Kansas City Mom Collective

Hola! I’m Adriana Predmore. I was born in central Mexico and lived there for part of my childhood. Mexico will always hold a special place in my heart, but Kansas City is my home! I’ve been married to Mr. DIY himself and biggest supporter for five years. We have two high energy dogs, KC and Chief (can you tell I love Kansas City yet?) that require A LOT of attention. The newest addition is Jackson, our adorable rainbow baby. I’m a foreign language teacher and take full advantage of my position to promote the beauty in diversity. In my lack of spare time, you’ll find me running a photography business, chasing a toddler out of the pantry, and cleaning paw prints off my floors! My obsessions are TJ Maxx, romantic comedies, HGTV, and ice cream.

Amber loves jellybeans, morning snuggles, and new adventures. Personality tests peg her as 93% extroverted. She loves to write, but most of the time, you'll find her behind her camera lens. Amber left her teaching position in 2016 to turn her passion into a full time photography career. She now spends time photographing homes for real estate agents, updating headshots, freelancing for local magazines, and creating branding imagery for businesses by capturing their spaces, products, people, and processes. She also does portrait sessions for families, children, and high school seniors. Amber recently got married in a small pandemic friendly wedding. As mama to one and stepmama to four, she thrives on the happy chaos of a large, blended family. Amber lives with both Cystic Fibrosis and CF Related Diabetes and thanks God daily for His blessings and the medical advances that continue to keep her as healthy as possible.

Beth is mom to a high school sophomore and a first year college student. After fourteen years as a professional writer and editor, she earned graduate degrees in counseling and play therapy. Now she exercises her creativity as a school counselor. Beth loves reading, especially mysteries.

Bethany Duber is a foster parent to two incredible toddler boys. Born and raised in Raytown, Bethany graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2012 with the dream of becoming a copywriter for an ad agency. After 7 years of the ad word, she decided to change careers and is now working as the Special Events Coordinator at FosterAdopt Connect. This new career brings an exciting new challenge and allows her continue her dedication to helping kids in foster care. Bethany knows first-hand some of the unique challenges foster parents face. She also knows how incredibly rewarding it is to be given the title mommy and is thankful for every moment she has with her precious kiddos. Bethany’s passions include her family, improving the lives of kids in foster care, and fighting for social justice. Her hobbies include writing poetry and children’s books, podcasting with her husband about movies and supporting local KC businesses.   

Brie Hilton lives in the Northland is a stay-at-home mom with multiple side hustles in the Northland. Her oldest son, Charlie, is 7 and has his own pet-sitting business and outsmarts his parents at least three times a week. Her youngest, Patrick, is 5 and has cerebral palsy and autism, so she considers herself an expert on navigating the special needs life on way too little sleep. In her spare time (ha), Brie teaches group fitness classes, has a boutique in her basement, naps too much, and actively ignores the piles of laundry on the floor.

Hi there! I’m Britni and I am a mama to three feisty daughters ages 10, 7 and 3 and wife to my high school sweetheart and king of dad jokes.  I live in northwest Olathe where I start my days with coffee and end them with wine after teaching part-time and chauffeuring around our daughters to approximately 1 million activities.  Three years ago my husband and I started a small business “on the side” and it has quickly morphed into more of full time gig than we originally thought, but it’s oh so fun! Writing for Kansas City Collective has been such a joy and a fun creative outlet for me.  I also enjoy running and wine club dinners.   

After growing up in Bellevue, Nebraska and graduating from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Claire made her way to Kansas City where she met her husband, Scott. They live in Olathe with their three children — Evan 7, Abbie 5, & Isaac 1. (Fun fact: All three have November birthdays!) Claire spends time advocating for early childhood education/intervention and is always looking for ways to become more civically engaged; she attends Olathe City Council meetings on the regular! She loves cheering on the Huskers and our KC teams, date nights, reading five books at once, writing, contemplating the deeper issues of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and listening to her kids giggle together.Catch some of those giggles on Instagram @clairebear_kc.

