

Meet Your Boston Team
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Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Amber has resided throughout Boston - and currently Cambridge - for double digits now. In previous years she spent her time commuting for auditions and SAG-AFTRA work between New York City & Boston. Now, she is a new mom to her 13 month old daughter, with her long time boyfriend, and their crazy and cuddly cats; a brother-sister duo, Helios & Selene respectively.Constantly on the lookout for 'Ways to Elevate Her Everyday,' and yours too, she recently completed her Yoga Teacher Training as she finds it important to find and create movement everyday. Which is easy enough, with her love for and a household always full of music; from Biggie to Beethoven to Billie Holiday and beyond.Always keeping an eye out for creative adventures in and around New England, she will jump at any chance to visit the local farm to visit the goats, and simply be outdoors. Otherwise, she's often found by the window, calligraphy pen in hand practicing her favorite craft. Either way, she is currently enjoying the year plus respite and hiatus from the restaurant & hospitality industry, as she seeks her next venture. Will always hype: Brunch and simply ALL food, dancing - the sillier the better, travel and any chance to be at the beach. You can miss me with: Cold wet weather (even though I was born in January?!) and horror movies.More thoughts and musings at http://www.DivAmber.comAngie, who loves soft spoken guided meditations and all things cozy, is not soft spoken at all! She is a big lover of coffee, hugs, cozy blankets and telling it like it is. She values friendship and connection as well as honesty and loyalty, while not being a huge fan of small talk. Above all, she is working towards fulfilling her first priority, which is her family. Angie has been married for 11 years and has two kiddos ages 7 and 4 as well as a fur baby, Hobie the Boxer (who has his own Insta account go follow him)! Angie has been a practicing attorney in the disability rights field for 11 years, although she recently left her day job in search of more joy and fulfillment - so she is currently focusing on discerning her next right thing. That said, she also runs her own business as a Certified Life Purpose and Leadership Coach, partnering mostly with mamas who are ready to let go of comparisonitis, shame and guilt to start embracing their truest SELF so they can navigate this season of life in confidence and secure in who they are as Women, not just Moms.Angie loves supporting mamas in her Facebook group, The Joy Village and planning ways for moms to come together to share and support one another. She is excited to now also be a contributor for Boston Moms Blog, so she can spread her message far and wide in the hopes of having a positive impact on as many moms as possible!Managing EditorAshley is a Virginia native who moved to Boston — sight unseen — for a library science graduate degree she’s never exactly used. Within a year, she met her husband, a nerdy but handsome health economist. They planted roots in Brighton, had their first child (now almost three years old), and are looking forward to baby number two making its arrival this fall. Ashley spends her days building Duplo fire stations, freelance writing and editing, swimming at Walden Pond, and binge eating dark chocolate in the pantry when her kid has his back turned.Community Engagement CoordinatorChelsey is a Massachusetts girl through and through and currently resides on the North Shore on the New Hampshire line. In her former life, before motherhood, she was a teacher in a local high school, but now she's a stay at home mom who mostly cares for her child with special needs. She finds motherhood to be the hardest job she's ever loved and is very passionate about advocating for and educating people about neurodiverse children that may or may not also have physical or intellectual disabilities. In her "spare time" (which happens almost never) she likes to make hair bows, obsess about Disney, quilt, cook things that aren't dinosaur chicken nuggets and pretend she's good at taking artistic pictures.A native of Salem, MA, Cheryl Mastrogiovanni is a high school counselor in the Boston area, with just a slight Boston accent that remains from her childhood. She enjoys helping her seniors navigate the college application process. A lifelong Bruins fan, Cheryl began attending hockey games with her father in the original Boston Garden at the age of eight, and hopes to continue that tradition with her son as well. Cheryl recently published a children’s picture book about (what else!) a child attending his first Bruins game in the fabulous city of Boston. A graduate of Boston College, Cheryl is also passionate about soccer, travel, Cape Cod, and spending time with her family. She resides in Arlington with her husband and 7-year-old son. Loves: playing soccer on the weekends, Italian language & culture, road trips, GOOD pizza, hot summer nights, seafood shacks, Name that Tune from the 80’s, and being organized. Dislikes: loud noises, long meetings, & messiness.Colleen Lubin is a native of Arlington, MA who dragged her New Yorker husband back to the Boston area after years of splitting the difference in Connecticut. She has a B.A. in Mathematics from Quinnipiac University and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from UMass Amherst, and has been working in higher education for over 15 years focused on coordinating orientation, cultivating