The WIC program is pleased to announce the job change of Angela Kelewae and the hiring of Aisling Perry.

Angela Kelewae, who since 2010 has served as a breastfeeding peer counselor with the YCCAC WIC program, has accepted the position of WIC nutrition counselor in the Spruce Street office. In her new job, Angela will perform program eligibility and nutritional assessment for individual clients. She will conduct child development and immunization checks, health screenings and referrals, and will provide individual education in nutrition, breastfeeding and health issues. Angela will also periodically join her colleagues at off-site events like health fairs and farmers’ markets, to raise public awareness about the program as well as health and nutrition issues. “I’m really happy to move into this new position,” Angela said. “I will continue to work with breastfeeding moms, but my primary job will be to work with WIC clients as a nutrition counselor.”

Joining WIC as Angela’s replacement is Aisling Perry, who has five years’ experience as a breastfeeding peer counselor, most recently at Montachusett Opportunity Council, Inc., in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Aisling, a mother of two boys, understands that expectant or new moms often need someone to talk to who knows what they’re going through. As a breastfeeding peer counselor, Aisling can share her own experiences and provide help and advice based on current research and knowledge from experts. Breastfeeding peer counselors meet with clients (expectant and new moms, and even fathers) to provide support pre and post-partum, offering suggestions to help with difficult or painful breastfeeding, and helping women develop the confidence and skill to breastfeed successfully. “Good nutrition begins with breastfeeding,” Aisling said. Aisling will divide her time between the Sanford and Biddeford WIC clinic sites.