Our board

 Founder/President/Secretary

Hannah Branton is a Certified Health Education Specialist with a passion for creating solutions to unaddressed areas of wellness.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in health education as well as an Associate degree in business.  She believes in the importance of the “integration” of health (addressing multiple areas of wellness in one setting).  Hannah began her journey to open Babies First in response to both her own experiences as a new mother and her experience searching for childcare for her son.  While she was going through her own struggles, she realized she was not alone.  Through social media groups she found there were many mothers going through the very same struggles.  Many write posts desperately searching for affordable, high-quality infant care as well as answers to questions about “normal” infant development, infant health, breastfeeding, birthing, postpartum depression, and marriage issues after having a child.  Hannah sought to be a part of the solution and create a unique setting where infants can get the care they deserve, and parents can get the reliable answers they need. 

 Director

Katy is a Licensed Master Social Worker for the Family Medical Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  She worked in childcare before she made the decision to pursue her graduate degree.  She also worked as a Qualified Behavioral Health Provider with a community mental health clinic in their school-based program.  Katy loves the opportunity to volunteer for organizations and events including the Children’s Advocacy Alliance in Conway, Toad Suck Daze Festival committee, and the Dragon Boat Festival benefitting the Children’s Protection Center in Little Rock.  She is a mom to a 6-year-old named Mackenzie and she is a dog mom to a mini(ish) Australian Shepherd, Abby.  In her spare time, she enjoys anything active and outside with her family, Crossfit, reading a good book, and she is an avid puzzle doer.  

Director

 Emily Paul is a Certified Health Education Specialist, Certified Breastfeeding Educator, a Certified Childbirth Educator, and a Certified BLS instructor. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She lives in Vilonia, Arkansas with her husband (Nathan) and her 2 daughters (Adleigh and Rynleigh). They all love to be outside, especially if there is a body of water involved (the beach, a lake or a pool). Emily worked as a patient education specialist in the Maternal/Infant world at UAMS from June 2012 to March 2021. She now is the Clinical Project Coordinator for HD Nursing. She has been teaching online classes (human sexuality and women’s health) at UCA since 2010. Her involvement with Babies First will include: Board member, Instructor for prenatal and parenting classes, and volunteer. 

Director

  Lauren Gibson-Oliver (she/her) is a Family Medicine physician who grew up in Boulder, Colorado and attended the University of Colorado for her undergraduate degree in biology. She went on to receive her MD from Caribbean Medical University and an MBA from Davenport University. After serving as chief resident and graduating from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Family Medicine Residency Program – Little Rock in 2020, she joined the faculty as the Associate Residency Program Director. Having worked various jobs in the healthcare field since age 18, she found that Family Medicine aligned with her values and passions of education, patient- and community-centered relational care, prevention, and health disparities for historically marginalized and underserved communities. As a community physician and educator, Dr. Gibson-Oliver sees firsthand the struggles families face with lack of access to affordable high-quality childcare and parent/caregiver education and believes Babies First fulfills a desperate need in our community. Dr. Gibson-Oliver will provide Babies First with a family physician’s perspective to deliver the best services and care to our clients and community.  

Director