belonging and developing student leaders. Colleen is a fierce advocate for women and families navigating infertility, loss and postpartum challenges. Colleen uses honesty, authenticity and humor to break down the stigma, raise awareness, and support the infertility community on her blog www.notquiteknockedup.com. Colleen is mom to two miracles Liam (2) and Logan (1) who keep her young and tired. She loves 90s hip hop and R & B, trying new recipes, Peloton-ing, sleeping whenever possible, and New York bagels. She does not love wasting time, people who take themselves too seriously, calling customer service, or bagels from anywhere else.Courtney was raised a Navy brat growing up in Washington, South Carolina, and Virginia before her family put their roots down in Florida. She studied at Loyola University New Orleans earning her degree in Communications PR with a minor in English and earned her Masters in Marketing from SNHU. She moved to the Boston area in 2008, where she met and married her partner-in-crime, John. Mother of a 16 month old, stepmom to two 12 year olds (boy and girl) and dog mom to Abita and Riley, this family’s being raised with a love of the outdoors, scary movies and lots of laughs. Courtney works in marketing/PR and events and lives on the South Shore and has a passion for cooking and traveling. She volunteers her time as a Gold Award advisor for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts and serves on the Friends board to her local library. She loves days that start with coffee and end with champagne.Darcel Hunt-Finegold is a wife, mother, and life-long Bostonian. Her life passions are education and fitness. She is a proponent of public education and works as a high school teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Darcel's own personal health journey inspired her to earn a personal training and group fitness certification as well as create her brand, “Living the QuoBreaking Life.” She encourages women to step out of their comfort zone to create life by their design via mindset and fitness. Darcel loves to run, hike, cook brunch, and discover new places in the New England area with her daughter, husband, and Pomeranian, Brady.Dashanna Hanlon grew up living in Michigan and Virginia and feels like her smile gives her away as a Midwestern-Southerner, even after a decade in Massachusetts. After earning a degree in English and Gender Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 2011, she got a job at a local medical journal as an editorial assistant. After 3 years she thought she was done with New England and had made up her mind to start some new adventure. Before she could make the move - like in some weird romantic comedy - she met her husband Tom a Boston electrician, at Ned Devine's in Fanueil Hall. They were married on Chatham Beach, a year and a half later. Traveling between the city and New Hampshire for work, they settled on living in Merrimack Valley. She tried out a few different career paths before having her first son and was introduced to birth work. She became a doula in 2018 and runs Caring for Mamas while staying home with her sons Lucas (2) and Isaiah (7 months)! Dashanna loves her family, her friends, fresh-squeezed lemonade, singing jazz music, eating macarons made by her husband, going to New England beaches, and any good story. She could live without traffic, any technological problem, and rice cakes.Project ManagerDeanna is a mom of five (yes, five) children under 13 years old, who lives in Brockton with her small circus of kids, her husband, their coonhound and a few cats. Her life is loud, energetic, mostly fun, often gross (did she mention four of those kids are boys?), and she wouldn’t have it any other way. In between carting kids to school, baseball, gymnastics, guitar, dance, track and field and every other kid activity known to mankind, she works as the Director of Religious Education at the Unity Church of North Easton, a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Deanna also holds degrees in Elementary Physical Education and Dance Education, which she plans to put back into use one day.At parties, Deanna can often be found hanging out with family pets. She follows her children around with a camera like the paparazzi, is pretty sure that 97% of her blood stream is made of coffee, and her laundry is never done.Hannah grew up in Central Massachusetts, and now lives in the beautiful Berkshires, where she is thankful every day that she gets to live and work in such a beautiful place. Hannah has BS and MS degrees in engineering and has spent most of her career working as a manager in the manufacturing industry – where there are few women, and even fewer moms. Hannah met her husband in college when they were both volunteering at a food pantry. After graduating, traveling, and even living on opposite coasts for nearly two years, they were married in 2015, and welcomed a beautiful son in 2019. Hannah’s favorite thing about being a mom is seeing her son’s sense of humor blossom as he grows. A lifelong Girl Scout, Hannah enjoys camping, hiking, and working with young people, especially young women, to teach them about careers in manufacturing and engineering. She can often be found singing a cappella, listening to podcasts, and making lists. Likes: Vintage jewelry, fancy pizza, grocery shopping, organizing, cats, baseball, The Container Store. Not so much: Vacuuming, icy roads, sand.Senior ContributorKat grew up in Western New York doing toe loops in footie pajamas in her kitchen and watching the