Get acquainted with our staff
They have been chosen for their knowledge, expertise and experience. We are proud of every one of them!
Kirra Brandon, MD
Kirra Brandon is a physician and, like so many of us in the field, inspired by her own breastfeeding experience (she has nursed all five of her children for more than 113 months and counting!). She also brings considerable experience with Online education. She and her husband, Gus Stern, bring experience in providing Online education for health care professionals. As LER’s Medical Director, Kirra will be focused on expanding lactation education for all through increasing access around the globe and to a wide variety of health care professionals.
Amy Black, BS, IBCLC
Amy coordinates our Clinical Internship Program. Amy is a mother of three happily breastfed children, has a degree in finance and German and spends her "spare time" working at a local Virginia hospital as a NICU and Mother Baby Unit IBCLC.
Contact Amy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Julie Grimes, IBCLC
Julie breastfed her own son for 2 and a half years and has been a breastfeeding peer counselor for nearly a decade. She works on a variety of projects for LER, but you’ll most likely hear her friendly voice if you call the office or send us an email.
Sonja Kueppers
Sonja Kueppers, a mother of two and experienced breastfeeding peer counselor, is a Jill-of-all-trades. She has extensive professional experience in the Information Technology field and is our Information Technologies Consultant. At Lactation Education Resources, she is primarily focused on developing our web-based systems.
Wendy Lawrence
Wendy manages our Lactation Consultant Training program. She may likely be the friendly voice you hear on the phone when calling our office. She holds an Associate degree in Education and is the mother of two smart, strong, beautiful (and breastfed!) growing girls.
Contact Wendy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sekeita Lewis-Johnson, DNP, FNP-BC, IBCLC
Dr. Sekeita Lewis-Johnson is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Birth Doula. For over 20 years, her primary focus has been labor and delivery and maternal-child nursing. She is one of the Founding Members of Southeast Michigan IBCLCs of Color and owner of Mommy and Me Lactation Consulting, LLC. In addition to her role as Accredited Provider Program Director, she is also an instructor for LER.
Angela Love-Zaranka, BA, IBCLC, RLC, FILCA
Angela brings nearly thirty years of experience in lactation support, education, and leadership.
A La Leche League Leader since 1990 and a Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1997, she provides significant leadership to the profession. She has served as a board member for the credentialing organization for lactation consultants worldwide (IBLCE) and more recently the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA). Additionally, she has consulted for several non-profit organizations, hospitals and governmental agencies on access to lactation care and policy implementation. She has created lactation programs at military hospitals and provided a leadership role in the accreditation and redesignation of a Baby-Friendly Hospital. In her role as an IBCLC, she has provided clinical lactation support to thousands of families
She holds an undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Washington DC and is working towards a Master’s of Science in Administration, specializing in non-profit management.
A valued member of the teaching staff for more than 15 years, she continues to be inspired by lactation research, the latest trends in the profession and the families served by lactation support providers around the globe. One of her goals for LER is to advance lactation management information and skills to everyone from breastfeeding counselors to advanced lactation practitioners.
Jeanette McCulloch, IBCLC
Jeanette and the team at Birthswell oversee and execute LER's marketing and communications. Jeanette is the co-founder of BirthSwell and brings more than 20 years of experience in communications and health advocacy. She is passionate about eliminating the impact of racism on birth and lactation outcomes and ensuring that all families have access to high-quality, culturally sensitive care. She combines strategic communication skills with a love of social media and, as an IBCLC and trained doula, a real-world knowledge of birth and lactation.
Annette Nash
Annette is the right-hand assistant to Juanita in the Baby-Friendly Hospital program enrolling students and providing support to group managers. She is the mother of 2 very beloved breastfed babies who are now 10 and 12 and thriving in life.
Contact Annette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Becky Nield
Becky is responsible for coordinating, editing and publishing all coursework for LER and First Latch. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Idaho State University. Becky has 3 amazing daughters, all happily breastfed, and 2 fantastic step-children.
Sarah Rasco, BSN, RN, IBCLC, LCCE, CPST, LMT
Sarah is a Registered Nurse, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Lamaze Certified childbirth educator (LCCE), child passenger safety technician (CPST) and licensed massage therapist (LMT). She is certified in newborn behavioral observation and her work background consists of supporting and educating parents in varying degrees. Sarah is getting her master’s degree in public health, with a concentration in Maternal-child health policy and leadership. She is a mother of five breastfed children and a golden retriever. When not working or in school, Sarah loves to travel, read, enjoys eating good food and spending time with her family.
April Smith
April works directly with Becky editing audio and visual components of the course content. She has a B.A. in Liberal Studies and an extensive background in business and hospitality management. Her breastfed son is now a thriving young adult.
Juanita Spears
Juanita manages the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative project. She is your point of contact for all items related to Baby-Friendly and the FirstLatch website, which supports the Online Baby-Friendly courses. Juanita has an extensive background in business, education and account operations. View the FirstLatch page which contains the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative proposal.
Contact Juanita at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jill Stemm
Jill is a married mother of two breastfed children that holds a degree in Information Technology and Computer Programming. Her daughter was born premature and was never able to take a bottle due to a genetic disorder that caused an anomaly with her esophagus so she was fed breast milk through a feeding tube to help build up her weak immune system.
Nickole Unterzuber-Bowman
Nickole is responsible for all of the business operations of Lactation Education Resources and FirstLatch. Her experience includes human resources, operations, and project management.
Kimberly Weber, MSW, IBCLC
Kim Weber is a mother to 3 wonderful breastfed children, and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She has a Master's Degree in Social Work, and also works as a Mother Baby Unit IBCLC in a local hospital. You may "meet" her if you call the office or send us an email.
As LER's Former Program Director, Vergie Hughes brought a long history of experience in Maternal Child Health including labor and delivery, postpartum and pediatrics, and 30 years of involvement in lactation management.
We are grateful for her critical role in establishing and growing LER's stellar community of educators, staff, and students. We continue to look to the mission, vision, and core values that were established during her leadership.
We wish her well in enjoying her much deserved retirement, alongside her husband and LER's former Chief Technical Officer, Doug Thom.
