Meet The St. Louis Mom Team!
Hi! I’m Amanda — a local realtor and mom of three wild and wonderful boys: Noah, Charlie (both 7), and Milo (4, but absolutely convinced he’s 7). I grew up in the St. Louis area, spending my childhood splashing through creeks, hiking wooded trails, and falling in love with the natural beauty of Missouri. That deep-rooted love for this state still shows up in my life every day — whether I’m exploring new hidden gem coffee shops or hiking through the countryside with my crew.
My husband Josh and I live in Chesterfield, and our days are full of house projects, backyard chaos, and outdoor adventures. You can usually find us covered in sawdust, wrestling in the grass, or chasing our boys through a splash pad. As a working mom, I cherish the small moments — laughter over dinner, lattes with friends, and a home that feels full of life (and probably Legos).
I’m so grateful to live in a place that feels like home — surrounded by community, connection, and opportunity. Follow along on Instagram for all things St. Louis, family, and real estate: @amandabrandtrealtor
Kayla Cain | Content Creator
Chioma Chukwu-Smith | Content Creator
Chioma is a mom, wife, attorney, and board member to several legal and local organizations in the St. Louis region. She’s been married to her wonderful husband Brian for 11 years and they have two sweet sons, Samuel (10) and Niam (5) who keep them busy! She practices law at a firm in Clayton where she represents small local businesses, medium to large sized businesses, and handles all forms of commercial and real estate litigation. Her writing has been published in journals such as St. Louis University Law Journal and she’s guest starred on various podcasts. Chioma is Nigerian by heritage and loves traveling and exploring the world. She has lived in Nigeria for 3 months and Tokyo, Japan for two years with Brian and Samuel before Niam was born.
In her free time, Chioma enjoys connecting with people from all walks of life, throwing dinner parties and events at their home in Southwest Garden, finding new spots for dates with her husband, working out, and taking family outings with her boys. She has fun creating content about those things and sharing how she finds balance with a career and family. Originally a New York native born and raised, she’s made St. Louis home over the last 15+ years and is passionate about helping other moms do the same.
Alexandria Clifford | Contributing Writer
Yasmine Fehr | Contributing Writer
Yasmine Fehr is excited to contribute to St. Louis Mom! She is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who is board certified for the whole lifespan, but she specializes in pediatric and adolescent psychiatry. Originally from Memphis, TN, but St. Louis has been home since 2002 when she attended college at Washington University. She currently lives in Ellisville with her husband, Chris, son, Samuel, and their dog, Whitney B. She loves watching and streaming shows (favorites include “The Golden Girls,” “Seinfeld,” “Bob Hearts Abishola,” and “Only Murders in the Building), reading, walking, and spending time with friends and family. She is excited to continue to learn from other St. Louis moms as a new mother and is equally excited to share insights that can benefit children and adolescents.
Katy Ferguson | Contributing Writer
Katy is on a mission to squash every fitness and nutrition myth out there! As a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, she believes in the power of fueling your body to thrive in the busyness of motherhood.
Katy is a St. Louis native and a former Kindergarten teacher. Her love of fitness and nutrition runs deep – she has been in the fitness industry as an athlete for 10+ years and has owned a women’s only fitness business since 2018. As a busy mom of two littles (ages 4 & 6), she understands the struggle to find balance in life: workouts, nutrition, motherhood, relationships, social connections, and inner peace.
“Let’s face it, results come from actions, not intentions. And I LOVE helping women find balance in this.” REAL change with nutrition and fitness happens when you ditch the all-or-nothing mindset.
A great week for her would include: an early morning workout, a steaming hot shower, dark chocolate sea salt caramels, kisses & snuggles from her littles, a good burger, being outside, doing aerial silks, day dates with her husband, lifting weights, hiking, lazy evenings in front of the TV.
Connect with Katy via Instagram : @strong.as.a.mother.stl
Colleen Fitzsimmons-Wiviott | Contributing Writer
A native of St. Louis, Colleen lives in South City with her husband, two kids, and rescue dog. She has worked in museum and art education for the past ten years and is the founder of Start With Art, which provides early childhood art workshops and classes around town. She is passionate about helping children discover their own creative processes while building community through art. When she’s not lesson planning, teaching, or momming, you can find her baking treats for her family, visiting the farmers’ market, or checking out all the amazing art exhibitions and performances St. Louis has to offer. Visit startwithartstl.com or follow on Instagram @startwithartstl!
