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Brittany is a Columbia mom from Chattanooga, TN. She has lived in the Midlands the past 5 years with her husband and dogs. Since then, they have added two precious girls to their family and more pups! Brittany is a former elementary school teacher. She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a major in middle grades education and then went on to receive her masters in education. After the birth of her first daughter in 2021, she decided it was best for her family to stay home. Brittany is now a virtual marketing director, social media manager, and of course a mom. When not covered in milk and juggling house tasks, you can find Brittany attending her daughter’s dance class, visiting the local coffee shops, and at the Soda City Market almost every Saturday. Brittany loves the beach, walking her dogs, a matcha latte, and summertime. She can't wait to share her favorite things about Soda City and the daily in's and out's of motherhood.
Brittney is the proud new mother to one amazing baby boy (Ayden, 1) who constantly keeps her on her toes. A native of South Carolina, she is a graduate of the University of South Carolina (Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations) and Webster University (Master of Business Administration). While navigating her new role as a working single mom, she is finding the balance and redefining what it means to do it all. You can find Brittney on weekdays working from home or in the office as a Digital Marketing Strategist. While in the evenings and on the weekends alike she can be found cooking a nutritious meal or enjoying one at any of Columbia’s many exquisite cuisine options. She enjoys hanging out with her “new mom” friends, shopping, watching movies, attending church with her family, and finding fun kid-friendly activities. Brittney has always been passionate about being a black woman and is excited to now explore and share her experiences as a black mother.
Erin is a working mom of four wonderful kiddos. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with a specialization in Child Psychology. Throughout the years, motherhood has changed and evolved over time for Erin and her family - from moving across country and stay-at-home mom’ing for nearly a decade, to starting a new career, becoming first a single mom then stepmom - life has been full of twists and turns, sorrows, joys, surprises. Erin enjoys sharing life experiences with others in the hopes that they we can all embrace and support each other in the ups and downs of life, family, friendships and motherhood, together.
Heather Blanton Burns lives in Columbia with her husband and daughter. Natives of South Carolina, they love taking road trips to visit family, as well as spending time at the lakes, beaches and mountains nearby. Heather is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Certified Gentle Sleep Coach. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston and her doctoral degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. She cares for children of all ages at a small pediatric practice locally. She founded a small business, Cultivating Bright Futures, in 2020 to support mothers through education and provide encouragement for mothers at every step along their motherhood journey. When she’s not working, Heather enjoys reading, spending quality time with family and friends, staying involved in the community through Junior League, eating delicious food at local restaurants, checking out local events in Columbia and staying active through walking, yoga and barre.
Wildly in love with her perfectly imperfect life, Kathy’s been married to her most favorite person in the world, “The Professor,” for 14 years. They moved to Columbia from Atlanta seven years ago and are enjoying raising their two girls, Gracie (12½) and Tate (10) here. After undergrad and her MBA, Kathy worked in Corporate America for 10 years before retiring to work full-time for the girls. Most recently, she was a grant writer at a college here in town, but had to leave that job when her family moved to New Zealand for six months for The Professor’s sabbatical. She started her blog, Kathy Goes Kiki, to document that amazing adventure, but now she’s home and trying to figure out what to do with her life. Again. Probably the loudest and most foul-mouthed introvert you’ll ever meet, she can usually be found curled up with a trashy romance novel, on the tennis court, at her awesome gym, or drinking wine with people she loves.
Katrina is a mom of three great kids and has been married to her first love for more than 10 years. She’s grateful to have a job that allows her the flexibility to both work from home some days and in the office others. On the surface, Katrina is pretty crunchy – she loved breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, natural birth, and the idea of homeschooling — but still loved her stroller, having her kids in their own beds at some point, her epidural was fantastic, and she’s sending the kids through public school. Most of all she loves the fact that we have all these choices, which makes life interesting! One of her favorite experiences was moving to Japan in 2002 to live as an adult dependent with her USMC family. It was an amazing experience, and if it weren’t for that, she probably wouldn’t ever have met her husband.
