“Becoming a mother is a lifelong sacrifice — whether you’re rich or poor — and no one can face the hardships of this sacrifice without a community.”

Tell Us About Yourself!

When I graduated college I had every intention of being a working mother. I studied Broadcasting and was hired as a corporate video producer at San Francisco’s largest broadcast studio where I worked for several years before giving birth to my first daughter. I had no idea how being a mother would change my perspective on life and forever alter my priorities. I opted, instead, to open my own daycare so I could work and be with my children. With Covid-19 and my three daughters in school, I closed my daycare and started a new chapter in my life — a chapter wherein I am further dedicating myself to other people’s children by taking a position as a Director of Religious Education within my church community.

What Are Your Accomplishments / What are you proud about?

The feeling of being exactly where I needed to be at any given stage of my life fills me with absolute joy and pride. Having been raised in a lower/middle-class family, I find I am most proud of my entire working career of stepping stones that have enabled my success. I started at 14 cleaning houses and working as a nanny, I worked my way through college as a bank teller and production assistant and then finally started my career as a video producer after graduating college. When I became a mom, I attempted to obtain the “I can do it all” mentality that some deftly accomplish but I quickly accepted the truth about myself: I wasn’t a woman who was happy to leave her kids during the working hours. I was unafraid to switch careers to achieve my goals, brave enough to start my own business, and smart enough to know when it was a good idea to make the changes necessary to continue on a path of happiness and success. I have no regrets.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person/s who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am the youngest of six sisters. They were always there to guide and advise me through my teen angst, college dilemmas, budding career decisions, marriage preparation stress, becoming a mother, anxiety, and of course the parenting of teenage girls and their ever-present drama — the assistance of my older and wiser sisters are currently active in this category today! As I live a life that encapsulates every age I’ve ever been, these women have been my village every step of my journey. I am eternally grateful for them and all they have done with and for me, as well as with and for my children.

What Is Your Call To Action?

It is my personal goal to empower underprivileged mothers; whether they have a full-blown career, gave up their career, work at minimum wage, or are unemployed and impoverished. I became a member of the San Francisco Non-Profit, the Gabriel Project, an organization of mostly women who offer emotional, financial, and spiritual support to mothers in need. Becoming a mother is a lifelong sacrifice — whether you’re rich or poor — and no one can face the hardships of this sacrifice without a community. The members of the Gabriel Project provide that community, when families and friends fail to do so, by helping new mothers navigate the shame, humiliation, and judgmental righteousness they too often experience and by addressing poverty with donations to support the baby beyond the birth. We can do something wonderful for another woman right now — and what’s more empowering for women than helping women raise future women?

Thanks, Stephanie For Participating!