2026 Accessing the Milky Way Scholarship Winners Announced

The Healthy Children Project Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the seventh round of the Accessing the Milky Way Scholarship Initiative!

The winners receive a full scholarship for the Lactation Counselor Training Course, the evidence-based training helping more than 4,000 participants annually to gain the clinical expertise needed to solve complex feeding issues, build patient trust, and improve maternal child health in their communities. Successful participants will qualify to sit for the ALPP CLC® Exam, the premier national certification in lactation support.

We received nearly 200 applicants, and our decisions were not easy. This year’s winners are:

Grace Adegoye Manika Banks Terese Betts Uduak David Jessica M Eggleston Syeda Fakiha Zaidi Ericka Irizarry Villanueva Essivi Kwashie Pareena Lim Bianca Liu

Araceli Neri Mirta Parodi Perla Perez Ramirez Brooke Salazar Darlene Stadford Megan Udoeyop Jazlyn Velazquez Ulmiche Wagnac Carman Walker Anonymous recipient

In addition to a full scholarship covering tuition for the Lactation Counselor Training Course, our publishing partners, Jones & Bartlett Learning, have graciously donated copies of the Pocket Guide to Lactation Management for each recipient.

Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to supporting mothers and babies in your communities as they travel the Milky Way!