excited to see so many families fully supported by the Three Pillar Approach, as well as enjoying time with her husband and 4 children, ranging in age from 19 to 9. She’s also passionate about creating community and inspiring personal connections.
Nathalie is located in Abbotsford, BC Canada and has centred her Registered Massage Therapy practice around supporting babies and parents in reaching their state of wellness and growth. She started her Massage Therapy Schooling in 2002 at age 17 and graduated in 2004. In 2005 she started her journey with the Upledger Institute with CranioSacral Therapy and later added Visceral Manipulation & Neural Manipulation with the Barral Institute.
Nathalie is the owner of Womb To Wings & Soar Wellness Clinic. Her aspiration is to help more people than she could ever do alone and opened Womb To Wings in 2018 that focuses on Family Wellness. She has expanded into teaching other practitioners and creating a team of passionate practitioners that use an intergraded approach to wellness.
I am a Registered Nurse involved in improvements to Maternal/childcare since 1984. My experience in staff, management and education positions included Neonatal Intensive care, Pediatric, and pre/postnatal care. It was during my training as an IBCLC in 2009, that I fully appreciated the struggles many mothers endured looking for a qualified release provider when their baby was identified with a functional oral restriction.
I have been invested in the success of ICAP since its inception. I was involved in the development of the first Bylaw project in 2018. Serving on the Board from 2018-2023 was pleased to be involved in the rapid growth of the interdisciplinary impact on the advances in the identification and management of restricted oral tissues. In 2024 I was asked to return, as an interim director, to replace a Canadian Dentist Chairperson for the Financial, Ethics and Legal Committee. In 2024, ICAP membership approved the updates to the Bylaw when I was the Bylaw Committee Chairperson. I am excited to put my name forward as an IBCLC and Registered Nurse for another term on the Board invested in continuing research into the successful implementation of treatment for oral restrictions.
Robyn Merkel-Walsh, M.A., CCC-SLP, COM ® is a Licensed Speech Pathologist and Certified Orofacial Myologist® with over 25 years of experience in the state of NJ. She is employed full time by the Ridgefield Board of Education and runs a private practice in Ridgefield, NJ. She has been elected NJ Kids Top Doctors in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018.
Robyn specializes in Oral-Placement, feeding and orofacial myofunctional disorders in children. Her private practice focuses on Oral-Placement Disorders in children, and she has expanded her practice to teens and adults over the past two years. She conducts evaluations and Program Plans for children across the tri-state area. Her publications include, SMILE (Systematic Intervention for Lingual Elevation), Art Talk, Handy Handouts, OPT-S Kit, and she co-authored Sensory Stix, A Sensory Motor Approach to Feeding, Functional Assessment and Remediation of Tethered Oral Tissues and OPT Goals for Speech Clarity. She has also written several articles for the TalkTools® website, the ASHA Leader and Advance Magazine for Speech Pathologists. She has been published five consecutive years at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.
Robyn is a lecturer for professional enhancement courses as part of TalkTools® Speakers Bureau. She teaches OPT, TOTs, Tongue Thrust and Autism classes that have been offered for ASHA CEUs, and has been invited to speak on Oral Placement disorders by the New Milford Board of Education, The Apraxia Network, AAPPSPA, the International Association of Orofacial Myology The American Laser Study Club and the MOSAIC Foundation. She is actively involved in parental support groups for apraxia, TOTs and autism, and monitors an interactive Oral Placement Discussion Board on Facebook. Robyn was a chief clinician in a research project for the Moebius Foundation, and trains Level 3 and 4 Talk Tools candidates.
Robyn received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Montclair State University, where she was later invited to be an adjunct/clinical supervisor. She also taught classes at Bergen Community College, and is a former clinical site coordinator for Seton Hall University and Malloy College. She is a member of ASHA, AAPPSPA, NJEA, IAOM, OMI, Ankyloglossia Bodyworkers, ICAP and The Bergen County Apraxia Association. She served a term on the NJSHA Board of Directors and is the private practice co-chair. She is the Board Chair of the Oral Motor Institute which was founded by Pamela Marshalla. She is the proud recipient of the ASHA ACE Award and the Ridgefield Woman of the Year 2019 in Business.
Robyn has specialized training in Oral-Placement Disorders, feeding, apraxia, Applied Behavioral Analysis, TOTs, autism, Myofunctional disorders, orofacial myology, cranio-facial anomalies, Beckman Techniques and PROMPT. Robyn also has a specialized interest in integrative medicine and holistic healing.
Dr. Erick Galindo Valdes is Founder of Centro TOTS Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has been leading his private practice since 2007. With a specialty in pediatric medicine from the National Institute of Pediatrics in Mexico City, he brings over a decade of expertise in pediatric care, with a focus on early childhood development. As the founder of Centro TOTS Guadalajara, Dr. Galindo specializes in diagnosing and treating oral restrictions, particularly in newborns and infants, ensuring they receive the necessary support for successful breastfeeding. His practice is rooted in a commitment to guide families from birth.
Although Erick’s primary training is in pediatrics, he has sought advanced training in laser frenectomies, learning from leading experts in the field. This has enabled him to perform these procedures with precision and care. Additionally, he understands the importance of a multidisciplinary approach when diagnosing and treating oral restrictions. He is dedicated to guiding families through the process and connecting them with the appropriate specialists, ensuring a comprehensive, team-based approach to care. In addition to supporting newborns and infants, Erick’s expertise extends beyond the breastfeeding period. His specialized training allows him to treat children of all ages with oral restrictions, ensuring that their needs are met throughout their development.
