FORMER DIRECTOR TO INNOVATE

Sarah is a firm believer that one can have their cake and eat it too. In fact, cake decorating is one of her favorite hobbies! She also loves to sew, knit, read, write, play violin, and dance. Sarah started her first business as a daily money manager when she was a junior in high school. She has run a successful tax practice for more than 16 years. During the last 12 of those years, she has also been raising and homeschooling her two sons.

She is very active in her church where she has served in a leadership capacity for more than 7 years. Sarah believes that her secret to success is first and foremost having an amazing spouse who partners with her in business, child rearing, and home responsibilities. The second thing is that the different aspects of her life are integrated. She brings her kids to the office with her and helps them with school in between client phone calls and emails. The kids work with her by scanning, shredding, and preparing mailings. Lastly, Sarah’s faith is part of who she is and it affects how she interacts not just with those at church, but her family and clients as well.

​Sarah is looking forward to supporting and educating companies and families about the value of mom friendly work environments and using her talents and experiences to help reframe our cultural perceptions of what it means to be “just a mom”. She hopes to improve the lives of moms and families everywhere through creativity, service, and innovation.

Former Director of Unique Circumstances

Stephanne moved to Oregon as a young child from Haiti. As a first-generation Haitian American, she loves living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and calls it home. Stephanne is a single mom of three kiddos, ages 13, 11, and 5, who are the center of her world. During the day she works for a government agency in Human Resources. She loves to serve the citizens of her community to support underrepresented and marginalized groups in her county. She is also an active participant in philanthropic work and an avid supporter of the American Heart/Stroke Association (She is a SURVIVOR),  a Camp Counselor/Counselor Supervisor with Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp (outdoor recreation program to support individuals with developmental, intellectual and physical disabilities); and Haitian Roots to educationally sponsor children in Haiti to have access to education. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her kids, reading, game nights, practicing her violin, camping and all summer shenanigans! She is GRATEFUL and HONORED for the opportunity to serve as a Board member on the Momivate team.

After Barbara’s death at age 86, her husband gave this lovely tribute to her at a worldwide general conference of the church where he served as an apostle. Bolded portions seem particularly relevant to Momivate’s mission.

“I suppose most of us fail to fully appreciate what others do for us until they are gone. I knew Barbara was always busy, but I did not fully understand the constant family, Church, and community demands upon her time. There were daily consecrated efforts repeated thousands of times through the years that kept our family functioning. And through it all, no one in our family ever heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word.

Floods of memories have washed over me this past year. I have thought about the physically demanding choice she made to be the mother of seven children. Being a homemaker was the only career she ever wanted, and she was in every aspect a consummate professional.
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Often I have wondered how she kept track of our children and me. Meal preparation alone was a truly daunting task, not to mention activities such as doing the mountains of laundry our family generated every week and keeping shoes and appropriately sized clothing on the children. We all turned to her on a myriad of other issues that were important to us. And because they were important to us, they were also important to her. She was, in a word, magnificent—as a wife, as a mother, as a friend, as a neighbor, and as a daughter of God.
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Brothers and sisters, please do not miss an opportunity to look into the eyes of your family members with love. Children and parents, reach out to each other and express your love and appreciation. Like me, some of you may wake up one day to discover that the time for such important communication has passed. Live each day together with hearts filled with gratitude, good memories, service, and much love.”

Former Momivate’s Leader of Music, Inspiration, and Laugh

Sam is a new mom to a one-year-old baby girl. Becoming a mother during a worldwide pandemic was one of the most difficult things she has ever done. She learned that motherhood stretches your limits in every regard – physically, mentally, and emotionally. She has gained a lot of respect and appreciation for the role of motherhood and she is beyond grateful for all the mother figures she has in her life.

Sam has a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences with an emphasis in psychology and will soon be pursuing a masters degree in social work in order to pursue her goal to address women’s mental health issues. She has a diverse volunteer background including working with children with behavioral issues, helping teens improve their academics, working as a mediator between teens and their parents, co-authoring published psychological research, and helping build homes for families in need. Her professional history includes working as a medical assistant and as head coach for a high school girls lacrosse team. She is devoted to helping others and intends to continue helping others along her chosen career path.

Sam also has a love for music. She has played the piano since she was a kid and has been a member of two award winning choirs. She believes that laughter is the best medicine and loves spending time with her family, who makes her laugh the most. She finds daily inspiration through having honest conversations with others, reading good books, listening to informative podcasts, and searching for something positive in every situation. She believes that music, laughter, and inspiration are all important aspects of motherhood. She also has a deep appreciation for authentic Mexican food, baking, warm beaches, and spontaneous kitchen dance parties.