Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Hobbs.
Hi Suzanne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story has taken a lot of unexpected turns, but one thread has connected nearly all of them: storytelling and the belief that one person really can make a difference.
I spent 14 years working in television news as a reporter and anchor, beginning my career in Idaho. In October 2000, I was covering a heartbreaking story about a newborn baby who had been found dead in a dumpster. A teenage girl hid her pregnancy from her family and delivered the baby alone and threw him away. Just tragic. As a journalist, I had covered countless difficult stories, but this one stayed with me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the young mother who had been in such a desperate situation and the baby who never had a chance.
At the time, I had never even heard of Safe Haven laws. While reporting on the story, the teenage girl’s father mentioned that perhaps things might have turned out differently if Idaho had had a Safe Haven law. That was the first time I remember hearing about them.
I started asking questions and learning everything I could. I discovered that Safe Haven laws were beginning to be enacted around the country, giving mothers in crisis a safe and legal alternative to abandoning a newborn. Idaho didn’t have one.
Instead of simply reporting the story and moving on to the next assignment, I decided to do something about it.
I began advocating for Idaho to pass its own Safe Haven law. In the spring of 2001, Governor Dirk Kempthorne signed Idaho’s Safe Haven law at a fire station in Idaho Falls. He told me that my “fingerprints were all over the law,” and that moment changed the direction of my life.
Then, almost three years after I covered that terrible story, something extraordinary happened in my own life. In July 2003, I adopted my newborn daughter, Lillie. Her birth mother surrendered her after birth under the protection of Idaho’s Safe Haven Law. Today she is 23 years old. Becoming her mother gave my advocacy an even deeper meaning and reinforced my belief that every baby deserves a safe beginning and every mother in crisis deserves to know that there is another option.
My work eventually took me beyond the newsroom. I moved into communications, media relations and television production, including producing national commercials and working in front of the camera. I have also continued acting and recently filmed a role as a television reporter in several episodes of a new television series. It has been fun to return to a newsroom — even if this time it was a fictional one!
But Safe Haven advocacy has remained one of the most important parts of my life for the past 25 years. Today, I serve as Director of Media Relations for the National Safe Haven Alliance, helping educate people across the country about Safe Haven laws and making sure mothers in crisis know that help exists.
Another unexpected chapter of my life has been becoming a children’s author.
About ten years ago, I wrote The Hungry Snake, which became an Amazon bestseller. This year, I returned to children’s books with The Sleepy Snake: A Perfect Bedtime Story. The book officially launches October 1, 2026, and even before the official release, it reached Amazon’s Top 100 in its category. Proceeds from my books help support the lifesaving mission of the National Safe Haven Alliance, so these children’s stories have become another way for me to support a cause that has been part of my life for a quarter of a century.
Along the way, I have had opportunities I never could have predicted. My Safe Haven advocacy led to an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. I have worked in television, communications, advertising, public speaking, writing and acting, and I was recently honored as one of the “100 Most Inspiring Women in the World.”
Today, I also speak to organizations and audiences about what I call “The Power of One” — the idea that you don’t have to be the most powerful person in the room to create change. Sometimes you simply have to be the person willing to take the first step.
When I look back, I never could have mapped out this path. A television news story that broke my heart ultimately led to legislation, advocacy, motherhood, writing, speaking and a mission that has lasted more than 25 years.
I think that is probably the biggest lesson of my story: sometimes the moments that affect us most deeply are also the moments that point us toward what we’re supposed to do next.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. I often tell people when I speak that life isn’t a straight, perfectly paved highway. There are potholes, speed bumps, detours and stop signs along the way. Sometimes the road gets incredibly bumpy. But I also believe those are often the experiences that teach us the most about ourselves.
One of those moments came when I was a newly single mom and unexpectedly lost my longtime career in television news because of budget cuts. My daughter, Lillie, was still very young, and after spending 14 years building a career as a reporter and anchor, suddenly finding myself without a job was scary.
But that setback ended up redirecting my life. I started reaching out to people I had met throughout my years in television, and essentially the very next day, one of those relationships led to an opportunity with a large company. That became the beginning of an entirely new career in communications, media relations and marketing. What felt devastating in the moment ultimately opened a door I probably never would have walked through otherwise.
