Built by Women Who Lived the Problem.

While pursuing her MBA at Rice University, Abbey Donnell identified a common challenge among her colleagues and friends: the lack of adequate support for breastfeeding mothers returning to work. Even in workplaces with supportive cultures, the necessary physical infrastructure was often missing, leaving a critical gap in workplace wellness.

Abbey launched Work&Mother, introducing professional lactation suites designed to meet the needs of working mothers. By collaborating with landlords and employers, Work&Mother helped clients comply with legal requirements and foster a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture.

Jules Lairson joined the company, bringing deep commercial real estate expertise. Together, Abbey and Jules expanded Work& from a single-suite concept into a scalable platform — connecting enterprise employers and top-tier CRE firms with world-class wellness infrastructure.

The federal PUMP Act expanded protections to nearly all nursing employees, adding legal urgency to what had always been the right thing to do. Work& was positioned to become the compliance solution for HR teams and facilities managers nationwide.

The company rebranded to Work& — reflecting its expanded mission beyond lactation to support every dimension of employee wellbeing: telehealth, meditation, faith, medication management, and more. The platform now serves McKesson, Anthropic, Canva, Vornado, Nuveen, and dozens more coast to coast.