My name is Darin Wisner. No, my parents did not think they were having a boy, they just love unique gender-neutral names. I have been happily married to my Husband Greg for two years now, and we have a smiley, cuddly, and loving seven-month old girl. We also have two doggie daughters, Caroline and Shasta. My sisters and I are also the primary caretaker for our Dad. I am a born and raised Kansas City Metro girl, moved to Lawrence, KS for my first-ever teaching job, and moved back to the Lee’s Summit area once I got married. I am a proud high school teacher coming from a family of educators, as well as a high school softball coach. I love everything Kansas City has to offer!

Hi! I’m Denise; wife to Doug for 36 years, mom to Kate who lives in DC and works at NASA, Caroline who became our angel at four months old and Ryan who is a junior at KState majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics and two fantastic felines, Walter and Arthur. I love to take pictures, cook and bake, watch sports, dabble in most any type of crafting and hang out with my family. Mostly out of necessity, I have become fascinated with social media and have a false sense of pride that I am better at it than most people my age. I have a constantly changing bucket list, mostly revolving around things I can do with friends or family and that doesn’t require me to address my solid fear of heights!

Hello, I’m Jacque (pronounced Jackie!). I have been married to my high school sweetheart for nearly 23 years (we have 3 years of really bad prom pictures to prove it!). We have 4 children that keep us on our toes; Allie is 17, Caroline 15, Jane 13, and Wade is 9. After 12 years of being away from the full-time workforce, I returned just over a year ago as a small business coach for Mizzou’s Business Development Program. I also teach part-time for the UMKC Bloch School of Management. In the very early mornings, I am finishing up the final stretch of an Organizational Psychology PhD program; my dissertation research is the impact of mentorship on identity and self-efficacy in mothers returning to work after an extended child-rearing leave. I love being involved in this incredible community and especially love volunteering for educational initiatives. I am happy to be here and happy to meet each of you!  

Born in Kansas City, Jamie spent age 8-18 in Columbia, Mo., yet always considered KC to be home. After graduating from high school, Jamie quickly made her way back and attended Avila University where she earned her degree in Communication. Now a proud resident of Lenexa, Jamie is wife to her love, Andy, and mom to the dream team; Lucy (10), Quinn (8) and Hazel (4)…she also considers her Dad (66) to be her oldest child.

Jamie is the KCMC Events Director, sits as the Vice President of her children's PTO at their school and is constantly asked by her kids when she wears jeans, “why are so dressed up today?” She is always in search of a good coffee shop, is a self-diagnosed fall-aholic, loves Jazzercise, is a proud member of “The Read That Society” (a book club full of close friends that just celebrated its 11th anniversary), is an internet ordained minister who has performed two weddings, loves blasting Paul McCartney out of the minivan windows on a beautiful day and anxiously awaits the day that Joanna Gaines finally realizes they should be best friends.

Jen was born and raised in Overland Park. After going to Indiana University for college, then living in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, she grew exhausted of circling for a parking spot and headed back home to be near family. She and her husband Matt are parents to a 10 year-old boy and a 8 year-old girl. Jen teaches kindergarten and her husband teaches high school, so they wonder how they’ll relate to their kids during the middle school years. She spends her free time cheering on the Chiefs, Royals, and Hoosiers, hanging out with family, laughing with her teacher friends, and fostering a love/hate relationship with boxing. She also loves traveling, Target, coffee, wine, sunflowers and all things pop culture.

Hi there! I’m JiaoJiao Shen – wannabe world traveler, amateur chef, expert tiger mom. My little family of four consists of my husband (Jason), son (Henry), and daughter (Lucy). I’m a transplant to the Kansas City area after living in a number of different places including San Francisco, Denver, and Oklahoma City. I graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and spent more than a decade as a morning news anchor before deciding I didn't want to continue waking up at 2 a.m. every day. I am currently a PR director at Hallmark where I get the privilege of sharing stories of caring with the world. I am passionate about sharing all aspects of my Chinese culture with my children and their friends from our language to our holidays to, of course, our food! In what little spare time I have, I love to catch up on the latest popular TV shows (ahem Bridgerton), eating…I mean cooking… (but really eating), “exercising” outdoors (and by exercise, I mean walking at a leisurely pace), and reading (anything and everything but especially cheesy HEA romance novels – see Bridgerton reference above).  

