My 1st DC Flyin with the Chamber of Mothers

The Chamber of Mothers: Tara Ryan, Kelly Fuscaldo, Deshi Singh, Erin Erenberg, Lauren Smith Brody, Molly McDermott Walsh, Annie Bacon

In October of 2023, I attended my first fly-in with the Chamber of Mothers in DC. 

The Chamber of Mothers is a collective movement of mothers & supporters across America, united to change policy & culture to create a nation where mothers thrive personally & professionally. 

I started volunteering my time with the organization early in my pregnancy and became even more committed to the mission after giving birth - without the safety net of paid leave. As the organization grew, I saw an opportunity to lend my time as a strategist and operational consultant to align the growing team while enabling focus and scale. 

Despite my time with the organization and the founding mothers team, I definitely had imposter syndrome going into the DC trip. There were definitely moments that I thought: "I don't belong here - I market color, design and products for a living!"

But after a couple of meetings with representatives and their legislative teams, I realized why that is precisely why it was important for me to be there. That by not having a polisci degree or fully understanding how the government works (honestly), I was able to ask impactful questions and see opportunities that may have been overlooked by those who were doing the work, day in and day out.

It was also my experience as a "corporate burnout turned sole proprietor + new mom at age 40" that actually made me an expert.

The Chamber of Mothers team was there to meet with both Republicans and Democrats to advocate for bills that would incrementally change the challenges our nation is facing in regards to maternal health, child care and paid leave. In meetings, we brought statistics and real stories of the challenges facing mothers and children today and connected to studies that forecast the economic advantages to fixing these problems - in addition to the humankind reasons. 

And while I learned so many things this week, two stats keeps standing out: 

• There are 50,000 nonprofit organizations dedicated to women and girls across the United States

• But less than 2% of philanthropic and charitable donations go towards them. 

There is so much room to improve. 

This experience strengthened my resolve to work as a fractional CMO with both companies that are committed to change and nonprofit organizations that could use strategic and operational support to increase awareness of their mission and be able to do more good. 

It was a privilege to take a few days to advocate on behalf of mothers across America, made possible by my husband who took off so that he and our infant daughter could join me. 

And it was a reminder that new perspectives are necessary to help impact change.

Molly McDermott Walsh standing in front of Senator Cory Booker’s office in DC.