Berkshire Nursing Families was founded in 1998 by Rosalie Girard, an Internationally Board Certified Lacation Consultant and former president of the MA Lactation Consultant Association. BNF gained 501c3 status in 2000 and grew from a grass roots lactation support group, Berkshire Nursing Mothers, which began in 1974. Rosalie retired as the Executive Director of BNF in 2022. Her work with infant feeding was inspired by the births of her 4 children and the need for technical assistance and support that she saw around her. She received the Martin Luther King Jr Peacemaker Award, the Commonwealth of MA Unsung Heroine Award, the MA Department of Public Health Commisioner's Leadership Award, and most recently the Northern Berkshire United Way's Al Nelson Spirit of Caring Award.