There have been difficult personal chapters as well. Divorce is certainly one of them. Nobody gets married expecting to someday get divorced, but sometimes you have to recognize when one chapter of your life needs to end so another can begin.
Some of the hardest challenges, though, have involved loss and health. I have lost both of my sisters, as well as my father. Both of my sisters died from breast cancer, which eventually led me to undergo genetic testing and discover that I carry the BRCA2 gene mutation.
That knowledge presented me with an incredibly difficult decision. Just over a year ago, I chose to undergo a preventive double mastectomy to dramatically reduce my own risk of developing breast cancer. It was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced physically, and certainly not a decision I made lightly. But after watching two of my sisters lose their lives to this disease, I am grateful that I had information they did not have and that I was able to make a proactive decision about my own future.
I think all of those experiences have shaped the way I look at challenges today. When something goes wrong, it can feel enormous while you’re standing in the middle of it. Losing a career can become the beginning of a completely new one. An ending can eventually lead to a new beginning. And sometimes incredibly painful experiences can give us knowledge, strength and perspective that we carry forward.
Life is not a perfectly paved road. There will be potholes, speed bumps, stop signs and unexpected detours. Sometimes it is going to be a very bumpy journey. But I believe that’s also where we learn, where we grow and where we discover just how strong we really are.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At my core, I’m a storyteller. I spent 14 years telling stories as a television news reporter and anchor, and that ability to communicate and connect with people has carried through every chapter of my career.
Today, my work is a combination of writing, public speaking, media relations, advocacy and acting. I’m the Director of Media Relations for the National Safe Haven Alliance, an Amazon bestselling children’s author, and a professional speaker. I also continue to work in television and acting, most recently filming several episodes of a new television series.
I’m especially excited about the release of my newest children’s book, The Sleepy Snake: A Perfect Bedtime Story. My first book, The Hungry Snake, became an Amazon bestseller, and seeing The Sleepy Snake reach Amazon’s Top 100 before its official release has been incredibly rewarding. I also love that proceeds from my books help support the Safe Haven mission that has been such an important part of my life.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve continued to reinvent myself throughout my career without losing sight of who I am. I’ve been a journalist, communications executive, producer, author, speaker, advocate and actress. I don’t believe we have to choose just one thing we’re good at—or stop pursuing new dreams because we’ve reached a certain age or stage of life.
What sets me apart is probably that combination of experience, curiosity and willingness to keep saying yes to new opportunities. Whether I’m writing a children’s book, standing on a stage, working with the media or stepping onto a television set, I still love telling a great story and connecting with people. And after all these years, I’m still excited about what comes next.
What’s next?
I’ll be 55 soon, and I’m genuinely excited about this next chapter of my life. One of my biggest priorities is my health. I want to age gracefully, stay strong and active, continue making good choices and really appreciate the opportunity to take care of myself and enjoy the life I’ve worked hard to build.
Professionally, I know my Safe Haven advocacy will always be part of my future. My goal is simple, even if it’s a big one: I never want another baby in the United States to be abandoned in a dumpster because a mother in crisis didn’t know there was another option. I want to continue raising awareness so that people understand Safe Haven laws exist and know where to turn for help.
I also want to keep speaking on stages, to groups both big and small. I love sharing my daughter Lillie’s story and talking about how one person, one decision or one moment can create a ripple effect that changes lives in ways we may never anticipate.
And somewhere in this next chapter, I want to finally write my autobiography. I’ve lived a lot of different lives within one lifetime—from television news and Safe Haven advocacy to motherhood, loss, reinvention, writing, acting and some pretty unexpected adventures along the way. I think I’m finally reaching the point where I’m ready to put all of those stories together.
On a personal level, I’ve been in a wonderful relationship for the past year and a half, and I’m really looking forward to what this next chapter holds for us. We’ve already been fortunate to travel and have some incredible adventures together, and there are many more places we want to experience. He is preparing to sell the business he has spent years building and eventually retire, so we’re beginning to make some exciting plans for the future. I think we both feel like we’ve worked very hard in our lives, and now we want to make sure we take the time to enjoy them—travel, explore, spend time with the people we love, make memories and have a lot of fun along the way.
More than anything, I want the years ahead to be purposeful. I want to stay healthy, keep telling stories, keep trying new things, keep helping people and never stop being excited about what might be around the next corner.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://suzannehobbs.com/
- Instagram: @thesuzannehobbs