 

I'm Julia, and I live in Olathe with my husband of 13 years, my 7 and 2.5 year old daughters, and a sweet old blind pug we call Boopers. I’m a social worker turned SAHM (at least til my youngest starts school). I love Dr. Pepper, thunderstorms, and talking to other adults. I hate coffee, diet culture, and washing dishes. I'll talk your ear off about the best local parks and which restaurants have wronged me by changing their long-standing menu items. I try to walk the line between knowing a lot of stuff and not being a know-it-all. Some days I'm better than others.

Hey! My name is Julie and I use too many exclamation points! My husband Grady and I are attempting to raise two wild women, Mia and Reese. We live in Shawnee where our faux bulldog Marge rules the roost. My hobbies include driveway drinking, going to parks and desperately trying to have date nights. My likes include the Jayhawks, coffee, craft beer and ChapStick. My dislikes include samesiders (people who sit on the same side of the booth when no one is on the other side), jerks and grocery shopping.

Hi! I’m Kelly! I was born in South Korea, grew up in Nebraska, went to college at Kansas State, and spent my 20s in Washington, D.C. I moved to the Kansas City area in 2012 (vowing never to complain about traffic again after commuting on the Beltway), where I met my husband who was then stationed with the Army at Fort Leavenworth. In addition to being busy with my job in digital advertising, I’m running around with our rescue dog and 1.5 year old daughter. I also love volunteering with various organizations in KC, finding new creative outlets, exploring new places and things to do, shopping a good sale, aiming to keep my plants alive, and spending time with friends and family. Someday I also hope to get back into something I did before having a baby – triathlons! My ideal afternoon involves a stop at Family Tree Nursery, listening to podcasts in my car with the windows down, and trying a new restaurant. The real treat of the day would be to actually witness my toddler eating her veggies!

Kelsey was born and raised in Branson, Mo. It was there, in the town that boasts the “World’s Largest Banjo” that she met her husband, Samuel. It was his first day at a new high school and she was the only person to say “Hi” to him that day, so he married her! A decade later and now they take up residence in Raymore, Mo, but tell out-of-state people they are from “Kansas City” because it is way easier. Kelsey taught high school English for 6 years, but now she stays home to hang out with her adorable toddler, Theodore. Her passions include traveling (34 countries and counting!), playing board games, writing murder mystery parties, reading, and talking to as many people as possible.

Kimberly Preston is a proud St. Louis native and a graduate of Mizzou. As a product and marketing professional, she continued her journey along I-70 West and moved to Kansas City in 2001 to work at Hallmark.  She celebrated her 20th anniversary there in February 2021. Since moving to KC, she’s attended graduate school, obtaining her MBA from Baker University, built two houses, married the love of her life, Brandon, in 2013, and was blessed with two beautiful children, the charming and always empathetic Mr. Hudson (2014) and the sassy natural-born leader Georgia (2016).  Kimberly is a regular volunteer in the KC community with Harvesters, Junior Achievement, local women’s shelters, churches and her children’s schools. She is also a certified Toastmaster Public Speaker and a proud member of several organizations including Black Achievers Society and Suburban Balance. Kimberly loves organizing and all things decorating, event planning, cooking and traveling! One of her biggest passions is using her voice and talent to alleviate issues around diversity, inclusion and equity for people of color. You can find her on Instagram @PrestonPartyof4  

Kristin is a Lee’s Summit suburb transplant, after living in the Brookside and Plaza areas for over eight years. Raising three young boys with her husband, Jake, has helped her to embrace the messy, wild side of life where love is expressed in bear hugs and body slams. Professionally, she can be found teaching classes as an adjunct professor in the areas of Business, Marketing and PR. She is able to provide her students with applicable, real-life knowledge as she draws from several years working in the corporate sector. “Free time” (ha!, what's that again?) is spent on an occasional date night to favorite local restaurants, reading blogs on everything from home design to politics, riding her sweet beach cruiser bike and thinking of ways to convince her husband to do yet another home improvement project.

