Moms As Mentors has been my dream.  When I was younger, I struggled in school and never thought I was smart.  When my friends wanted to study in the library, I used to sneak away to a private corner, cover my mouth with my sweatshirt, and read aloud where no one would notice.  I was embarrassed and ashamed.  In fact, I remember that one of my teachers in middle school said to me, “you must not be very smart.”  This was when I hit rock bottom.  I had periods of low self-esteem and it actually wasn’t until later that I accepted the fact that I just had a different style of learning. 

I was never the whiz kid or the best on my athletic teams, but participating in sports taught me collaboration, leadership, and perseverance.  Plus, I had great female role models who I wanted to be just like.  My mom was one of them.  She was an educator and she empowered me to pursue my dreams.  Once I learned to compensate for my difficulties I began to excel.  This is what drives me to remain in the field of education today.

After teaching adolescent girls following college, I saw that many of my students never said what they truly believed and like any young teacher, my students confided in me, telling me about the many risky behaviors in which they took part.  Much of this resonated with me and it was then that my passion for helping girls become confident women flourished.  I conceived of the Moms As Mentors idea and focused my research on girls’ development while completing my masters, but it wasn’t until I went to business school that I was able to put my ideas into action. There, I wrote a business plan and launched a pilot program to test the concept. 

Luckily, along this whole wild ride, I’d been sharing ideas with my friend Jen.  Jen and I have been friends since the 8th grade.  We played ice hockey together, went to college together, and we both had babies within a few months of each other.  As new moms ourselves, we know it’s equally important to help moms find ways to lead active, healthy lifestyles – especially when we are all juggling busy lives.   Jen has been an amazing sounding board and fortunately for me, she is an incredible woman in her own right.  With Jen’s help, this is how Moms As Mentors got to where we are today! 

                                                      -Emilie Liebhoff, Founder & Executive Director