Stephanie Eames
36 | Partnership Liaison, United Children's Services
Residence: North Bennington
Career highlight(s) you are most proud of:
Being able to have a direct impact on local families every day. I was called to the field of human services after an experience navigating local social services left me frustrated with the system. I understood 
how easy it would be to give up on the process and wanted to help others who might find themselves in similar situations. Now, I am able to relate my information science background to a compassionate resource and referral process, along with the unwavering belief that all humans have inherent worth and deserve dignity and equity.
Your community involvement:
My involvement revolves around wanting to build an equitable and just society in which all people have access to reach their potential. From fighting food insecurity with Veggie Van Go and the Bennington Community Garden to advocating for child care with the Building Bright Futures Families and Communities Committee and Let’s Grow Kids, I see unmet needs in my community and want to use my skills to support people at the most fundamental level. My community involvement ranges from grassroots activism with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington to the board rooms of Queer Connect and the John G McCullough Free Library.
Much of my involvement comes from a resolve to change the landscape of parental mental health in Vermont. After suffering from postpartum psychosis in 2014, the recovery gave me the motivation to reevaluate my priorities. I found a new passion for helping families with young children, supporting parents who are isolated and stretched thin. With training from Postpartum Support International, I became a volunteer PSI regional coordinator for Southern Vermont, a role in which I continue to serve. I connect new parents with the help they so desperately need for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and work with providers on coordinating care. I was a founding member of the Vermont chapter of Postpartum Support International and president of the board for its launch and growth.
I worked as a postpartum specialist at Catamount Connections, where I led a peer support group and made referrals. I serve on the advisory committee for the Vermont Department of Health’s Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Disorders Program as well as Southern Vermont Medical Center’s Maternal Child Health/Women’s Health Initiative Committee. I am also a regular advocate for the national Maternal Mental Health Advocacy Day, meeting with Vermont legislators and sharing my lived experience.
Inspiration for living and working in Vermont:
I was brought to Vermont for a job as a teacher librarian at Long Trail School in Dorset. I stayed in Vermont because I settled in the town of North Bennington and felt like it would be a wonderful community in which to raise my children.
Favorite part of your job:
Working with families with young children, because I found those early years with kids to be challenging and I get to be a part of their village. Supporting parents in finding resources, setting goals and growing as a family is highly rewarding.
Most inspiring mentor:
My supervisor Beth Wallace, a Rising Star from the Class of 2021. She always considers parents in her programmatic decisions and models a strengths-based and family-centered approach. She encouraged me to shift into a new specialized role on the family services team and supported me with exceptional mentorship during the transition.
Best career advice you have received:
Find the lessons in failure and the value in criticism.
Something fun about yourself that few people know:
I was a mathlete and won several competitions.
Three words that best describe you:
Quirky, clever and resolute.
Favorite Vermont escape:
Hiking Stowe.
Favorite Vermont season:
Fall, for the gorgeous weather and spectacular views.
Favorite downtime activities:
Reading magical realism and graphic novels.
Favorite social media:
Instagram, because I can follow inspirational arts and science accounts to get a quick daily dose of the best of humanity.
Person you would most like to share a Vermont beverage with:
Vermont poet James Crews.
Cause(s) you would support if you had unlimited funds:
Parental mental health, because that has a huge impact on the health and well-being of the whole family.
A song on your playlist you are embarrassed to admit to your best friend:
“Plastic Hearts” by Miley Cyrus.
Where you see yourself professionally in the next five to 10 years:
Continuing to maintain good work-life balance and self-care so I can continue trauma stewardship without empathy fatigue.
Goal(s) you’d like to accomplish in the next five to 10 years:
Taking on a managerial role in the human services field and starting a PhD program.
How your community service has changed since the pandemic:
Many organizations restricted face-to-face support, making it more difficult to build relationships in my community.
How your job has changed since the pandemic:
The landscape of social services and available programs shifted, and I had to learn to navigate these changes to the system alongside my families.
