American motherhood on a global stage

My experience at the Milken Institute Global Conference

I arrived at the Milken Institute Global Conference at 5:30 a.m. in yoga clothes. My “business attire” (as the invitation read) hung precariously on the Airbnb’s plastic hanger. Press had already started to set up in droves. Interview pods were being set up throughout the hotel’s massive lobby. Correspondents were drinking coffee, while producers adjusted their mics. I saw signs for Good Morning America.

I knew this was going to be a big deal, but I didn’t grasp how big a deal until I arrived. Security was incredibly tight, including a Schutzhund trained German Shepherd who equally terrified and excited me every time he came by, which was a lot as they decided to smell and sweep my 6 a.m. yoga class three times.

Prior to class, I was greeted by the Global Programming and Events Director, Rachel Goldstein, who I had developed an intimate email relationship with. Rachel is the netting holding together the whole event. She didn’t only manage the morning yoga teachers. She managed all of the speakers. Last names were spoken with equal familiarity and gravitas. “The Clintons” “Beckham”, just to name a few.

I met with the rest of the team at the Wellness Garden, including long-time friend and fellow author, Amy Dewhurst. This is where I would be speaking in a few hours. The set up was robust, with masseuses, energy healers, craniosacral practitioners, essential oil experts, biohacking experts, and more. What makes this offering so special (and hopeful) is that this is far from a wellness conference. The morning sessions included talks on “Private Equity” and “Inclusive Capitalism” but some titans of industry were opting out to have a Reiki session.

My friend told me that C-suite executives would wander into the Wellness Garden and have energetic experiences for the very first time. Imagine being in their next meeting after a cracking open of that degree? It reminded me that wellness and spirituality are not frivolous self-care practices for the privileged elite, but discreet forms of activism.

Practicing meditation alone in your living room has a ripple effect on the rest of the world, especially if you work in a space with other human beings.

I was a little lost outside of the wellness space, but my friend encouraged me to wander and trust the spaciousness. “Leave room for serendipity,” she winked as I dove back into the sea of navy blue suits.

I wandered aimlessly during breakfast trying to find edible food and somewhere to sit. “Why am I here?,” I kept asking myself. My kids were back at the Airbnb with my sister. One was sick, “I don’t fit in here. I am way out of my league.”

After trying to eat something that more closely resembled cardboard than bacon, I gave up on the conference-sanctioned breakfast area and went to the café. While in line, a beautiful, tall blonde read my credentials and excitedly introduced herself and her business partner. There names are Isabel (Bel) Carvalho and Emilie Fritz Veloso and their company is One Tribe, an expert-led community hub for mothers in Miami.

They invited me to join them for coffee and we went to a table with two other light beams of women, including Israeli best-selling author and social entrepreneur, Narkis Alon and Ami Becker Aronson, a feminine design strategist and change maker. We laughed that we had found each other amidst thousands of business executives, but I know this wasn’t coincidence. Something bigger was at work. Later we stumbled into Soul Camp Creative founder, Michelle Garside, who I had been wanting to meet for over a year. We all joked about the energy of the conference, in our bright colors and linen. I had found my sisters.

Though I was there under the guise of yoga and meditation teacher, what excited me most was that Emilie Fritz-Veloso would be presenting the next day alongside other maternal mental health and parenting leaders including Mallika Chopra (Chopra Global), Dr. Harvey Karp (Happiest Baby), Latham Thomas of Mama Glow, and motherhood maven, Lori Bregman. Their panel was entitled, Baby Blues: The Early Days of the Motherhood Journey.

Maternal mental health was being talked about at a global conference!

I let the rest of the day take me, much like I let my body move me on the yoga mat. I didn’t think, I just wandered through the halls and into rooms and ended up exactly where I needed to be.

I met Dr. Karp and got to personally thank him for helping me with both of my children. I spent good time with Latham Thomas, and as we all took our good bye picture, since I had to get back to my kids (P.S. 10/10 do NOT recommend bringing your kids to a work conference), I was flooded with hopefulness and excitement for the field of parenting, and particularly maternal mental health.

Bel Carvalho, Emilie Fritz-Veloso, me and Latham Thomas

People are starting to open their eyes to the struggles of the American mother. This topic is worthy of a global stage and I am so honored and excited to now be in the rooms where these conversations are happening. Yes, I was there to teach meditation and talk about mindfulness and rest, but I get to work with moms every day and if these powerful tools can change lives for C-suite executives, I know they can change families too. After all, moms are the CEO’s of their families.