Hi, I’m Lizzie and you could say…I’m just a little wild at heart. I’ve tried on a lot of different lives before finding the one that fit. This meant many jobs, 9 different towns, 3 marriages-but now I’m home. I’ve been in Kansas City since my son was 6 weeks old and he’s now 7, so this is a record for me. I absolutely love KC. I’ve been in the nonprofit industry the majority of my career and this is a special sector of KC, unmatched in spirit and connections. I’ve just recently started my own business, Lizzie Scribbles LLC, where I offer a complete range of writing and editing services. My partner, Greg, and I live in North Kansas City with our 3 children – Grayson (8), Kase (7) and Adria (6). We love music more than most things and our kids are allowed to swear if it’s within solid music choices (sometimes the kids get too metal for me, but what can you do). We have family date night every Saturday, love road trips, but also find happiness just staying in the backyard while the kids use the slip n’ slide or having movie night snuggled up with popcorn and chocolates.

I’m Marsha, the devoted wife of a Nebraska Husker fan, mother to a sweet laid back 7-year-old boy named Kellen and a 5-year-old spunky know-it-all named Rowen. I am a Kansas City native, proud Northwest Bearcat Alumni, and enthusiastic 4th grade teacher! I enjoy stolen moments where I can read in peace, indulging in chocolate chip cookies whenever possible, tending to my vegetable garden and finding new ways to annoy my daughter! My goal in life is to be my authentic self, follow the motto of ‘She did what she could,’ and share that with other moms!

 

Approximately 1 day of her life, Rachel hiked on a glacier in Iceland. The other 99.9% of her days her hands are full doing creative strategy at Hallmark Cards, being a mom to Luna who is a five-year-old Queen of Sass, wife to Matt who is a sweet Google-a-holic, and dog mom to Rosie, whose sweetness is matched only by her smelliness. Her favorite ways to avoid cleaning the house are leisurely strolls through Target (pre-pandemic) listening to mostly crime podcasts, spending a small fortune on curly hair products, crafting Barbie schools out of Amazon boxes, making complicated recipes with too many ingredients, playing 1 million games of Zingo, and enjoying her Westside downtown neighborhood with her family.

A firm believer that the Midwest is all that and a tator tot casserole, Valerie moved to KC after graduating from Mizzou in 2013. She’s been married to her husband Josh since 2015, and together they’re raising an adorable, tiny human firework named Finnian (1). Valerie spends her workdays making funny greeting cards while Josh wins at the stay-at-home-dad game by teaching Finn words like “yee-haw” and helping him style his Snapchat filters. When she isn’t tracking down a new place to drag her family to, you can find her blasting showtunes, sharing (very poorly) wine with friends, reading, listening to true crime podcasts, or near cheese. You can’t find her playing kickball, so don’t even try. Valerie, Josh, and Finn shoot for put-together, but settle for put-on-pants—and they love every second of their reasonably-chaotic life.

Victoria is a wife and mom of two. Her firstborn, Joshua passed away shortly after birth in 2013. Her rainbow daughter, Madeline just started kindergarten. Victoria and her husband, Patrick, were both born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri and love spending time exploring the city with their daughter. Victoria is a full-time working mom, dance mom, soccer mom, t-ball mom, PTA mom, slightly over-scheduled mom. Victoria has a passion for creating and spends way too much time pinning new crafts, recipes, and party ideas on Pinterest. She sometimes blogs over at Life with Madeline.

Victoria Ukaoma Rose is a mama to three vibrant girls, Zion (6), Okalani (4), and Shiloh (born in December of 2019). She has been married to her class act of a husband, Brad, who is a high school English teacher and PA announcer for 8 years. While they both grew up in Wichita, they have resided in Kansas City, KS for quite some time and love their diverse neighborhood. A journalism major, turned social worker, turned special education teacher, Victoria has loved writing for as long as she can remember. She is also passionate about keeping it real in her journey as a mom, social justice activism and leaning into her truest self. When she isn’t fully submerged in motherhood, she enjoys browsing houses on Zillow, making new watercolor creations for her Etsy shop MeltingPotLove, devouring audiobooks/podcasts/interesting tv shows and throwing down in the kitchen.

Victoria is grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many amazing mothers in the KC metro and beyond.