Audra Hitz

I attribute my success to self-discipline. If there was just one thing, I would say definitely self-discipline, because it's so easy to give up when things are hard, and things will get hard - there's no doubt about that. But if you have the self-discipline of just buckling down and riding it out and being resilient, then you just get stronger and stronger, and that's really what I think builds success.

The best career advice I've ever received is about putting on an oxygen mask first, like if you're on an airplane. You have to make sure that you take care of what your needs are so you can be strong first, so that you can help other people. Don't neglect yourself, because that is so easy to fall into as a professional woman - there's so much pressure to take care of everyone else that it's very easy to accidentally neglect yourself, and then you just hit a point where you can't help others then.

I would say definitely believe in yourself, and also understand that all of us get rejected. Earlier on in my career, I felt really defeated and discouraged when I got out of college and wasn't getting the job offers I was really hoping to get. Being told no and facing rejection of any kind is very hard for all of us, especially when starting out. But what needs to be pointed out and isn't pointed out enough to people starting out in their career is that we all face this - you're not being singled out if you're getting rejected and not getting the opportunities you were really hoping for. Every single person that I have talked to who has an amazing career now has faced so much rejection in their past, and they just got back up and said, you know what, I'm going to pick myself up, this hurt, but I am going to keep at it and keep fighting and keep believing in myself. That's honestly just what all of us have to do. I really wish that when I was younger and starting out in my career, this was talked about more - that you're not being rejected because there's something wrong with you or you're abnormal. It's just something that we all go through. Pick yourself back up, believe in yourself - you still have value. Don't let that make you feel that you're not worthy or valuable, or that you're not going to get the career that you dream of.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is that the demand for autism care services is just so high, and it really breaks my heart when we have families that reach out to us who want us to work with their children, and we just don't have the staffing to be able to help them. For the specific type of healthcare services that we offer in applied behavior analysis, throughout the whole industry in King County, there just are not enough providers for autism care services to meet the demand. So that is definitely a challenge in the field. There are a lot more people that are joining the field, which makes me really happy because it's a wonderful field and such a blessing to be able to do this in the community and work with these amazing people, but there does still seem to be a shortage of staff in this field. I really do hope that more people join this field, because it's a wonderful career choice for your life. I find it really fills my heart, and I see that with the other people on the team - their hearts are in this, and they seem very happy in the work that they do too, because it's rewarding.

Work-life balance is definitely a huge priority for me in my life and career, as well as in my leadership role - respecting that for everybody that works with me as well. I have a sticker on my work laptop that says 'work to live, don't live to work,' and that is also what I tell everybody on my team. Life is short, and you can still do a really good job at your job while recognizing that it's one part of your life - your job is one part of your life, and it's not healthy if it's your whole life. The other values that I have would be really having a heart of serving others - regarding my teammates, and then also regarding the children that my teammates work directly with and serve. Really having that heart to serve, and just having the passion and love in your heart to help other people. I didn't have career goals of being a billionaire - it was never about money or prestige or anything like that. I wanted to have a career where I get to be a leader serving other people and really showing warmth and kindness and heart to other people, and make a difference in the world with my time here. That's how I measure success - I don't measure it by money.