What Is Mombian?

Mombian is a lifestyle site for lesbian moms and other LGBTQ parents, offering a mix of parenting, politics, diversions, and resources for all our varied roles. Mombian provides news about LGBTQ families, parenting tips, reviews of books and media for parents and children, and political and legal news and commentary from the perspective of a lesbian mom.

I created Mombian in 2005 after noting a lack of sites with current, practical news and information for LGBTQ parents, or sites that looked at other aspects of LGBTQ culture with a parent's eye. I hope all lesbian moms (and even some non-lesbian parents) will find something interesting and perhaps worthy of conversation.

I also created and host the annual Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day event, which began in 2006. Over the years, hundreds of bloggers have contributed posts in support of LGBTQ families.

Media Mentions

• Winner, "Outstanding Blog," 23rd GLAAD Media Awards, 2012.
• "'Mombian' and the Rise of Lesbian Mom Blogs," NY Magazine's "The Cut," April 2, 2013.
• Mentioned in New York Times article on leading marriage equality lawyer Mary Bonauto, March 28, 2013.
• Profiled in the December 18, 2007 issue of the Advocate, "America's leading gay news and entertainment magazine." (Article not available online.)
• Finalist for "Best Large Blog" in the 2008 Weblog Awards, the world's largest blog competition, and finalist for "Best LGBT Blog" in the 2007 Weblog Awards.
• Named #2 among "Top 10 Best Lesbian Blogs" by the Lesbian Life site at About.com (a New York Times company): "For the lesbian moms out there, and even those of us who aren't parents, Mombian is a great site with tons of resources: book and toy reviews, travel tips for lesbian moms, health and safety news and even recipes for vegan cake. And Mombian is host to the annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Check out Mombian, even if you aren't a mom."
• Profiled in Bay Windows, New England's largest LGBT newspaper: "Rudolph bills Mombian.com as 'Sustenance for lesbian moms,' offering her witty take on both the practical, political and just plain silly sides of lesbian parenting."
• Mentioned in Curve magazine, December 2008: "Although YouTube is synonymous with the Internet’s vlog revolution, a more fruitful search for lesbian voices would be through AfterEllen, where the cornucopia of online video fare has been harvested into a unique collection of female vlogs. From Kate Clinton to Mombian.com’s Dana and Helen, and with various weekly contributors in between, the vlogs at AfterEllen cover a multitude of topics."

Who Publishes It?
I am a lesbian mom living with my partner of 21 years and our eleven-year-old son. I write a regular Mombian column for Bay Windows, Between the Lines, Dallas Voice, Philadelphia Gay News, South Florida Gay News, Washington Blade, and Windy City Times newspapers.

I also cover LGBT legal and political news as a correspondent for Keen News Service, where I have had pieces appear in numerous LGBTQ newspapers including Bay Area Reporter, Bay Windows, Between the Lines, Dallas Voice, Georgia Voice, Metro Weekly, LGBTQ Nation, South Florida Gay News, and Windy City Times. I've had pieces appear in the Huffington Post, the Washington Post's "On Parenting" site, Women's Review of Books, an independent supplement to USA Today produced by Mediaplanet; After Ellen, After Elton, and 365gay.com. I am a contributor to The Bilerico Project, an LGBT group blog.

Speaking appearances include:

• Panelist, "Mom Blogging: The Next 10 Years," BlogHer '14, San Diego, Calif., August 2011.
• Moderator, featured panel on parenting, Out & Equal Workplace Summit, Los Angeles, Calif., October 2010.
• Panelist, "Minding Your Own Business: When Diversity is Simply Good Business," BlogHer '11, San Diego, Calif., August 2011.
• Moderator, featured panel on parenting, Out & Equal Workplace Summit, Los Angeles, Calif., October 2010.
• Keynote speaker, Working Mother magazine’s first “L-Moms and Allies Breakfast,” New York, N.Y., January 2009.
• Closing keynote panelist, "Change Your Future; Change the World," BlogHer Boston 2008.
• Panelist, "Group Blogging," National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative Summit, Washington, D.C., December 2008.
• "Blogging and Online Activism" presentation on the 2007 R Family Vacations summer cruise.
• "Blogging and Online Activism" presentation at 2007 Family Week in Provincetown, Mass.

I have over a decade of experience as a marketer in the online industry, at both the startup and corporate levels. In my non-freelance life, I am the online content manager for the National SEED Project (Seeking educational Equity and Diversity) at the Wellesley Centers for Women, a program that engages teachers, college faculty, parents, and community leaders to create gender fair, multiculturally equitable, socioeconomically aware, and globally informed education. (On this blog, I speak solely for myself, not my employer.)

Before that, I was a vice president at Merrill Lynch, developing marketing and business strategies for several key online initiatives. I was also the first leader of the firm's global LGBT employee network.

I've done serious stints as a fencer and martial artist (taekwondo), with forays into rock climbing, cycling, and yoga. I'm a proud geek, and consider my son's new-found interest in Dungeons & Dragons one of the best things that's ever happened to me as a parent.

I have a BA summa cum laude from Wellesley College in Astronomy and Medieval/Renaissance Studies, and an M.Phil from Oxford University in History.

Contact me at drudolph@mombian.com.

— Dana Rudolph