Everything Youth Eastside Services’ Laura Hitchcock Does in a Day

For the entirety of Laura Hitchcock’s 30-plus-year career, her roles have always put some focus on making the community a better place, whether it was reducing environmental pollution, advocating for women’s rights, or working in the public-health and human-services space.

The latter is partially what led Hitchcock to her current position leading Bellevue nonprofit Youth Eastside Services as its CEO. Hitchcock is quick to note, though, that her parents — her father was a middle school counselor and her mother a teacher — fostered an ethos of giving back long before her career started.

“I grew up volunteering; it was just part of what we did as a family,” she said. “So, for me, there was never not an expectation that I would at least be giving back to my community in some way. I think probably late high school to early college was when I realized that I wanted to do something more public sector-facing, and so that’s the direction that I went.”

Hitchcock was initially named interim CEO of YES in January and was eventually announced as the permanent successor during the organization’s annual fundraising breakfast held in May.

“I was thinking of my dad recently during our annual Invest in Youth Breakfast, and I think he would have been very proud and amazed at the number of people in the room who really care about kids,” she said. “As a middle school counselor, he certainly saw what happens when children enter middle school — all of us went to middle school, so we know what that means and how tough it is — and he would have been really happy that I’m doing this work and that it makes me happy.”

Hitchcock’s interim stint in the role gave her time to get to know the organization, which has enabled her to hit the ground running with new initiatives, including pushing into the Issaquah School District and hiring several new staff to do so. Hitchcock’s primary goals, however, are to “destigmatize the mental health conversation,” she said, and to continue to raise awareness for YES to keep its economic future bright.

“Everyone has people in their families who need mental health support at one time or another — sometimes more support than others,” she said. “We should be able to talk about mental health in the same way that we talk about a broken arm or cancer or another health condition that requires some specialized help and support.”

6:10 a.m. Getting a jump on daily emails and checking the calendar while I eat breakfast.

8:30 a.m. Visiting the Kirkland Teen Union Building to meet with our YES staff, including mental health counselor Katelyn Mullikin, and to get updates on youth mental health outreach and middle school programs that we host at KTUB.

9:25 a.m. Checking out the recording studio at KTUB; they even have instruments. Our YES clients can take part in activities and services here and at school while also receiving support for things like ADHD and managing difficult emotions.

9:55 a.m. Outside the office, I plug my electric vehicle in to charge while I recharge my own mental battery by taking in the views of Crossroads Park.

12:30 p.m. Accepting a check from our longtime supporter, Michael’s Subaru of Bellevue, thanks to its Subaru Love Promise. YES is honored to be one of the local charities chosen by customers for this gift — can I take this giant check to the bank?

1:55 p.m. I’m always interested to hear from our school-based counselors about what they are observing, and here I am with Redmond-based school behavioral health specialist Tiffany Liao checking out the materials that she has created for parents on mental health topics.

4:18 p.m. Brainstorming innovative ways to address the youth mental health crisis in our community with our staff.

5:15 p.m. A quick strategy meeting with Jennifer Ivan, our board president, to finalize plans for our evening board meeting.

6:15 p.m. Leading an exercise in our monthly board of trustees meeting to plan for our 2027 Invest in Youth Breakfast. We’re making sure that we have as much community representation and financial support as we can so that we can be a leading voice in making it normal to address youth mental health with the right services where kids need them.

7:30 p.m. Before I head home for the night, I freshen up our early childhood behavioral health room by bringing in a donated rabbit quilt wall hanging made by a preschool teacher and someone near and dear to me: my mom, Pat.