Rebecca Mitsos

Rebecca Mitsos has spent a decade at Lurie Children's Hospital helping children and families feel less frightened during moments that are, by definition, frightening. It is unglamorous, essential work and she is very good at it.

As a Certified Child Life Specialist, she has built teams, restructured clinical programs, and fought for care that is trauma-informed and emotionally safe. She leads by asking what people need, not by telling them what to do.

She came to the Tiny Docs Advisory Board with a straightforward conviction: children and families handle hard things better when someone bothers to explain what is happening. She has watched that play out in exam rooms for years. She watched her own patients light up when a complicated idea finally clicked, and she wanted that moment to happen long before the appointment, at home, on a kid's own terms.

When she is not at the hospital, she is probably taking photographs, drinking a black tea latte, or engaged in the endless pursuit of the comfiest clothes in existence.