Saren Eyre Loosli, Executive Director  saren@powerofmoms.com



Saren and her husband, Jared, had five kids in five years which wasn't quite what they envisioned - but is anything about parenthood exactly what we thought it would be?  Saren adores her energetic, adventurous, precocious children but doesn't totally adore the mess and stress that often comes with them.  The Loosli family lived in the San Francisco Bay area for many years and now St George, UT is their home.

Saren grew up all over the world (Washington DC, London, Salt Lake City, Mexico, Japan, Boston), did her BA at Wellesley College and Masters in Education at Harvard, spent 18 months doing humanitarian service and missionary work in Eastern Europe, conducted regional conferences for educators and designed curriculum for enrichment programs for kids.  She now runs some programs at her kids' school and operates a little preschool curriculum company (The Joy School Company) as well as The Power of Moms.

When she's not trying to answer five different needs and questions at once, Saren loves reading and writing as well as traveling, hiking and biking with her family.  She's working on being more organized with her time and learning to say "no."  She often struggles with balance but finds joy in being involved in many pursuits that help her make contributions to the larger world as well as her little world at home.  For more information, visit Saren's blog: Five in Five Years.  For information on why Saren got involved with The Power of Moms, click here.


April Perry, Executive Director april@powerofmoms.com

 

April is the mother of four children, Alia (9), Grace (7), Ethan (6), and Spencer (1). She and her husband, Eric, live with their family in Southern California. Since receiving her bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Family Science, April has served as the Director of Creative Development for HusbandHero.com and has spearheaded the creation of PowerofMoms.com.

April spends most of her days being “Mommy,” but she also enjoys actively participating in her church, writing, playing the piano, and organizing (clean closets and orderly files are her secret passion). She is a certified massage therapist.

As a mother, April is working towards achieving greater patience and living more in the moment. She appreciates the sweet, unexpected moments that pop up everyday and make her work worthwhile, but she still feels that motherhood is a lot harder than anyone ever let on. Her hope is that PowerofMoms.com can help her and other mothers be the best they can be.

Neylan McBaine, Learning Circles and Retreat Coordinator  neylan@powerofmoms.com

Neylan is mother to three daughters, Esme (5), Auden (3) and Dalloway (1), who were named after favorite literary characters or authors. She grew up in New York City and majored in English at Yale. She and her family now reside in Brooklyn, and they’ve lived in San Francisco and Boston along the way.

Neylan is a writer whose work has been published in Newsweek, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Segullah, and BustedHalo.com. Her collection of personal essays, How To Be A Twenty-First Century Pioneer Woman, was recently published. Her writings can be found at www.neylanmcbaine.com.

As an only child, Neylan had a hard time adapting to motherhood and still struggles daily with the relentlessness of the small peoples’ needs. But she has also learned to slow down, be more patient and adore her girls. 

Allyson Reynolds, Empowering Essays Coordinator  allyson@powerofmoms.com

Allyson is the mother of four children, Kate (12) Will (9) Elizabeth (5) and Rachael (1). She has spent most of her life in the mid-west, but has also lived in San Diego, Florida, Utah, and Japan. She and her husband, Brandon, now reside in La Canada, California just outside of Los Angeles.

Allyson earned a BA in Family Sciences and then met her husband while living in Sendai, Japan as a missionary for her church. She loves music, reading and writing, the great outdoors, cooking, photography, getting things done, exploring southern California with her family, and date nights with her husband. Her illustrious work career before children included many glamorous jobs such as teaching piano and accompanying ballet classes, waitressing at Pizza Hut and working at a fish cannery in Alaska.  She much prefers the life style and payment method that comes from domestic employment!

Surviving nine years of her husband's medical training in Iowa while raising their first three children provided many award-winning memories such as shoveling the driveway and cutting the grass with a baby on her back and cleaning out the gutters on the roof of their house while pregnant. For her, the hardest part of motherhood is finding balance - not just on the roof. She loves being a mom the most when she finds that "sweet spot" between getting things done and letting the unimportant go so she can "be in the moment" with her children before the moment is gone. Visit her blog at www.allysonreynolds.blogspot.com

Lisa Hawkins, Meaningful Moments Coordinator  lisa@powerofmoms.com

Lisa is mother to Maddie (12) and Sean (10). She’s loved living her whole life in California, where her mother now resides with the family.

Lisa loves playing travel agent for her family and is always looking forward to their next adventure together. Planning parties, writing, reading, singing and working on blogs for her family and church are also among her favorite activities. She and her husband Brad belong to Double Daters, a bowling league.

Balancing her time has been the biggest challenge of motherhood for Lisa. She’s finally feeling like she’s managing everything she wants to do, and thinks the best part of motherhood is the spontaneous hugs and kisses from her kids.

Tara Martel, Brilliant Books Coordinator  tara@powerofmoms.com 

 

Tara is mother to a six year old daughter, three year old son, and another on the way. She and her family currently live in Utah, although she and her husband are Southern California natives.

Tara was a teacher before devoting herself to motherhood. Now, she particularly loves gardening, home improvement projects, and outdoor activities although nothing will fill the void of not having the ocean five minutes away.

Tara feels that the hardest thing about motherhood is that just when you think you’ve figured out a problem, kids move on and grown up, throwing another parenting challenge your way!

Laurie Webster, Monthly Value & Challenge Coordinator laurie@powerofmoms.com

Laurie is the mother of three children and is due with another in October, 2009. She received her Bachelors degree in Nursing and works a few hours a week for a home health company.

Some of her favorite activities are engaging in one-on-one time with her kids, cooking, working outside, lounging in the sunshine, and making lists. She also thrives on date nights, vacations, and new experiences with her husband and children.

Laurie feels that the constantness of cleaning, cooking, disciplining, and juggling schedules can be hard to manage but the simple joyful moments everyday, coupled with the overwhelming feeling of love she has for her children, get her through the rough patches.

Shawna Woodworth, Site Content Manager  shawna@powerofmoms.com
(Photo coming soon!)

Shawna is a mother of two children: Benjamin and Jane.  She and her husband Jed live in Madison, Wisconsin, where her husband is completing his doctorate in History.  Shawna majored in Math Education in college, lived in Washington D.C. as a missionary for 18 months, and then taught high school math until she became a mother.  In addition to working on household duties, she enjoys teaching her children about the world and tutoring high school students in math and Spanish.