Buffalo Bills lose Super Bowls. She moved to Boston to earn a graduate degree in education. While working towards her Master’s and establishing her higher education administration career, she blogged about her love of sports for fun. Somehow, someway, that blogging turned into a part-time writing career, including a five year stint writing for the Boston Herald where she got to cover a whole bunch of events and athletes she could have only dreamed of. In 2016, Kat had her first child. When she’s not busy figuring out what sport her son will try first, she works full-time at a university and covers sports when she can. Loves: coffee, cats and 1990s NFL quarterbacks. Dislikes: chewing gum, high shelves and baby pajamas that snap instead of zipper.Senior ContributorKristen is Southern by birth but has called Boston home for more than a decade. Unlike most Boston natives, she still really loves the snow and cold. She and her husband have two energetic and kind sons (2013, 2014) and a sassy, smart baby girl (2016) who doesn't have a volume knob and is the bruiser of the bunch. Now home full time with the kids, Kristen jokes that she has a master's degree in laundry and a PhD in preschool conflict resolution — which she uses far more than her actual physics and politics degrees. In her "spare" time, she runs her own business (Murph&Moose), which helps her retain some semblance of her own identity in the midst of motherhood. Her passion is seeing moms feel comfortable in their own skin and less alone in the chaos that is motherhood. Loves: writing, science, languages, coffee by the vat, distance running, a good Malbec, time with her girlfriends, and the rare moments of silence when all three children are (finally) in bedDislikes: daylight saving time, non-washable markers, and noisy neighbors who disrupt her rare moments of silenceSenior ContributorLeah is a Massachusetts native who grew up in the MetroWest area. She met her husband in 2006 and they bonded over all things Boston. After moving to North Carolina for 4 years, they realized they had to move back to New England. (love that dirty water!) In 2011 they welcomed a son into their family. Then 2014, 1 week before having their daughter, their son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. With two kids and special needs in their life, they rely on an amazing support system of friends and family. Leah is a stay at home mom, who is also growing a small business, and enjoying the independence and freedom it has given her. Loves: Great food (mostly made by her talented husband), playing with the kids, the beach, date nights, The Pats, The Sox, The B’s, new socks and bras, American history, and movies. Can’t stand: Cotton balls, weeds, broken crayons, pollen, and vacuuming up Cheerios every half hour.Senior ContributorLesley grew up in New Bedford, MA, moved to Boston for college, and has stayed here ever since. She holds a master's degree in criminal justice and an MFA in creative writing. Lesley is a playwright — several of her 10-minute plays have been produced throughout New England and two are published in the anthology "More 10-Minute Plays for Teens." Lesley lives in Dorchester with her family. She is mom to a happy and babbling 5-month-old son. Likes: Netflix binges, wine, storytime with her baby, makeup, and Ryan Gosling. Dislikes: mushrooms, traffic, and getting called ma'am.Senior ContributorLindsay Goldberg is a working mom who then goes home and works there, too. She loves finding quick, healthy recipes to make for her family and lives for her Sunday yogalates class. She is in constant awe of her children and her own ability to barely, just barely, stay sane. Likes :: Books, family dance parties, morning snuggles, and drinking coffee when it’s still hot (not that that ever happens at home). Dislikes :: Recipes with more than 10 ingredients or 10 steps, winter, and deadlines.OwnerMichelle is a lifelong New Englander, living in Stoneham and working in Charlestown. She is a preschool and toddler teacher at a small private preschool. She holds a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, which has come in useful at both work and home. She has a supportive stay-at-home-dad for a husband, and is a mom of five children. She has three boys in Middle and High School as well as two girls in Elementary School. She teaches Infant and Toddler classes for Early Ed teachers, runs workshops for parents through Boston Naps, and runs her own business, The Parenting Survival Expert, offering parenting tips and support. In her spare time, she can be found reading a murder mystery novel, sipping far too much coffee and dreaming of a home in the mountains.FounderMorgan founded Boston Moms (formerly Boston Moms Blog) in 2015, and we are so thankful for all that she built! Morgan came to Boston via New Jersey for college and law school and never left. She married her college sweetheart, Solomon, in October 2007. After years of trying to find themselves, they added three beautiful and energetic children, Aaron (October 2010), Olivia (June 2013), and Jesse (May 2016) to the family. They also have brother and sister miniature schnauzers, Rufio and Gracie. They live in Brookline and love city living. Morgan is also a travel planner at Whitney World Travel and loves helping her clients find the perfect vacation for them.Nancy, is a mom of 5 girls ages 10 to 1 and a zoo wrangler to our 2 rescue pups, a black lab named Duke and a chihuahua named Pancho. She loves black coffee, hot weather, a bargain, and all things guacamole. Being