Trina Harger | Podcast Manager
Trina Harger is a composer of choral music in St. Louis. She is a type 1 diabetic, wife, mother of two boys, and has a Siberian husky named Sasha. She loves to sing, work on creative projects, and enjoys exploring all the fun spots of St. Louis!
Rachel Hodges | Contributing Writer
Rachel is originally from the Chicagoland area, but has grown deep Saint Louis roots over the last fifteen years. She married her high school sweetheart and they live in the Metro East with their three children and spunky puppy. Rachel is the kind of Mom who loves watching her kids grow and learn new things, and also wishes time would slow down a bit.
Rachel and her husband love to travel together, dream together, and enjoy time with friends and family. Rachel loves getting lost in a story and is always up for a book or podcast recommendation. She loves time outside, good questions, long conversations, and a good theme to plan a party or meal around.
Rachel works as a Child, Adolescent and Family Therapist who provides counseling, parent coaching and equipping. She loves helping parents strengthen their relationships with their children, and helping parents understand their children through a developmental lens. Rachel believes we were all meant to be heard, feel known and be absolutely delighted in.
Christina Johans | Content Creator
Christina Johans was born and raised right here in the Lou. She is a mom to Sophie, Cooper and Josie, with one on the way! And a dog mom to Babe, Luna & Nash. She lives with her husband and growing family in Ballwin and works part-time as a marketing coordinator. Follow along for all things STL, kid and mom!
Natalie Kalmar | Contributing Writer
Natalie Kalmar was born and raised in St Louis, but then took a 17 year hiatus –attending college in New Orleans and then building her career and starting her family in New York City.
Natalie has always been a St. Louis girl at heart and is thrilled to be home in the LOU and raising her family. Natalie lives in Chesterfield, MO and is a wife & mom to 3 children, including 5 year old boy/girl twins and a 7 year old son. After working in the Skincare & Cosmetics Industry for 17 years, Natalie has spent the last 1.5 years focused on her family, home and community. She is thrilled to be a part of St Louis Mom and contribute to their mission of helping women navigate motherhood.
In her free time, Natalie loves to break-a-sweat at various group fitness studios across St Louis and indulge in the local restaurant scene. If you like to eat-out and work-out, follow Natalie’s blog www.fitnessfoodiestl.com or on IG @fitnessfoodiestl.
Mimi Kerner | Content Creator
Mimi was born in Seoul, South Korea but was adopted by a family in Minnesota at 3 months old. She’s lived all over the US – Massachusetts, South Carolina, North Carolina, and more recently Wisconsin. She’s been married to her husband, Ross, a STL Native, for 11 years. They moved to Sunset Hills at the end of 2022 to be close to family.
Mimi is currently navigating raising 3 kids under the age of 8, having a newborn in her late 30s, and working full time for a certain beer company. She thinks that St. Louis has some of the best parks, libraries, and food of all the places she’s lived! When she’s not with her H kids (Hadley, Harrison, and Harper…names not entirely on purpose), she loves trying new restaurants, watching and reading cheesy tv/books, and following all things fashion as she worked in corporate retail for 13 years…even though you’ll probably find her in sweats on the weekends. Despite maybe looking like she has it all together; her house is a disaster, she doesn’t know what’s for dinner, and she thanks God she hasn’t lost her son in the grocery store (yet). Anyone getting rid of any neon shirts?!
On a more serious note, Mimi has spent the last few years learning to live with joy and grief side by side after losing her nephew to SUDEP. She’s also on a journey learning how to parent a neurodivergent child – something she knew nothing about until recently. She hopes to bring awareness to both of these topics so moms know they aren’t alone.
Follow her on Instagram @yourmomfriendSTL for camaraderie in chaos and to hear more about her Dumpster Fire Fridays!
Simonne Kimble | Contributing Writer
Simonne is a St. Louis-based creative with a background in media and marketing. Over the years she has used her passion for storytelling and community to help create a space for local creatives. Simonne’s media journey started right here in St. Louis, where she gained hands-on experience in television production, promotions, event planning, content creation and more. These early roles gave her a deeper appreciation for the city’s creative energy. Outside of work, Simonne is a proud #GirlMom of two, a pet mom of a Frenchie and Teacup Yorkie, coffee and ice cream lover, and a fan of quiet moments spent reading or getting crafty. Her personal and professional life reflect the same core value: using creativity to connect, uplift, and inspire.
Abby Klosterhoff | Content Creator
Tricia Koebel | Contributing Writer
Mekenzie Lundt | Content Creator
Mekenzie is a proud Midwest native, originally from Ohio, and has called St. Louis home for the past three years. She lives with her husband Ben, a current soccer player for STL CITY SC, their 15-month-old daughter Harper, and their very loyal, very hairy 8 year old German shepherd, Kodak, who is a vital part of the household.
