STAFF
Amanda Paddock
Executive Director, Operations
As a military spouse, Amanda left Sierra Vista after high school and lived in many regions of the US and Europe. This gave her an appreciation for how others live.
Amanda earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Wildlife Biology and gained experience in research and conservation. Her travels were vast, varied and encompassed many of her interests. In Germany, Amanda was employed as a para-educator working with developmentally disabled high school students and fell in love with working one-on-one with those individuals, watching them grow and thrive. Amanda then worked for a city zoo in New York State. That experience helped grow an appreciation of how education inspires preservation of wildlife and the environment. Amanda gained management experience as a Manager at a large Specialty Vet Hospital in Washington State, making the connection between quality service and customer satisfaction. Amanda is excited to combine her passions and skills at Echoing Hope Ranch and looks forward to contributing to its growth and success.
jasmine ballestros
Program Manager
Jasmine was born in Douglas, AZ, and grew up in Bisbee. Bisbee is her home, but she moved to Sierra Vista a few years ago to be closer to her family. Jasmine is a 2010 graduate of Bisbee High School and soon after began her work supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. Little did she know that this would be where her heart was. Jasmine started her career with EHR in 2018 as an on-call/relief staff for all departments. Shortly after, she was promoted to the team for the IDLA program in 2019 and became a DTA lead. In 2020 she became a lead for habilitation and respite. Jasmine became EHR’s Program Assistant in 2021 and Program Manager in June 2022. Jasmine has grown with EHR’s participants and would never choose to have done anything differently. Jasmine has four children and is thankful to be part of EHR, guiding individuals along a successful path.
Daniel Wichgers
Ranch Manager
Daniel Wichgers, EHR’s Ranch Manager, hails from Wisconsin and discovered his passion for agriculture at an early age, influenced by his grandparents. Eventually, he made the decision to move to Arizona to pursue his love for farming and ranching. Using the knowledge he gleaned from his grandfather, Daniel was able to begin his career in sustainable agriculture with Echoing Hope Ranch. After five years of service, Daniel has accomplished many influential projects. A farm-to-school program that has delivered more than 4,000 lbs. of organic produce to area schools is something EHR is very proud of and is only possible with the leadership of Daniel and his team. He is a certified vertical gardening specialist, well versed in permaculture and regenerative agriculture practices. He is also an expert in aquaponics and has instituted new growing technologies to increase production output by 15% yearly.