My Personal and Professional Achievements in 2011

At the end of last year I wrote about how social media had opened doors for me that I never imagined would open.  This year, that continued and there were many wonderful opportunities that presented themselves as a result of my work.  To name a few:

*My work at Ruckus Media Group has continued to thrive and I have been able to oversee their campaign as a partner of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  For the last six weeks, we have donated a portion of sales to children who need it most and I am very proud of our work.

*I launched a company called MamaDrama with Erin Leigh Peck.  We are bridging the world of theater and social media and have already managed significant social media campaigns for Godspell, Queen of the Mist and Motherhood Out Loud. As 2012 kicks off, we have two new clients and we are so excited about our future.

*I had my first credit in an actual book as “Editor” in Come Closer: How Tourism is Shaping the Future of Nations.  It is Anita Mendiratta’s debut book, and I loved working with her.

*I became a contributor over at CBS Local New York and have written a bunch of articles about the city I know most, NYC.  You can check my list out here.

*I worked on several significant Social Good campaigns that hold a special place in my heart.  Early in the year, I raised $850 for the Haitian Amputee Mother’s Alliance.  Just this past month, Passports with Purpose raised more than 90K to build libraries in Namibia and my prize that was donated by Wyndham Bonnet Creek was a contributor to that amount.  I was part of ABC’s Million Moms Challenge to raise awareness and funds to help women and children everywhere survive and thrive and got to share my own experiences over on the site.  I also joined the committee of my local chapter of  Room to Read (the same organization that Passports with Purpose helped) and worked on a local fundraiser which raised $25,000 for Room to Read.  I joined the One Organization as a One Mom and now get to blog about issues of utmost importance to me and the world – last month, I brought their campaign closer to home and taught my own kids about local hunger.  And lastly, I made my TV debut onGood Morning America and Nightline talking about the issue of local hunger, thanks to my good friend Scary Mommy who led a campaign which fed 4,000 families.

* I had the chance to meet and interview some of my favorite celebrities including Marlo Thomas, Emily Watson, Julianne Moore, Hugh Jackman, Andie MacDowell and Selena Gomez (and my daughter got to do the interview with me, a thrill for both of us).

* I joined an amazing crew of women to produce a show called Listen to Your Mother and garnered myself my first Associate Producer title.  We are bringing the show to NYC this spring and I am so privileged to be a part of it under Ann Imig, its marvelous creator.

*I brought a Holocaust survivor to our synagogue and the response was overwhelming.  It was a night I will never forget, nor will the people who came to hear her.  I also spearheaded my synogogue’s Purim carnival, reluctantly at first, but in the end, quite happily as it achieved great results (as in hundreds of kids had a ball!).  And I led a group of women from my shul to the Jewish Film Festival at the Jacob Burns Film Center.

*Travel:

Looking back to 2011, I can’t believe the places I have gone, considering my kids are ages 7 and 8, and just a few short years ago, I thought my traveling life had ended.  On the contrary!  I had the great pleasure to attend a trip with the gals at the Motherhood to Cape May to stay at the fabulous Congress Hall.  That was a weekend I will never forget.  My weekend in Beaver Creek was certainly a memorable one, as was my press trip to Montreal where I galavanted all over the city covering family-friendly attractions and restaurants.  Our family vacation to my home town, Atlanta, became a different kind of experience when we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons there for the first time as a family.  Our summer vacation in London, Provence and Paris fulfilled that part of me that craves international travel.  I wrote about why I travel with kids and how I embrace the challenges that go along with it.  After attending a press trip to Orlando and doing Disney on my own in January, I took my kids back in May and discovered a new way to stay comfortably near the park grounds at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek.  I attended conferences like Blissdom in Nashville, Bloggy Boot Camp in Boston and BlogHer in San Diego.  We also went as a family to Mystic, Connecticut, where we bonded over pizza and whales and to Philadelphia where we explored the amazing Ben Franklin Institute.

Question for you: What’s your greatest achievement of 2011 and what are you looking forward to in 2012?

Here’s to another great year.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.