We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Talitha Phillips a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Talitha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents let me see the world and experience cultures different from my own.  That taught me empathy and showed me the beauty of diversity.  I therefore witnessed that there are many people in this world facing challenges and pressing needs, and I learned the value of serving others. Our lives are always impacted through that process. My parents taught me to work hard and modeled the importance of relationships over success. 

My parents married young in the mid 1970s. Within a few years, and with two babies, they decided to move to Europe to join a group of young missionaries committed to change the world.  They had two more babies, and raised all four of us in a European culture. As the oldest and the only girl in the family, I quickly became the protector and nurturer of my brothers. I spent my entire childhood as a “third culture kid”, going to schools where I had to learn the language and surrounded by people that didn’t sound or look like me. We were known in the community as the poor, American, bi-racial kids.  Then, during my 8th grade year, we moved to Oklahoma. Talk about a culture shock. I still didn’t fit in, but my parents never allowed that to impact our family or our identity. They didn’t highlight our differences as weaknesses, but rather as strengths and opportunities. They encouraged us to focus on all the blessings in our lives.  We had food, shelter, health, and family.  They taught us to be proud of our differences, our cultural background, and not to let adversity or the opinions of others define or divide us. Faith was a critical piece of helping us feel secure in who we were. I believe all of these traits helped me as a leader and guided me into the field of healthcare and doula work. And, I’m pretty sure my CEO journey started because I learned to work hard at a young age, starting a babysitting business at 11 years old and working through middle and high school.  Things weren’t handed to me. While that was hard as a kid, I’m so grateful for the result now.  

Talitha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In May 2001, I walked through the doors of a small nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, now called Claris Health. For many months, I’d been running from this job. I was supposed to be a consultant or a lawyer. But the women on the Board of Claris thought that I would be the perfect fit for this job, and they wouldn’t let it go.  Serendipitously, I received a call one day from the family of the actor Chuck Norris. His wife was expecting twins, and they wanted me to work as their night nurse. The only way that I could take that night job was if I had a part-time day job, which is exactly what the position at Claris was at that time. And there it was, an abundantly clear answer that I was supposed to take this job at Claris.

At that time, I had no idea that this would become much more than a job. It would become a calling to sit with people who need to know they’re not alone, to hear their stories, to ask hard questions, to bring clarity to confusing situations, and to build a compassionate model of care that addresses their unique needs. Two decades later, I’m still serving as the leader of this organization.  We have grown from a small center with a $90,000 budget into a licensed, multi-site medical clinic with a $2.3M budget that impacts thousands of people each year.  We now offer medical, mental health, education, and support services to individuals and families before, during, and after pregnancy and sexual-health choices.  And, I am still juggling the role as CEO of Claris and a labor and postpartum doula. People say I’m a CEO by day and a baby ninja at night :) I am so honored to journey with people through these sometimes challenging and yet beautiful moments in life. 

Claris means clarity, and the staff and programs are known to brighten situations that can appear dark and confusing. This is accomplished with an innovative, patient-led, integrated model of compassionate care that addresses the physical and emotional needs of individuals. We operate clinic locations in West and South Los Angeles, a unique Mobile Medical Unit brings healthcare into communities who have experienced inequity and obstacles in accessing care, and virtual services that are reaching people around the nation. Through collaborations with over 300 community partners, we embrace a unique form of case management to assess patient needs, create plans of action, and coordinate care. As a result, mistrust of the medical community is reduced, barriers are eliminated, health outcomes are improved, and people are connected to critical, long-term resources. 

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was 19, I faced an unintended pregnancy.  I felt trapped by my circumstances of being a college student on an academic scholarship and stuck in an unhealthy relationship.  I also faced internal pressure as the only daughter and first to go to college. I struggled with the possibility of disappointing my family with this news. I went to a clinic and met with a nurse who told me that I had my whole life ahead of me and that she could make this pregnancy go away. While I didn’t necessarily believe her, I ultimately chose to terminate the pregnancy and secretly vowed to punish myself for doing so. I planned to bury that decision and make sure no one ever found out. It deeply impacted me. I continued to feel trapped – this time by this heavy secret and the disappointment that I allowed someone else to make me feel like I had no options. Instead of running away, I eventually sought help and that’s how I found Claris Health.  Joining their pregnancy loss support group as a college student changed my life.  I decided to embrace the painful parts of my story.  Instead of letting them unravel me, they became the cornerstone of my calling to help others.  Eventually as I started to become more open and bold with my story, I realized that I wasn’t alone. There were so many other women who felt equally as silenced and trapped. My story gave me the courage to challenge others and to craft a model of care so other women don’t have to feel trapped. I want them to know that it’s always their choice, not anyone else’s. 

As a female CEO in both the nonprofit and healthcare space, I often find that I don’t fit in. In some ways, I’m a woman living in a man’s world, surrounded by people who are more educated, more successful, and more vocal about their accolades. But as I reflect on my childhood and my journey until now, I realize that I don’t mind challenges. As I’ve become stronger as a person and as a leader, I refuse to let people force me or Claris Health into a box. That is the ultimate form of entrapment. I’ve learned that not fitting in isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can actually propel you to push forward through hardship and challenges. The beautiful thing about embracing uniqueness is that it has allowed me, and Claris, to create unity around topics that can be very polarizing.  It draws people together who may have different views or passions.  One of the greatest blessings of my journey is that I’ve discovered there are so many people like me and my journey could help others know there is hope for them too.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Building a positive reputation, especially in women’s health, takes time, trusted relationships, and listening to both the people you agree and disagree with. It also requires a posture of humility and learning. It’s no secret that polarizing views surrounding sexual and reproductive health permeate society. The topics of abortion and unintended pregnancy drive political and social discussion, and the focus has largely shifted toward debating and attacking sides instead of caring for people. During my tenure at Claris Health, and by listening to both our patients and our donors, I discovered that there is actually quite a bit of common ground when the focus remains on genuinely caring for people. This understanding helped us create a model of care that addresses both the physical and emotional needs of those at-risk for or facing an unexpected pregnancy. This model, which we call The Claris Way, encourages patients or clients to guide the discussion or counseling process. Care is then tailored to assist the individual through the decision-making process and after. We continue to serve as a vital support system for women and men facing unexpected pregnancies as we support them during the decision-making process and in the critical months and years that follow. Claris’ messaging and model of care have created unity around difficult topics and between polarizing communities. We believe that this is critical to remove the stigma around sexual and relational-health concerns. This focus on finding common ground and personal lived experience has helped build my reputation as a non-profit leader who truly cares for the community. Not only did I experience an unintended pregnancy, my youngest daughter joined our family through an open adoption.  Embracing this adoption process and the relationship with my daughter’s birth mom has further deepened my empathy for these challenging pregnancy stories.  I’ve watched her wrestle with loss, grief, joy, and an overwhelming love for this little girl that I’m privileged to raise. Our relationship is unconventional, but it’s also beautiful as we share our love for a child that is special to us both. I believe the most powerful component to leadership is walking through similar situations or finding other ways to empathize with the people you’re serving.  It provides a credible voice in the marketplace.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.clarishealth.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talithaj/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarishealth/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talithaphillips/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrnSVIW6sisWiVjn7hHmGlw