Over the last decade, Mekenzie and her family have embraced several moves, often starting fresh in cities without nearby family or long-term roots. She values the sense of community that comes with feeling connected to the heartbeat of a city and this is why she feels a platform like STLM is so important. Mekenzie is passionate about giving back by helping others feel included, connected, and in on the fun!
Candice Meyer | Content Creator
Angie Mitchell | Content Creator
Katie Mueth | Senior Contributing Writer
Katie is a Des Peres mom of two young boys, Trace (2014) and Henry (2016). Katie stays home with her boys most of the time but also spends a bit of time away as a high school lacrosse coach. Katie enjoys connecting with other moms to run, meet at parks, explore new restaurants, listen to live music and discuss books. Katie and her boys can be found enjoying many activities around St. Louis including the Science Center, Zoo, Magic House, Museum of Transportation, Urban Fort and Frisco Train Store, but what they enjoy most is just being outdoors. They have tried many of the parks around St. Louis City and county and also love hiking trails at Laumeier Sculpture Park, Powder Valley and Shaw Nature Reserve. Katie and her family love all that St. Louis has to offer for families of young children and can most often be found taking advantage of all of the many opportunities.
Nicole Powell | Contributing Writer
Nicole Powell moved to St. Louis 7 years ago when her husband received a job offer, which took them from NYC to St. Louis. They explored the city as singles, married, and had their first child in 2018. Technically, she wasn’t “new” to STL when she became a mom, but she never explored with “mom goggles” on or had any local friends or family with children. Instead, she focused on her career and making new friends. And then, BAM, she was a mom! She wished for a one-stop-shop guide for a new mom in a new city as she transitioned into motherhood, as there is so much STL has to offer moms and their little ones. Nicole is the founder and owner of HALCON Marketing Solutions, a woman and minority-owned brand strategy and marketing agency transforming businesses into powerful, profitable, and buzz-worthy brands.
Marlena Renner | Contributing Writer
Marlena is mom to 6-year-old Joshua and has been married to her husband, Andy, for 10 years. They reside in Alton, Illinois where he is the head athletic trainer for Alton High School. Her parents both grew up in Kirkwood, and even though she spent most of her childhood in Montgomery City, MO, she had a feeling she would end up in St. Louis someday. She worked in minor league baseball after college, eventually landing for a season with the River City Rascals. She worked for the St. Louis Blues, Stifel Theatre, and Enterprise Center for 13 years before the pandemic stopped so many things. Today she is the email specialist for Caleres, which means shoes … all the shoes.
Amy Sanders | Senior Contributing Writer
Amy is in her thirties with three kids under the age of 8, so her kitchen is always stocked with coffee, wine, and goldfish. She works part-time, tries to keep up with her book club, and is fluent in sarcasm. She loves raising her family in St. Louis and couldn’t get by without her tribe (or Netflix).
Jamie Scaccia | Contributing Writer
Jamie is a Des Peres mom and clinical psychologist with a specialization in child development and trauma. She is married with two little ones and is just entering the world of elementary school! While she has lived throughout the country, St. Louis has always been home and she is so grateful for the community here! She also enjoys running, true crime, and baking for everyone!
Emma Seiler | Content Creator
Emma lives in Glendale with her husband and their young daughter. She grew up in Kansas City dreaming of becoming a TV news reporter and spent six years in the industry, including nearly four years at KMOV, which brought her to St. Louis. Not long after the Blues won the Stanley Cup, she met her now-husband and decided to make St. Louis home. These days, Emma works full-time in marketing, which allows her more work-life balance, family time, and the chance to connect with people by sharing the stories behind brands. Since making St. Louis home, she’s grown to love the people, the fun things to do, and the city’s charm. In her free time, you’ll often find her running, strength training, baking, or taking long walks to the coffee shop with her family. She’s always up for meeting and chatting with other local moms! Connect with Emma on Instagram!
Meg Smidt | Contributing Writer
Meg Smidt is a confetti-throwing life and business coach, mother, grandmother, sister, devoted friend and love-spreader. She is super passionate about helping driven and compassionate women create balanced, joy-filled, intentional lives that they love (and that love them back). She spends her days strategizing with and encouraging women all over the world to be their very best. YourCoach Meg lives in Benton Park/ St Louis with her husband, one of her five adult kids and 2 silly dogs.
