I'm Jessica VanDeWalle, currently serving as the Economic Development Director for the City of Burwell, Nebraska. While childcare wasn’t always at the forefront of my professional focus, it became a deeply personal and driving force in my work once it became essential to my own family's well-being. Like so many working parents, my priorities shifted the moment my ability to work and thrive became directly tied to access to dependable childcare. 

In 2015, my husband and I returned to the Burwell area to begin our family and invest in our community. We purchased a longstanding business in Ord—Ord Locker—which allowed my husband to apply his background in meat science, while I brought with me a diverse career in real estate development, construction, and finance. My professional journey has taken me from a large development firm in Los Angeles, to heavy highway and utility construction in Lincoln, to finance and project roles at Bosselman Inc. in Grand Island, a controller position at a local manufacturing company in Burwell, and eventually into the Burwell Economic Development Director role. 

But when we began our family, I quickly realized the immense challenge of finding—and keeping—quality childcare in a rural community. Our first child experienced three different providers before his first birthday. We finally found a licensed home provider we trusted, only to lose that care when she took maternity leave. As our family grew, navigating these transitions became even more difficult, especially given limited availability for infants and toddlers in our area. These personal struggles made me question whether I could continue to grow professionally in a rural setting while also being the kind of parent I wanted to be. 

Those conversations at home quickly turned into broader discussions in the community. I realized I wasn’t alone—our experience was shared by many families. That realization sparked the creation of Sandhills First Steps, a grassroots initiative to bring local stakeholders together and address what we recognized as a childcare crisis in our region. 

Thanks to a collaborative community effort and a shared willingness to confront the issue head-on, we’ve made real progress in expanding access to early childhood care and education in our area. I’m honored to share our journey, and I hope it inspires others to connect their personal experiences with collective action—because when we invest in childcare, we invest in the future of our communities.