Jennifer Nevadomski is a trendsetter. For more than 10 years, she has brought together thousands of women online through her social media savvy and blogging, and now Jen is giving Long Island mothers the opportunity to meet and network with each other.
Jen, a former social worker for a foster care agency in New York City, became a stay-at-home mom after her twins were born in 2008. Last April Jen was featured on CNN’s Your Bottom Line in a piece called, “Meet a Mom Who Can’t Afford to Work,” after she had to quit her $45,000 full-time job because day care was costing her family almost $30,000 a year.
A decade ago, when her daughter was an infant, Jen became a regular contributor to a mothers’ website called Bronx Babies. When the media giant Gannett took notice of her following, they asked her to participate in its new online national network, MomsLikeMe.com, which was segmented into hyper-local parenting sites. Jen’s network was New York City. Eventually she became her groups’ “Ambassador/Community Correspondent” and, even more special, the “Mom-Bassador.” At its height, MomsLikeMe.com had more than 100 town specific sites with dedicated followings.
“I ran it for three years,” Jen says. “It was the best job.”
Unfortunately, Gannett decided to close the popular site in October 2011, removing all the content, and launched DealChicken instead.
“All of those sites don’t exist anymore,” she says.
Since then, Jen has had her hand in many different endeavors. She now owns and administers MommysLinks.com, which provides resources to interested mothers. She also operates her own social network and has published three books: “Becoming A Mother,” “Our Twins Journal” and “Mommy’s Having Twins.”
Now the mother of four children—ages 10, 4 (the twins) and 3—Jen and her husband Paul recently moved to Massapequa. Jen works from home as a behavior counselor for Ableto.com, where she video-conferences with clients from across the country.
But it’s the social aspect of connecting with other mothers that drives her.
Last August, Jen attended a BlogHer conference event in NYC. “I felt such energy,” she says. She took the momentum from the seminar, channeled it into her passion to connect women online and started Long Island Networking Moms that same month with co-founder and group advisor, Cheryl Roach.
Jen announced the launch online and had no trouble finding a group of local moms interested in joining. “The first meeting we had 13 attendees; by the third we were up to 54,” Jennifer says proudly. The group now has more than 70 members in Nassau County who meet monthly. Recently Long Island Networking Moms launched a Suffolk chapter and Jen says it’s membership is growing by the day.
“We are moms in business,” she says. Long Island Networking Moms has a no-competition, business category-exclusive rule so that the members are encouraged to do business with each other.
Giving women a milieu where they can share stories, vent, give or receive advice and make new friends is also Jen’s goal.
“The group is not just for growing your business,” Jen explains. “Most of our members say they also enjoy the friendship and camaraderie.
“I love to bring moms together and help them create a better work-life balance,” Jen says.
“Being able to manage your business, family, friends and home? That’s a big thing.”
For more information, go to www.LongIslandNetworkingMoms.com or email info@LongIslandNetworkingMoms.com
*This story appeared in the March issue of Milieu.