Marissa was born in Charleston, South Carolina on Sept, 27, 1986 to James Sweat and the late Tracy Graham. She is the youngest girl of six, two sisters and three brothers. She grew up in Holly Hill, and graduated from Holly Hill Roberts High. Marissa furthered her education at Midlands Technical College, receiving a certificate in Early Childhood Education in 2017 and an associate degree in Early Childhood Education in 2018. She has been married for seven years to her husband Terence Evans. Together they have three children (Jaylen, Jada and Ny’Asia Evans). Her oldest and only boy, Jaylen, has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism. Marissa and her husband are also the founders of the movement #Dontstare which is to raise awareness to how rude staring can be.
Mee Jean is a mom of three who is married to her high school sweetheart. A native from Atlanta, Mee Jean holds a Journalism degree from the University of Georgia while her husband, Greg, graduated from The University of South Carolina (House Divided!). Together, they have three children: Alyssa (8), Jacob (7) and Isaac (1). Once wondering how she could live in a small town like Columbia, she now embraces it and loves her home in Blythewood. Working as a marketing analyst at BlueCross BlueShield, she loves being involved in the community and making Columbia the best place for her kids. As a graduate from the Leadership Columbia Class of 2017, she has learned a lot about Columbia. Mee Jean loves hanging out with her girlfriends, reading, watching Georgia football, running races (5ks or Spartans), taking pictures and making memories (lots of selfies and hashtags) and relaxing with some wine by the pool.
Natalie has lived in South Carolina most of her life after her family moved across the country from California. Growing up in a small, South Carolina town allowed her to appreciate the simple ways of country living. She now resides in Lexington which isn't too far from rural life. She holds a degree in Journalism from USC (Go Gamecocks!) and currently writes for a couple of Lexington publications. After giving birth to twins, she decided staying home was the best option for her family. In addition to identifying with other twin moms, she has also come to know the world of NICU survivors, early intervention and the world of special needs. Aside from being a twin mom, she also enjoys church and growing with God, writing, crafting, walking and a nice cup of tea. She also appreciates and loves learning about different cultures as she is of Asian American descent.
Simone is a wife and bestest friend in the world to Otis (better known as Odor) and mom to football and soccer-loving Grayson 12, competitive cheerleader Elind 7, and tantrum expert Ozzy Voltaire, 2. She is a native of New Jersey but relocated to Key West and later Columbia. As an overachiever, she believes learning is the best gift she can give her children and spends much of her time teaching her children at home (Grayson attends school, but the learning doesn't end when he leaves the classroom). Simone finds motherhood and family life are most easily managed by having a system in place for home life, kids' schedules (including learning, screen time, and reading), and meal planning. She is an avid reader who finds books are one of the best ways to unwind at the end of the day. She spends a lot of time boxing and at Pure Barre getting her burn on. You'll often find her buried in a book or on Pinterest getting ideas for her next project or yummy meals for the family menu.
Valerie grew up on Florida's treasure coast and graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in History and Literature. This is where her love for reading and writing blossomed. After working many years in Retail throughout the east coast as both a manager and district trainer, she and her husband, Rick, moved to northeast Columbia. There she took the opportunity to become a SAHM. Valerie has both a smarty-pants pre-teen girl and an overly mischievous young boy. She is currently working in the Lexington-Richland 5 School District. Her interests also include expanding her talents in the kitchen, as shown by her participation in a local Baking Club, a general obsession with all things Food Network, and basing travel plans around restaurants.
Victoria Archer, MS is a California-native scientist turned stay-at-home mom. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's in Science from Keck Graduate Institute. Feeling called to become a stay-at-home mother after having her first child, she homeschools her now 5 extremely energetic children (ages 8, 7, 5, 3, and 1). Amid organized chaos, Victoria has made it her mission to help fellow mothers endure the difficult seasons of raising young children. She is the author of Surviving Your Postpartum Season, a motivational speaker, Bible study leader, and founder of The MomCo Columbia moms group. When she’s not changing diapers, teaching first-grade math, and milling her own wheat, she’s serving alongside her husband, who pastors a group of house churches with the mission to “love one another”. She and her husband own and operate a coffee shop near downtown Columbia with a mission to end homelessness in Columbia.
