Her Story
About REBECCA
Rebecca Vahle serves as Executive Director and founder of Family to Family Support Network, the nonprofit she launched in 2015 to share a hospital-based adoption support model nationwide. Prior to this role, she worked as an elementary school teacher and spent over 10 years building the only hospital-based support program in the nation for women considering or pursuing adoption at Parker Adventist Hospital south of Denver. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and art from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington (1991) and a master's degree in education in technology from Leslie University in Massachusetts (1998). In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Vahle acts as virtual instructor and content developer for Huggies Healthcare, hosts the weekly radio show Adoption Perspectives, and delivers certification training in respectful equitable care, adoption-sensitive care, and trauma-informed care to nurses and providers across the country. She received the Congressional Angel in Adoption Award in 2011 and serves on the Advisory Council for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with REBECCA
01What do you attribute your success to?
My faith and belief in the goodness of people - that if they know better, they'll do better.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
LIPO - Let It Play Out. So many things we get our panties in a wad about, that if you just lipo, it was never gonna be an issue anyway.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Trust their strengths and lean into coincidence. Because really, no conversation is a coincidence. When you approach your day like that, it just gives more value to every interaction.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Woman's healthcare has complexities with patients where the physical ailment is not the most overwhelming event. We're short-staffed and nurses/providers are getting burned out. There's an opportunity for rebuilding on the basis of respect and compassion for everyone.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The value of every patient regardless of their story. Compassion should be universal. You don't have to qualify to receive compassion and respect. Everyone has value and deserves respect and compassion.
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