Tine Greve is a midwife since 1991, IBCLC since 2000 and she has a bachelor in Traditional Chinese Medicine in Acupuncture from 2014. She has a focus on helping mothers preparing for physiologic birth and breastfeeding. She has previously been working in an Alternative Birth Care Centre in Oslo for many years.
She is currently working with counseling breastfeeding women in a multidisciplinary health care centre for mothers and babies where she has specialized in breastfeeding difficulties due to tongue-ties and motoric challenges. She is also a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor for “Ammehjelpen”, the Norwegian Mother-to-Mother support group for breastfeeding counseling (resembling La Leche League).
She has for many years been teaching in educational programs for midwives, NICU-nurses, nurse assistants, health care visitors etc. on a national level in Norway.
Tine Greve is an experienced speaker at international conferences such as ICM, Midwifery Today, ICAP Professionals, Nordic Midwifery conferences, Nordic Breastfeeding conferences, ILCA/VELB etc. She has been teaching and have had workshops in USA, Canada, Egypt, Ghana, Australia, Russia, Germany, The Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Slovenia, Romania, Austria, Belgium and France.
My name is Anna Lichnowska, and I hold a Master’s degree in English Philology. In 2012, I completed my studies in general speech therapy and neurolinguistics, followed by additional coursework in sensory integration and educational management. In 2021, I earned my Doctorate in Health Sciences, specializing in Public Health, with a focus on ankyloglossia, disorders of the stomatognathic system, and speech disorders associated with skeletal malocclusions.
Since 2018, I have been dedicated to advancing myofunctional therapy. I developed a course for Polish speech therapists called Orthognathic Speech Therapy, which we have been offering in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, physiotherapists, and orthodontists since 2022. Additionally, I have established a permanent partnership with the Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic at the Central Veterans’ Hospital and the Clinical Hospital of the Medical University in Łódź, where I consult on patients preparing for surgical correction of malocclusion.
I also manage a Private Psychological and Educational Counseling Center called “Land of Imagination,” an early intervention center that provides therapy to support the development of children facing various challenges, including genetic syndromes and autism spectrum disorders. Since 2018, I have collaborated with a research team on the treatment and therapy of malocclusions across all age groups. Our latest study, which evaluated the impact of frenuloplasty on the functions of the stomatognathic system in both children and adults, was published on September 10, 2024, in the Journal of Clinical Medicine in Switzerland. I am dedicated to ankylogossia treatment with non-invasive methods and multidisciplinary approach. I always advocate about functional assessment and I am very willing to continue the research in this field.
Dr. Reena Murray is a dual-trained Advanced Paediatric Osteopath and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with over a decade of experience treating infants and children with Ankylofrenula (tongue ties). As the Managing Director of Completely Aligned, Dr. Murray leads a multidisciplinary clinic providing comprehensive care to children and their families, grounded in evidence-informed treatment approaches.
Dr. Murray’s career is built on a passion for empowering parents and professionals alike through education and hands-on care. She has developed and led numerous educational initiatives, including “Tongue Ties: A Parent’s Guide,” an online course offering vital knowledge for understanding and treating oral ties in infants and children. In her clinical practice, she combines her expertise in osteopathy and lactation, collaborating with a broad range of healthcare providers to deliver holistic care for feeding difficulties, ankylofrenula, and paediatric musculoskeletal health.
With a background that integrates advanced paediatric manual therapy, lactation consultancy, and leadership in healthcare, Dr. Murray is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of paediatric health conditions, including Ankylofrenula. She remains a strong advocate for patient-centered care, training and equipping her team to support families on their journey toward optimal health outcomes.
Dr. Pada was raised with an appreciation of nature, family, community, and creativity and gratitude for being Canadian. Born and raised in Kelowna BC, Hilary returned home after University years having also travelled extensively through Africa, Europe, and Central America.
A 2000 graduate of UBC Dental School. Dr. Hilary Pada’s interest in Hospital, Emergency, and Complex Medical-Dental care motivated her to pursue the UBC-VGH General Dental Residency. Exposure to Oral Oncology piqued her interest and brought her home to work at BCCancer in Kelowna, start her family and raise 2 beautiful daughters.
Since 2001, Hilary has served patients in private practice dentistry and at BCCancer Kelowna. She embarked on a new journey in Oro Myofunctional Care and Integrative Oral Medicine when her youngest daughter’s health needs collided with a planned traditional orthodontic dental care path. Dr Pada’s extensive continued learning exposed her to a different way of thinking…that breathing issues, body tensions and anatomical oral restrictions are the root cause of many dental and overall health conditions. This path conflicts on some level with many aspects of established health care, which has been a challenge personally and professionally. It has been a personal healing journey as much as learning a new way to show up as a dentist in integrative health care.
Dr. Pada is an Affiliate of The Breathe Institute in LA California, as well as an Ambassador for the American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry. Although her care base currently spans all ages, her focus forward is infant care. She has studied cranial osteopathy through the Upledger Institute, and Chickly Institute, although her greatest learning has come from sharing clinic care with local osteopathic and craniosacral Therapy colleagues. She works with Optigenetics (advanced photobiomodulation) in combination with Oromyofunctional Therapy and Oral/patient idealized timing for tethered oral tissue releases. Her Involvement with the Applied Integration Academy is a main focus as an ALF therapy provider, combining osteopathic principles of care in physical therapy, neuro-optometry and podiatry.
“Once you see it, you cannot unsee it” and “breath forms life forms” are two common phrases spoken about her path. Hilary is fortunate to have assembled a strong, supportive and growing team of dedicated health professionals whose combined passion forms CO₂llaborative Care + Research.