About

We live in a magical land where carbon footprints are calculated and compared, jeans and t-shirts are the local industry uniform, the mom running the school PTA has an MBA from Stanford, and most of us own at least one product beginning with a lower case i. We may not have a personal pilates instructor, but we do get a little thrill when opening up a box with the latest high tech gadget and seeing the words “Designed in California.” We’re smart, educated and we have an opinion. Welcome to Silicon Valley Mamas.

Co-Founder and Managing Editor Kimberly Kauer works mainly as a personal assistant to two pint-sized, yet tough-as-nails clients: Clover and Rocket. When not washing, folding, then refolding clothes, reminding her clients to wash their hands and stop hitting each other, Kimberly works as a writer and social media consultant. She grew up in Marin and after a few moves to San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Boston, settled with her husband, a software engineer, in Silicon Valley. She does not drive a mini-van. Kimberly started blogging in 2006 at Tippy Toes and Tantrums. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter covering California environmental policy. Her work has been featured in various publications, including the Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer and the Fresno Bee, and currently she writes for the Galileo Learning Blog. Her Twitter handle is @tippytoes.

Co-Founder Robyn Roark is a full-time working mom of two. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, she’s seen the valley change from real fruit orchards to an “apple” being synonymous with an iPad.  Working as a Strategic Initiative Manager at one of the largest software companies in the world, she bosses around men that are old enough to be her father. At home, she gets bossed around by boys who refuse to wear pants.  In between corporate meetings that pay the bills, volunteering in the classroom, and managing to cook a home cooked meal every day, Robyn writes at Who’s the Boss? Her twitter handle is @whostheboss.

Alison Golden is a British transplant, a former major accounts manager in high-tech, who crashed onto these shores in 1996. Since then, she’s married, birthed and brought up twin boys (now ten) and entered the blogosphere. Alison blogs at The Secret Life Of A Warrior Woman where she chronicles her life as a secret superhero cleverly disguised as a conventional, cat-loving, white-minivan-driving mom of two. When she’s not writing, volunteering, cooking meals and driving to various after-school activities, she sleeps. Her pillow is her best friend.

Ana/Bonggamom may have an MS from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard, but she’s barely getting passing grades in her pursuit of an MFA (Masters in Family Administration) from the Universe-ity of Motherhood. Formerly in software product management, she is a freelance writer, editor at The Savvy Source and stay-at-home parent to a daughter and twin boys, constantly looking for new ways to entertain them while doing as little housework as possible. So why “bonggamom”? The word “bongga” (rhymes with “congga”) is a Filipino term meaning glamorous in an ostentatious, outrageous, fabulous, over-the-top way. Bonggamom believes all moms can and should aspire to be bongga moms, but acknowledges that her own efforts to achieve such a state are hampered by her constantly stained jeans.  You can find more of Bonggamom’s writing on her personal blogs,  Finding Bonggamom and Bonggamom Finds, as well as the Yahoo! Motherboard and Technorati Women’s Channel.

Jen Bush left her Southern California valley girl roots behind for college in Berkeley, where she fell in love with the Bay Area. After a brief time on the East Coast to get an MBA, she high-tailed it back to the California sunshine and the high tech world of Silicon Valley. She worked at big companies and startups, launching products from cell phones to DVRs. One of those companies also produced a husband, and in 2007, she packed up her desk to be a stay at home mom. Jen has two kids: a preschooler, affectionately referred to as Moe, and a baby girl, Jelly Belly. Jen writes about her experiences with a baby, a preschooler on the Autism spectrum, and a dog on Prozac, at her personal blog, Anybody Want A Peanut? She also writes for Hopeful Parents and From Left to Write.

Jessica Rosenberg is a quintessential Silicon Valley Mama. She was born and raised in France, but you’d never guess it to hear her speak. She works part time as a social media marketer, is writing her first novel, blogs in multiple locations for others and for herself at It’s My Life… and The Lemonade Stand. And, somehow, in the middle of all that, still manages to ferry her two young daughters every day to their two different schools in two different towns, neither of which are the town they all live in. No, she doesn’t get much sleep. Her Twitter handle is @kikarose.

Karianna is the main chauffer for her two school-aged boys. The eldest decided after becoming burnt-out from a stint at club soccer that his new love is the violin. The youngest wants to be a ninja, but for now is a competitive gymnast. Karianna used to be a dancer and then a neuroscientist, but is now enjoying amateur photography, supported by her so-called-career as a freelance web-designer and computer consultant. She runs at least one race per month even though she’s not a “real runner.” Her personal blog is The Karianna Spectrum and her Twitter handle is @KariDahlen.

Nicole Pelton is biding her time until her two little soccer stars go pro and buy their mom a mansion. She’s nearly a native Californian with a brief stint back east for college and a “starter marriage.”  After a long run in semiconductor equipment, she’s trying the more trendy area of alternative energy as a solar marketing manger.  She’s a reluctant soccer mom, above average cook and below average soccer player.  You can find her bragging about her boys’ fluency in Spanish and math geekiness over at Not Just a Working Mom and on Twitter as @nicole_pelton.  She’s still trying to find her own passion.

Rebecca Thompson and her family moved from Seattle to the Silicon Valley in 2009. They’ve had no trouble adjusting to the California sunshine.  She spent her wanderlust 20s in New York, Seattle, Paris, Indiana, Dallas and back to Seattle where she dedicated her 30s to a (formerly?) world dominating software company and met her husband. Content on most days to hold down the home front and keep track of two energetic boys, she blogs at i-Generation Kids and finds random consulting projects to keep her mind sharp and avoid deeper PTA involvement.  She enjoys collecting mid-century modern stuff, growing veggies in the garden, and drinking good espresso and red wine (not at the same time).  She does not enjoy housecleaning, nor does she drive a minivan, but she is learning to knit and to tweet @igenkids.