Connect with Meg on her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Elise Genta Sprenger | Contributing Writer
Elise Genta Sprenger lives in Alton Illinois with a houseful of books, children, and dogs- but just one husband. She was born and raised in the Metro East, and has long been grateful for the museums, history and rich culture available for those who claim St. Louis as home.
Motherhood spurred 100+ STL Zoo trips, which notably started on a jaunt with her best friend- each breastfeeding their first newborn on a log in the sweltering summer heat, watching the Red River Hog twitch its ear in their general direction as the sweat dripped down their backs. Midwest is best?
Eventually having five kids in a span of ten years, Elise decided buckling everyone into their car seats, driving to the Zoo, transferring to the stroller, walking the River’s Edge, putting everyone on the train and then the carousel was the perfect solution to a difficult day. They may all fall asleep on the way home and you might get 10 quiet minutes in the driveway before you have to carry them in.
Now with teenagers, and her youngest baby nearing double digits, Elise also takes her kids to Paramore concerts at Enterprise and Fortnight competitions at the Science center. They frequent the new exhibits at the Art Museum and also visit their favorite parts of the collection like old friends- wondering if Zenobia and her chains will soon be returned from their trip to the History Museum.
Elise is probably happiest writing poetry on Art Hill, watching the leaves sway in the wind and the doggos of Forest Park frolic, after eating the left (and right) side of the menu at Brasserie. Elise is a Certified Play expert at Happy Up Inc in Edwardsville (shop small!). She is very bad at small talk, and if she asks how you are, she really wants to know. She would like to one day, be called a poet. Her family, friends and St. Louis may, in fact, hold her heart.
Trisha Stanley | Contributing Writer
Trisha is a science educator and mom to Aiden, Lily, and Elon. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for 20 years. Trisha taught high school science before staying home with her kids. Before she was a classroom teacher, she was in the informal science realm working as an education specialist at an aquarium and zoo. Trisha is the creator of Inspiration Laboratories, a blog dedicated to encouraging learning through creativity and play. Her passion is sharing science activities with parents and teachers and demonstrating how to do science with even the youngest learners. Trisha lives on the outskirts of St. Louis and enjoys spending time with her family exploring the city and everything outdoors. She’s currently working on a master’s degree in science education and trying to decide what to do once her youngest starts kindergarten next year.
Haley Strebler | Contributing Writer
Haley was born and raised in small town Kansas. She moved to St. Louis after graduating from the University of Kansas to attend graduate school at Lindenwood. Her 2 year plan to live in St. Louis turned in 12 when she met her husband. They were married on home plate at Busch Stadium in 2015 and are parents to two girls, Presley (4) and Piper (7 months), Haley stared her career as a Certified Athletic Trainer working at high schools all throughout St. Louis. After returning to nursing school she was a Trauma ICU nurse for 5 years before taking on her current role as the Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator at a Level 1 Trauma Center.
Outside of work Haley blogs about local food and businesses as part of the Yelp Elite Squad, volunteers for Make-A-Wish MoKan, and loves strength training and self care. Haley considers herself a “wrangler of tiny females”. She loves raising a strong willed preschooler who both challenges and amazes her. Haley loves living in St. Louis and feels it has so much to offer to inspire children and foster creativity. You can follow her at @mamastrebs.
Heather Tatman | Contributing Writer
Heather Tatman is a born and raised St. Louis mom. She lives in South City In the Bevo Mill neighborhood with her hubby of 16 years and their 14-year-old son (they have a 20-year-old daughter away at college as well). Heather is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom thinking about a possible change in these areas (possibly). When she’s not cheering on her kid(s) at their sporting matches or any other sporting event of the day, and doing all the adult things in between, she’s enjoying one or more of her favorite hobbies: reading, organizing, beer/wine tasting, cooking and the list just goes on and on.
Brittany Taussig | Contributing Writer
Brittany Taussig is a St. Louis native who is re-discovering her hometown all over again as a parent. Lately, you can find Brittany and her husband Adam exploring all things trains with their two and half year-old twin boys, Caleb and Cole. Her family loves to participate in all kinds of experiences from trying out local parks, to watching the Circus Flora Circus every year, to visiting all the new indoor play places. Her family is often out and about on a new adventure!
When Brittany is not making memories with her family, she is helping support other families as a pediatric behavior specialist and board-certified behavior analyst. She recently opened her own private practice, called RISE Behavioral Consulting in the St. Peters area. Her practice specializes in helping children navigate through various social, emotional, and behavioral concerns that present both at home and at school. She loves to come alongside parents and remind them that they are doing a great job and that they aren’t alone. It can be incredibly hard to remember that your child is definitely not the one who has ever struggled with a particular concern or challenge! Brittany loves to partner with families to help them understand what their child’s behavior is trying to communicate and support them on this crazy, beautiful ride called parenting.
