Sarah Whitlow

I attribute my success to my on-the-job experience, my life experience, and the good leaders I've had the last 3 years where I work currently. I've been through difficult seasons in life, and those experiences have helped me connect with others and help them see there's light, even in the darkness. I really lean into my faith over fear. I stay true to myself and my moral compass - if it feels wrong, I have a voice and I speak up. But I don't just speak up with problems, I try to offer solutions, because I think every program has areas to grow. I'm in a company where my voice does matter, and aligning my daily work with our mission and values is helpful. Networking and building connections is one of my strengths too, connecting with the community.

The best career advice I've received is to not forget compassion. You just gotta have compassion and empathy, and realize that everybody is fighting their own battle. They may show up for work, but there's always something else going on behind the scenes, so just be kind and lead with compassion and empathy, and remember that everybody matters.

I work with difficult populations, so I'd say don't be so quick to judge. Try to hear their story, because we all have a story. Just listen, and you'll learn a lot more. People need to feel heard, and valued, and loved, and cared for. A lot of times people don't get the help they need because they're too afraid to feel judged. So just listen and treat someone with kindness, and try to hear their story, because if you hear their story, you're gonna figure out where things fell apart, and maybe you might be able to help them rebuild a newer version.

The biggest challenges are housing resources, financial issues, and food insecurities. Our elderly population is a big challenge too - a lot of people are aging in their home and they're not safe, but a lot of people don't have family. For me, it's housing and just getting people connected to the support so that those adults can age in place in their home that they've worked hard for. People thought they were prepared to retire, but with the economy change, they're not financially prepared. It's getting them set up with supports and resources so that the ones that are able to age in place in their forever home are able to do that. Getting care is not affordable. It's heartbreaking. It's really sad. You could be in that situation 20, 30, 40 years from now. Everybody has a story, and they didn't get to these situations overnight. It's a process.

My values are integrity, courage, and clarity. I think that we're always in a growth season. I think it's important to stay in a growing season, because nobody knows everything. You can learn a lot, and you can share. I really believe in not stopping growing and staying in growth. I'm all about family - I love to make memories with my kids. Anything outdoors, I love the great outdoors. I walk my dog 5 to 6 miles a day.