PC Management Team

April Sisneros was introduced to the WIC peer counseling program back in 2014 when she was hired on as the Belen Peer Counselor. After 2 years of working with her community and supporting WIC moms, April became a WIC Clerk for the Belen clinic. April decided to leave her position after 5 and ½ years so she could stay at home with her son and 2 older daughters. She is very family oriented and enjoys spending quality time with her family especially outdoors. She loves camping, fishing, and crotchet. She has had her own breastfeeding journeys with all 3 of her kids. April is a member of the breastfeeding task force and is also the secretary for the Valencia County Chapter. She loves to advocate for breastfeeding moms and was thrilled to accept the position as the Northwest region Local Peer Counselor Coordinator. April received her CLC in 2023 and will continue to offer breastfeeding support in her community however she can. 

Stephanie King is a mother of 4 and was born and raised in Northern New Mexico. She has been a Peer Counselor for the past 5 years and received her CLC in 2018. She received an associate degree in CAD Architectural Drafting in 2011 but soon after realized her passion was assisting in normalizing breastfeeding in the community and advocating and supporting breastfeeding families. Being the first to breastfeed in her family and experiencing the bond and the benefits of breastfeeding helped her to want to learn more and help others to reach their breastfeeding goals. 

Hello, My Name is Brenda E. Esparza, but a lot of people call me BEE because of my initials. My husband and I have been married for 25 years and we have a daughter, a son and a son in law. Our daughter is 24 and just got married last year, her husband is 25. Our son is our baby and just turned 21 a few months ago. He is studying Music Education at UNM. We also have two fur babies that we adore. In my spare time I like to read, spend time with my fur babies and husband while watching a movie and volunteer at my church on different activities. I've been working with the PC program for more than seven years serving as a Lead PC for almost half of that. It has been a privilege to have been able to serve my community as a PC for all these years. I have loved making connections with the moms I served and being there not only as their counselor but also as someone they can trust. I will miss those connections with the mom and their babies and getting those updates when the babies reach those milestones or mom reaches her breastfeeding goal. I am excited to expand my knowledge and horizons with this new opportunity. Thank you to everyone that has helped me and supported me on this path. 

Hannah Gamble-Melendez was raised in the Southeast New Mexican Desert, surrounded by the Guadalupe mountains and the Pecos River running right through town. 

After breastfeeding 4 children Hannah knew sometimes you have to be the change you want to see in your world, she wanted to support mothers & families in the Carlsbad community. Hannah joined as a WIC BPC in 2014, then Hospital Peer Counselor in 2017, and Local Peer Counselor Coordinator in 2020.

Here in Carlsbad where she, her husband Tim & family call home as a happy wife and proud mother of 4 children and 3 dogs is where her desire fueled her passion to educate and support other families in their breastfeeding journeys. She likes to face her challenges with faith, prayer, optimism & humor. 

Hi everyone I am Lesley Bernal and I have been a lead peer counselor for the southwest region for a little over 4 years and a peer counselor with the program for 6 years. I absolutely love it and have enjoyed every minute of this journey. During my time as a peer counselor I have been fortunate enough to help many different families, especially spanish speaking only families tackle through their breastfeeding barriers, obstacles, and reaching their breastfeeding goals. As a lead peer counselor I had the pleasure of not only working with peer counselors in my region but also all over the state of New Mexico. I enjoyed leading them in their new roles by helping with their training, offering shadowing sessions and answering their questions of what has and hasn't worked for me as a peer counselor. I now embark upon a new path but I hope to continue to support all of our peer counselors and program staff to the best of my ability. I am very thankful for this opportunity and I look forward to learning and connecting with everyone.