Lauren Vaid | Contributing Writer
Lauren Vaid is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), and the proud owner of Nurturing Babbles—Lactation & Feeding Support. A devoted mom of two energetic boys, she is passionate about empowering families with knowledge and confidence to nurture their infants through a positive feeding experience. In her personal life, she embraces the beauty of her interracial Indian-American marriage, celebrating the unique blend of traditions and perspectives that create her special family. In her free time, she loves working out, spending time outdoors and making memories at sporting events with her husband and two boys.
Lauren Velasco | Contributing Writer
Lauren lives in Creve Coeur with her husband, their toddler son, and their dog, Comet. With a background in journalism and public relations, she’s passionate about storytelling and excited to be part of a community that shares in the everyday moments of motherhood. When she’s not chasing her toddler, she’s out on a run, checking out a new food spot, or unwinding with a good TV show or movie. You can also find Lauren on Instagram @matzoandtortilla, where she and her husband share their favorite meals while exploring the St. Louis food scene.
Katie Vondera | Senior Contributing Writer
Katie is a St. Louis native, coffee lover, and difference maker. She has a passion for teaching at-risk high schoolers how to find joy in reading and writing. She is a divorced mother of two incredibly strong girls who can be found watching The Voice, eating ice cream, and staying up late reading. Katie and her girls love exploring St. Louis-hiking and playing at local parks, getting away to Pere Marquette, breakfasting at Strange Donuts or The Barn, and learning at all of the museums.
Diana Waldman | Senior Contributing Writer
A native St. Louisan, Diana lives in Clayton with her husband, young son, two daughters, and two dogs. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, which she uses as an excuse to be nosy regarding other people’s lives. She recently left a career in legal marketing to work part-time from home and focus on her babies (furry and otherwise). Her current parenting mantras are: “I can do it all, just not all at once,” and “It will probably be fine?” Diana gets her kicks by going for long runs, reading a mix of high-brow and low-brow literature, and seeking out activities her whole family (including the puppies!) can enjoy around town.
Kelly Watson | Contributing Writer
Kelly was born in Los Angeles, CA, and raised in her hometown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (GO BA!) where she graduated as a Tiger. Soon thereafter, she moved to Columbia, MO, and attended The University of Missouri-Columbia (a Tiger again!). She graduated in 2009 with her degree in Actuarial Science with an emphasis in Finance. While at Mizzou, she met her husband. Once they graduated, they moved back to St. Louis. They got married in St. Lucia in 2014 in front of all of their closest friends and family after being together for 5 years! A couple of years later (2! To be exact!) they had their oldest son! During the pandemic they had their youngest son and feel their beautiful family is complete! Being a Mom is the most challenging and rewarding job! Kelly truly LOVES and adores her boys! They are blessings and her heart! After working super hard at her job for the past nine years (almost a decade whoohooo!), she attained her dream role! She is a Data Engineer specializing in Data Integration. What is that? …maybe one day she will talk about it! She loves her job- it’s super challenging!! She is not the biggest fan of being on-call once a month, but! Hey! Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do! As mentioned earlier, Kelly loves St. Louis … she lives in Ballwin and adores her neighbors and neighborhood. Her family is the most important thing to her. They love doing everything together! They love taking their boys to parks, water parks (especially with summer! Whooo! )… pretty much any place that they can get all of that energy out!! They have energy for days … weeks … heck! She just needs 5% of it and she’d be set for the rest of her life! She and her husband also find it important to have their alone time- they love dates! Thanks to her super supportive and loving MIL, they get to go on dates from time to time! They love trying new spots to eat (Brass Rail is a new favorite with the best martinis!), going to the movies and traveling! Katie’s looking forward to sharing her thoughts on a variety of topics and she is hoping you will be open to listening and maybe discussing!
Rika White | Contributing Writer
Rika White, a STL native is a mama to four wonderful boys, 2 of them being her bonus children; AJ (13), DJ (9), Paxton (9), and Santana (3). A soon-to-be wife to her fiance, T and currently resides in the North County area (Black Jack, MO). Rika is the statewide Director of an Organization for a Missouri Nonprofit and is navigating a blended family. As a young working mother, she loves to talk about the balance of motherhood and life. Her passion lies around youth and particularly gun violence and the mental health effects on minority children in the inner city from trauma-related experiences. In her spare time she enjoys traveling around the city with her family, working out, and having many forms of self-care.
