Who We Are

Small Boots • Strong Roots is a blog created by Lisa McWhorter and Savannah Self, two military-connected Child Life Specialists. Born from a combined passion to bring the work of Child Life to military communities and treatment facilities, content and resources are created by our extensive network of professionals from the Military Child Life Collective (MCLC) and expert guest bloggers, ranging from families to helping professionals. MCLC is a networking group of Child Life students and professionals who came together to find connection, support, and purpose during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

**Lisa McWhorter**,
Co-Creator of SB•SR, Founding Member of MCLC

Lisa is a Certified Child Life Specialist, military spouse, and mother. She received her master’s degree in Child Life and Family-Centered Care at Wheelock College and began her career and passion serving children and families in need on a global level as a CCLS in Cape Town, South Africa.
Lisa provided aid in the introduction of child life services at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. As a CCLS, Lisa has worked in several settings, as she and her family have moved up and down the east coast and internationally to Japan on military orders. She has worked at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA, prior to moving to Jacksonville, FL, where she piloted a Child Life program for children of adult patients receiving hospice care at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. Lisa and her family then moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked at Inova Children’s Hospital as a Child Life Specialist, which allowed her to work in all inpatient and outpatient settings within the hospital to further broaden her Child Life skill set and experience. Most recently, Lisa was living in Japan with her family and has volunteered The American Red Cross® and Operation Smile® while providing distance support to Child Life United.
Lisa currently works with The Standish Foundation for Children and established their 4MilKids program, collaborating with Founder and CCLS, Andy Standish, Shani Thornton, MS, CCLS, RWWP, and Wendy Hickman-Miller, MA, CCLS. The foundation focuses on transforming the healthcare experience for military children through play, education, and family support, and the initiative established avenues in which to extend their mission to Child Life programs in Military Treatment Facilities. As the Program Manager and a Standish Foundation Ambassador, Lisa creates and implements programming such as donations of PPE, teaching dolls, toys, gift cards, and games and activities for one-person child life programs at Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and Fisher House Foundation locations.

Our Roots • Meet the McWhorters

A Family with Small Boots & Strong Roots

Lisa and her family have lived in Japan and all over the East Coast, and they are now located back in the states. Her husband is active duty within the Navy as a commissioned officer, and together, they have three wild and crazy boys. Because of Lisa’s experience with relocations and the culture of the military lifestyle, she knows first hand what it is like to be a working mother and spouse, with all the challenges of finding a new Child Life position and establishing roots as a family. She is passionate and committed to providing psychosocial support, resources, and solutions to psychosocial and healthcare disparities among military children and families, from both personal experience as a mother and professionally through research and experience.

Rooted in a History of Family Service

Savannah’s grandparents both served as commissioned officers, one in the US Army during World War II and the other in the Air Force during the Korean War. In 2014, Savannah’s paternal grandfather, Donald K. Schwab, received the Medal of Honor posthumously, where she attended the ceremony at The White House and Pentagon as a part of the Valor 24 Medal of Honor Ceremony. Honoring 24 veterans who were previously recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross and found worthy to be upgraded to the MOH, former President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to three living veterans and 21 family members, which included Savannah’s father. Her Grandpa Schwab’s stories and heart of service instilled a passion for veterans and military families before she was even a military spouse.

Savannah Self,

Co-Creator of SB•SR, Founder and Chief Networker of MCLC

Savannah became a Child Life Specialist in 2017 and has an educational background in Child Life, Family Science and Child Development, and Children’s Ministries. Currently working in the community setting as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS), she has a private practice in Child Life and works for an international children’s ministry. In both her positions, she comes alongside military-connected children, youth, and families with specific programming and psychosocial services to address military family life stressors and pediatric health disparities among military communities.

As a military spouse, Savannah has experienced frequent relocations, which has often meant limited opportunities and barriers to practicing Child Life. Savannah volunteers extensively within the hospital setting to maintain her clinical, hospital-based Child Life skills and provides dynamic Child Life services through medical camps, professional education, and private practice sessions for civilian and military communities. Current volunteer involvement includes work with her local children’s hospitals and pediatric clinics, Rainbows for All Children grief, loss, and deployment support groups, The American Red Cross Services® to the Armed Forces as a Resiliency Program Coordinator, The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation® as the Child Life Mental Health Specialist for Camp Oasis of California, and the Chief Networker and Founder of the Military Child Life Collective professional network.

Our Roots • Meet the Selfs

Blooming Where Planted • Service is in Our Roots

With midwest roots, the Selfs have lived coast to coast as a military-connected couple and moved five times in the first two years of their marriage. Currently living in Southern California, Savannah’s husband serves as an active duty commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, and they have been married for four years. The couple both have educational backgrounds in healthcare, and they grew up in the hospital environment, as both of their fathers are physicians. In fact, they both met at a hospital-related gathering to welcome a new doctor’s family into town, and the rest is history.

As a result of their experiences and working with others, the Selfs have a passion to serve and advocate for the needs of military-connected children, families, and Marines through genuine connection and holistic support. In 2019, Savannah came to realize some of what it is like to be a caregiver during her spouse’s orthopedic trauma and extended outpatient care at a Military Treatment Facility. The couple has also gained perspective and understanding of the military healthcare and Tricare systems throughout multiple relocations, as Savannah has rare special healthcare needs. Both are passionate about patient advocacy and family-centered care from a personal and professional level and perspective.