a mom to 5 strong little women is no small task. Her bilingual home is filled with all the wonders and joys that chaos brings. On days where she finds a tiny bit of time to herself she writes in her blog which you can visit at: www.Motheringinchaos.comAs a graduate of Bowdoin College she has gone classroom teaching to focusing mainly on the nonprofit education sector. She has had the privilege of working with organizations like Summer Search, Posse, and has served as a community organizer. Prior to motherhood she has lived in Los Angeles, Boston, and New York City. Currently she is a stay at home mom to her 5 amazing girls and has been happily married to her best friend for the past 18 years, (he’s clearly outnumbered). We are excited to raise our first generation American daughters together while keeping them close to their Guatemalan roots.She is very excited to find herself contributing to Boston Moms, especially coming from a fear of writing. It’s a testament that it’s never too late to keep dreaming and growing!Sarah grew up in Connecticut, but Massachusetts has always felt like a second home with an entire extended family in the state. Sarah moved to Boston after graduation from her Master of Public Health program. As her career has evolved Sarah has found a passion in process improvement and making healthcare less complicated so patients and clinicians can focus on the care. Sarah met her husband covered in sweat and lifting weights at a local Crossfit gym (talk about first impressions!). They adopted a rescue pup from Mississippi and welcomed their daughter in 2021. After nearly a decade of city living, Sarah and her family are headed to the Metro West suburbs to start a new adventure. Sarah volunteers for Community Consulting Teams of Boston(CCT), offering pro bono management consulting to Boston-area non-profits, and recently completed a 3-year term on the board. She is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority and has served as an advisor to the Northeastern chapter for the last 6 years.Senior ContributorSarah grew up in Rhode Island and now lives in West Bridgewater, making brief stops in Quincy, Fall River, and East Bridgewater, along the way. She made the leap from Rhode Island to Massachusetts way back in 1999 when she decided to pursue a teaching degree at Boston University. She chose her career in 1987 and is currently teaching high school English to 10th and 12th graders, fulfilling a 6-year-old’s dream at the age of 22, a proclamation that often brings forth snickers from her students. She became a mother for the first time in 2016 to her daughter Cecilia, then doubled down in late 2018 with the birth of her second daughter, Adelaide. She currently lives with her husband, Jason, their dog, Nanook, their cat, Lanky, and six chickens. They share a home with her parents, who live above them and also provide the most amazing childcare for Ceci and Addie. Sarah couldn’t live without her family, her insulin pump (shout out to other T1D mamas), and Starbucks iced chai lattes. She could live without angry people, essay grading, and diaper-changing. She is looking forward to embarking on her maiden voyage into blogging with Boston Moms and hopes you are too!Social Media ManagerShannon is a native Texan who first visited Boston in 2012 with her now-husband, Ben. Shannon and Ben immediately fell in love with New England, and it was during that trip that they knew they eventually wanted to raise their family in the Northeast. Fast forward to 2018, and Ben accepted a job as a Photographer/Director at a Boston ad agency. They said goodbye to Texas and moved to Woburn with their pup and daughter (2016). Oh, and Shannon was 6 months pregnant with their son (2018). Shannon holds her License and Masters degree in Social Work, and in the past has been a Case Manager to the homeless population, as well as a School Social Worker. She currently stays home with her two littles, and teaches online ESL courses through VIPKid. Most weekends, you will find The Gibson family traveling and exploring all that New England has to offer. Yes, Please: kindness, coffee, dessert, the beach, phone calls to her mom, antique stores, Target runs. No, thank you: passive-aggressiveness, sweet tea, clutter, sleep deprivation, shoes my toddler can’t put on herself, squeaky playground swings.Tracy was born and raised in Southern California. In 2009, she relocated to Massachusetts for a Master’s program and, for the first time, learned the real meaning of “cold”. With plans to move back home after earning her degree, she foolishly accepted an invitation to dinner from a handsome stranger. He swept her off her feet and she never made it back to California. Tracy and her husband live in Boston with their 20-month old daughter, Sophia. Tracy has spent the last ten years working in operations and business development. She’s an active member of her church community. Her work within the church is focused on local missions—food security, education, homelessness, family care services, and nutrition & health services (something Tracy is particularly passionate about). This year, Tracy started a small business. Her business, The Little Cocoa Bean Company, is a social enterprise focused on baby and toddler nutrition. When she’s not working or mom-ing, you can usually find Tracy in her garden. Loves: baby snuggles, plants, musicals, her husband’s laugh, Black art, island vacations, gospel music, big windows, and snow storms. Dislikes: weeds, scary movies, chunks in ice cream, laundry and Mondays.