Seattle Reign FC Legend: Dr. Chris Ladish – Assistant Vice President of Bessler Center at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
The Legends Campaign, a partnership between Seattle Reign FC and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to Seattle Reign FC’s match against the Kansas City Current, the club recognized Dr. Chris Ladish, Assistant Vice President of Bessler Center at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.
Mom, Provider, friend and advocate – Dr. Ladish wears many hats every day of her life, but at the core of most of what she does is helping others. She’s passionate about equity and care, particularly as it relates to healthcare as whole, but especially for children.
Over nearly three decades, Dr. Ladish has amassed an impressive resume of experience in the field of Pediatric Neuropsychology. She joined Mary Bridge Children’s in 1996 to develop the pediatric neurobehavioral medicine program and since dedicated her time to building and strengthening mental health services for children and youth in need, particularly those in Pierce and South King counties.
In addition to her clinical work at Mary Bridge Children’s, Dr. Ladish frequently lends her voice to local and national platforms for media interviews, panel discussions and more, emphasizing the importance of mental health care for all children and youth. She is a co-founder of Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County, a group committed to addressing the growing crisis in children’s mental health.
“What I knew was that I wanted to help those less fortunate; it has always been part of my nature to stand up for any underdog. Children are often vulnerable; they don't have a voice at the metaphorical "table." Many of their parents also do not have a voice at the table. I seek to get their voices to the center of all things impacting them. It will be my personal quest always and is the reason I am now stepping more broadly into the intersection of medicine and public health and studying at Johns Hopkins,” said Ladish, who is currently pursuing her degree in Public Health.
There’s no denying that Dr. Ladish has become a leader in her field, earning many awards from the community, including National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Washington Pediatric Provider of the Year (2022) and the NAMI Washington Program of the Year Award (Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County, 2020/2021).
Though she did start her career with some natural leadership skills, Dr. Ladish has spent years working to further develop those skills, always centering servant leadership and leading from the heart.
“Don't listen to the negativity that brings you down, whether outside voices or your own. If your inner voice throws shade at you, name "her", acknowledge "her" and then politely tell her to shut up because you've got this!”
Dr. Ladish continued, “Find your people, those who uplift, energize, and co-create with you. Keep them close and check in with and on them. Raise all boats and when you get to the top, make sure to immediately reach others to assure they are brought up with you. Not every woman gets the opportunities ... it takes all of us to bring women along. There is a leader in every single one of us, but we are not always nurtured to enter the space of leadership. This is the work we must do.”
In her day-to-day role, Dr. Ladish works to directly impact the lives of our youth, a task that is both challenging and rewarding. Some of the moments that standout the most in her career include working with Patty Murray and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to help bring awareness to the pediatric mental health crisis, working with former Governor Inslee's team to help get children back to school during Covid and largely any opportunity to be a part of a young child's growth into the superhero that lives within them.
“Any opportunity that I have to help get them, there is the biggest privilege of my life. Just watching them and their excitement at being able to move to the next thing. Whether it's combating chronic disease, being able to go back to school after severe head trauma and concussion, getting through the Covid period, making a new friend for a kid that's on the autism spectrum, I could go on and on, but it's really just seeing the reflection of the hard work we do in the youth when they actually start making those positive gains is just the biggest reward in the world.”
As a lifelong fan of the game and a collegiate soccer player, being honored as Reign FC Legend is extra special for Dr. Ladish.
“As a soccer player, secretly I will always cherish that something I have done was found worthy of my being on the field in a professional women's match,” she joked. “It means that the work that I have done matters, and it matters for other people. It is so difficult to put into words. It is truly one of the proudest moments in my career.”