Celebrating Mother’s Day with our Team of Littles

At Pinnacle Prevention, our mission is to grow healthy families and communities. Accomplishing that starts right in our own office, where we are dedicated to uplifting our working moms and their families each and every day. To celebrate Mother’s Day, we asked everyone to share their favorite moments with their Pinnacle Prevention Littles:

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Kathleen Carlson, Director of Community Strategies:
 
What is your favorite memory with your Pinnacle Littles at work?
 “My favorite memory of having my littles at work with me is from a conference this past winter where the key note speaker was Brené Brown. Towards the end of her talk, my daughter woke up and started fussing a bit. I jumped up and ran to the back of the room of 700 people trying to settle her, when Brené stopped mid-sentence and told a story of the Dhali Lhama shushing the crowd at a talk when a baby made noise and he said, ‘that is the sound of joy.’ It was a special moment that will be a cherished memory forever and reminds me every day that the noises my children make really are the sound of joy. And, many people came up to me to say how nice it was to have a baby at the conference for the rest of the time we were there.”

What is your favorite thing about being able to involve your children in your work at Pinnacle Prevention?
“My favorite thing about being able to involve my kids in my work at Pinnacle Prevention is bringing them to all the different farmers markets we work with around the state. We all get so many different experiences through those trips and I love that my children get to meet so many wonderful farmers, market staff, volunteers and community members around the state. Knowing where their food comes from and how it gets from farms to our kitchen table is a normal thing for them which is very special to me. It also gives them a chance to really see their mom in action and understand how hard I work to serve Arizonans.”

Adrienne Udarbe, Executive Director:
 
What is your favorite memory with your Pinnacle Littles at work?
“My children are the older ones of our team of littles and I love that they want to get ‘put to work’ and be a part of our mission. Lilli loves helping on our food systems work – especially at the farmers markets and Kai loves helping on the active living side of things – from dressing as an elf for our healthy holidays on the trails events to speaking in support of the recess bill.”
 
What is your favorite thing about being able to involve your children in your work at Pinnacle Prevention?
“I love the reaction from partners and others in the community when they see our kids at work. It brings a smile to everyone’s face and reminds them why we do what we do. My children also get exposed to the work we do – they ask great questions and they feel proud and connected to their community.”

Cynthia Melde, Director of Community Impact:
 
What is your favorite memory with your Pinnacle Littles at work?
“My kids love to help me get ready for meetings. They are often tagging along with me to gather supplies and prepping materials. I remember my daughter insisting she pull the wagon full of supplies all the way from the office to my car. She was so full of pride when we got to the car, she had the biggest grin on her face. Recently, they both attended a partner meeting with me. They helped me take notes on flip chart paper and assisted in setting up lunch. When we left, my son said ‘’I thought this meeting was going to be boring, but it was awesome.’”
 
What is your favorite thing about being able to involve your children in your work at Pinnacle Prevention?
“It is such a gift to be able to share my work with my kids and spend quality time together. Every time we work together, they get exposed to new ideas and concepts and we have great conversations afterwards. I love how they get to interact with our partners who welcome their presence. It’s really a dream to have this balance between work and motherhood. I wish more moms could experience this and more employers would offer family friendly work policies.”
 

Jaclyn Chamberlain, Director of Community Engagement: 
 
What is your favorite memory with your Pinnacle Littles at work?
“My kids have fun picking out fruits and veggies anytime we work at a farmers market together. They were so excited the day they found the purple cauliflower. I also remember taking my oldest daughter, who was 4 at the time, to a meeting with me where Adrienne asked if she could help by taking notes. My daughter got this look of opportunity and excitement, and took this task very seriously, which of course turned into a series of drawings and random letters and scribbles. From that day on, she asked when she could go to work and help us take notes. She was so proud to be asked to join.”
 
What is your favorite thing about being able to involve your children in your work at Pinnacle Prevention?
“I am so grateful that my kids are welcomed, invited and a part of my work. It’s a great day when I get to bring them to meetings, and it’s precious time that is a gift. I love how that influences them, how they see us moms working. They ask me ALL THE TIME if they can come to work with me. They’ll play ‘meeting’ at home with one another. I love how other professionals see this and feel empowered to bring their children to meetings, and how seeing children at work helps disrupt mental models about working and families.”