This installment of the interview series brings us Dana Rudolph of Mombian - Sustenance for Lesbian Moms. I first discovered Mombian when I started blogging and was thrilled to see a site like this for lesbian Moms even though I don’t have kids personally. After all being a Mom is a hugely important job, but you need to nourish and grow yourself personally even while you’re being a Mom. A lot of times that gets lost in the shuffle and falls to the bottom of the priority pile. Ignoring your own needs only results in cranky, unhappy Moms who resent their kids and we all know that kids pick up on that. Not to mention I am a big advocate for walking your talk to teach your kids through example that it is important to take care of yourself and make YOU a priority. Never too soon to teach that lesson from home.

Now onto the wonderfully rich interview with Dana.

1) What was your inspiration to start Mombian - Sustenance for Lesbian Moms?

Mombian was the creation of several coverging influences. I’d been involved in LGBT advocacy for some time, as head of Merrill Lynch’s LGBT employee network, but becoming a mom channeled my interests into LGBT family issues. I became a stay-at-home mom after my son’s first year and wanted an activity that would keep my activist and business neurons firing. My background is in marketing and business strategies for online services, so an online outlet seemed natural.

In looking at existing Web sites, I found personal blogs by LGBT parents, LGBT parenting sites focused on legal, political, and medical issues, non-LGBT sites with advice and ideas on childraising, and sites of LGBT political and entertainment news. There seemed to be a need, however, for a site at the intersection of these areas, a place that combined general and LGBT-specific childraising advice and ideas, LGBT news from a parent’s perspective, and a hearty helping of lesbian culture to remind us that parenting doesn’t mean abandoning all our other interests.

I like to call Mombian a “lifestyle site for lesbian moms.” I’ve been doing a series of posts about this season of The L Word, for example, focusing on the show’s depiction of parents and children. I’ve noted when mainstream children’s toys inadvertently include androgynous family figures. I review new books for LGBT parents and their children ( e.g., The Different Dragon) as well as non-LGBT books that are still appropriate for our children or of interest to us as parents ( e.g., Lunch Lessons). Every Friday I also do a roundup of LGBT political news for busy parents who may not have kept up during the week.

I added the Mombian Resource Directory to the blog because my blogroll got too big. The Directory now has over 400 links to resources for LGBT parents on starting a family, raising a family, LGBT law and politics, building community (LGBT parenting blogs, forums, and offline groups), and caring for ourselves. Users can submit links, too, so the Directory is really a group effort. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m on a roll here with great interviews and this week I bring you Master Guidance Coach Karin Bauer. I first heard about Karin when she contacted me through my website. Shortly thereafter I learned even more about what she does with her Guidance Cards as part of a special Coach U student/alumni message. I recently had the chance to do a demo session with Karin and work with the guidance cards firsthand. It was a really neat way to get out of your head, create new awareness, and get a new perspective on a challenge you might be experiencing.

Karin recently took the time to share more about herself and her guidance cards…

1) What was your inspiration to start guidance cards?

I began painting abstract artwork a few years ago when I was on a spiritual quest. The resulting artwork was close to my heart. In the beginning, I didn’t want to show this personal work to others, I felt somehow exposed. So I kept my art quite literally ‘hidden in a clothes closet’. A few years ago around the same time I came out of the ‘gay closet’, probably not by coincidence, I also came out with my art. It was a huge personal transition.

A friend of mine asked me to show her the artwork, and another friend made a screen saver of my art and then posted it on my website. Coming out with my art was actually harder than coming out personally!
After that, I began showing my art to anyone, even exhibiting it in galleries. Many people remarked how much they saw and felt by looking at my artwork. I realized then, that the artwork now needed to go out there to heal others. The idea of creating the ‘Art Guidance Cards’ came from having seen other cards with artwork on them. My artwork is unique in that you can rotate it and see new perspectives. The cards were easier to transport and thus allowed me to use art with my clients in Youth Detox, Aids Resource Center, and in my coaching practice. Last year, my partner and I took the next step and innovated the web based Art Guidance Cards. Now, the cards are even more visible and are internationally utilized by other professional coaches.

Read the rest of this entry »

The ladies over at Lesbian Family are up to great things supporting two Mom households with a way to connect, learn, and inspire one another. I recently had the chance to connect with founder, Liza Barry-Kessler and learn a bit more about her and the site. As part of my ongoing committment to bring you thoughtful interviews with other successful lesbians, read on to learn more about Liza and Lesbian Family…

What was your inspiration to start Lesbian Family?

My original inspiration was this: When I got pregnant, I became suddenly obsessed with finding other pregnant lesbians and other women who were due around the same time as me.

Eventually, I found a few “ttc” lesbians with great blogrolls, but I always seemed to be missing someone or something interesting. I also found the wonderful Babes in Blogland , which I think strives to list every ttc/adoption/pregnant blog on the Internet. (And she’s got a great list of parenting blogs, too.)

Shana, the founder, and I became friendly — that’s when I realized that what I really wanted to do was create a similar easily sortable portal for lesbian families.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yet another great connection I made as a result of reading and contributing to Queercents has been finding Donna Mete. When Nina interviewed her a while back I noticed in her bio that she had trained with Debbie Ford. Thus, an instant connection was born. I recently had a chance to connect with Donna by phone and then do this e-mail interview. This woman is up to great things, so read on….

1) What was your inspiration to start A Lesbian’s Life?

A Lesbian’s Life was inspired as a result of an unusual experience I had one night a little more than a year ago. That experience changed me and I have not been the same person since. It was made clear to me that I was to provide a place for women to be seen, to find their voice and power and to take back mine. It was also made clear that I should never let another woman be alone in her experience and that through my book, website and show ideas, I would have a platform to help them be visible and proud. That’s been my mission ever since.

2) I see you have books and television projects in the works. Tell us a little more about them and what you hope the impact of them will be. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Deborah at a business networking event sponsored by the Bucks County Lesbian Alliance here where I live. I (and everyone in the room) was intrigued by her business venture Womynsmovies.com, an online DVD rental service specializing in offering movies of interest to gays and lesbians. She’s a sharp and smart lady with passion and a vision and thought you could benefit as well from getting to know more about her and Womynsmovies.com.

What was your inspiration to start womynsmovies.com?

My inspiration is my love of lesbian movies. Since my childhood was spent in Northern Ireland during the inspirational 70’s and 80’s it was extremely difficult to find any positive images of lesbians represented in television or the movies. I would be excited by any movie that featured lesbian characters and would secretly watch it after dark with the little pink triangle in the corner of my TV screen.These movies assisted me to make sense out of my life and to understand that my feelings towards women were neither unusual nor strange.
Read the rest of this entry »