You started your career in media, working as a producer for almost a decade at ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight and eventually for CNN. After the birth of your first son your experience being a new mother sparked an idea that would eventually lead you to launch Welcome Baby. Can you describe that experience and how the organization came to be? I look back on my career producing news as the perfect foundation for creating Welcome Baby. I’d always felt drawn to other peoples’ stories; what they might be struggling with or celebrating; what challenges they’d faced. Right after giving birth to my eldest son, I struggled with postpartum anxiety. I vividly remember feeling like this was simultaneously the best and most difficult thing I’d ever done. And I kept thinking: I have all the help and support I could dream of, but there are so many women bringing babies home with no support, no resources, and no one to turn to? Around the same time, I came across an article outlining Finland’s longstanding “baby box” program, in which every woman giving birth receives all the newborn essentials she’d need. I couldn’t shake this question: Why doesn’t a program like this exist in the United States? Why isn’t this being done here? A month later, we started packing comprehensive newborn care boxes on the living room floor. And that has evolved into the much more organized and efficient operation we have now!
Can you briefly explain the crises around maternal and newborn health and wellbeing in this country and some of the gaps Welcome Baby is trying to fill? How and why did you decide to focus on those crucial first four weeks of a newborn’s life?
There are more than 3 million children under the age of 5 living in poverty. Study after study has shown that even brief periods of poverty in a child’s life - when their basic needs aren’t being met - can have lifelong negative impacts on almost every aspect of that child’s life. Couple those facts with the reality that there are no federal or state subsidies for necessities like diapers, wipes, rash creams, bottles, thermometers, and other essentials, it’s easy to see how the cycle of poverty is relentless and unforgiving.
In our minds, one part of this massive national crisis felt solvable. If we could fill a void in the health and care of a newborn and new mother at the most challenging point in their journey together, why wouldn’t we? Those first weeks after giving birth are often so difficult and we simply couldn’t accept that the most vulnerable members of our society were being forgotten.
It’s been over five years since you launched Welcome Baby, can you describe how the organization has grown since its inception and some of the accomplishments you are most proud of to date?
My cofounder, Juliet, and I started Welcome Baby on our living room floors. I’d pack boxes and deliver them to shelters and clinics in New York City; she’d pack and deliver boxes to clinics in Ohio. In early 2020, the demand for Welcome Baby boxes had picked up so much that we partnered with iRemedy, a Florida-based healthcare procurement company, to source, package, and ship our boxes all over the country. We’re so proud to report that we’ve distributed more than 5,000 Welcome Baby boxes to families from coast to coast. Another source of immense pride is the feedback we get from recipients and healthcare workers. We know that families weep when they receive the package; we know what a positive impact the box has on newborns and families because we hear from them almost daily.
What have been some of your greatest challenges along the way?
The most challenging and unglamorous part of running a nonprofit is fundraising! Everything else feels like a privilege - even when it’s hard.
Where do you see the organization in the next five years?
Our five year goal is to partner with federal or state Departments of Health to provide every low income mother with a Welcome Baby box. We have the infrastructure ready to scale up in a much bigger way, so we see this as a very achievable goal.
How did your experience working in media and the relationships you built as a producer help prepare you to create and run Welcome Baby?
I love this question. When you’re a news producer, the word “no” is never an acceptable answer. If there are barriers to producing a story, you simply have to figure out a way around those barriers - or you just break right through them. It’s not always comfortable to do that - but having had to do it hundreds and hundreds of times, it became a skill I’m quite proud of. Now, as nonprofit director, when I’m faced with a challenge or a “no” I kind of get right back into that mode. Juliet and I will sit down and figure out a way to make it work, even when it seems impossible. We look at our mission the same way - we run into obstacles every day trying to ensure that as many women and newborns as possible have access to the Welcome Baby box - and we just smash right through them (as elegantly as possible!).
You have built partnerships with hospitals across the country, but can you talk a little about your partnership with Northern Westchester Hospital and the services you are providing to mother’s and newborns right here in our community?
We’re so excited to partner with the Prenatal Care Center at Northern Westchester Hospital. This is a clinic that cares for 200 low income pregnant women and newborns each year, and we’ve committed to providing all 200 babies with a Welcome Baby box. It’s so meaningful to do this in my own backyard - these families are our neighbors, our fellow community members - and the whole partnership feels so close to home for me.
The two of us connected initially through your mom, Sally Slater. As we approach Mother’s Day I wanted to ask, how has your relationship with your own mom impacted you as a founder and as a mom?
I have such a profound respect for how hard my mom has always worked. She built an incredible career as a real estate agent, and she started from scratch. She worked so hard to provide for me and my brother, and I admire her grit and perseverance more than I can say. I’ve never met anyone with as much energy and courage as my mother! I watch her spend time with my children (who are definitely the loves of her life! Apologies to my incredible stepfather), and it’s a wonderful reminder to me that it’s important to cede control and allow the day or hour to unfold in unexpected ways. She has a gift in that sense, and I try to emulate that as a mom and founder.
As a mother to three young sons, what advice and lessons do you find yourself trying to pass on to them?
I try to be very deliberate in talking to my kids about what Welcome Baby does and why it exists. We talk about the concept of people needing help. We all need help sometimes, and it’s up to those who have the ability to help to step in and do something. We also talk about the importance of working hard at the things we do. Whether my kids are playing soccer or completing their homework or doing anything they enjoy (or don’t enjoy!), I try to emphasize the satisfaction of working toward an end goal.
What is the best way for people to get involved in Welcome Baby directly?
There are a few ways! Donating to Welcome Baby is the best and most direct way to help our mission. The more funds we raise, the more boxes we can distribute to families in need! We also love doing packing events with companies or groups of friends. We will bring all the supplies in, and your group can pack up any number of boxes together, write notes of encouragement or advice to the moms receiving the box, and decorate bibs. It’s such a special way to come together. Finally, spreading the word about Welcome Baby is incredibly helpful to our mission. If you have someone in your life having a second or third baby and they might not want gifts or more baby products, they can designate Welcome Baby as the charitable recipient for their baby shower. You can find out more information about any of these options by emailing info@welcomebabyusa.org.
Lightning Round:
What is your favorite thing about living in our area? I am constantly in awe of the beauty of the natural world in our area. Every season is magical! My youngest son was born two years ago in the middle of summer, and we would spend hours outside every morning, napping and watching a family of hawks in the trees over our house. We are so fortunate to have Bedford’s natural beauty at our fingertips and underneath our feet.
What has changed the most over the years since you grew up here?
I don’t think Bedford has changed all that much! The town remains as charming and lovely as it always was. I do think there’s a new energy in our community. One of the silver linings of the Covid epidemic was an influx of interesting, energetic new families and I think that has really changed things for the better.
What’s one new business you’d love to see open up?
It would be great to have a sit-down cafe right in town. For those days when you want to meet a friend for coffee and a snack.
