Meet Your Indianapolis Moms Contributors
Aileen Lee
Senior Writer
Aileen is a native New Yorker who has now spent more than half her life as a Hoosier. She is a mom to four children- the “bigs” Ava and Noah and the “Littles” Ben and Vivian. She is married to Chris, a guy she met in a bar 20 years ago. A dog named Jack and a bearded dragon named Spike round out their family. Aileen works part time as a pediatric nurse in a private practice in Carmel. Her kids like to think their dad is a top secret government agent but he’s really a computer engineer. Her life is loud and crazy and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Aileen enjoys taking her crew on adventures both around home and across the country. She loves strong coffee, good food, working out, and spending time with my circle of best friends.
Amy Urbanski
Senior Writer
Amy is the mom to three little girls- ages six and under. Born in small town Indiana, she has been a Hoosier her entire life and frequently threatens to change that- but probably never will. When not playing Barbies, she enjoys coffee, brunch, working out and silence- but the kind of silence that isn’t followed by a disaster like a flooding sink or nail polish in the carpet. She speaks fluent sarcasm and can dig in to anything Pop Culture related.
Andee Bookmyer
Senior Writer
Andee is a Certified Health Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist and Certified Stress Management Coach who grew up in Northwest Indiana and attended Ball State University. She taught high school English for several years before becoming a mommy to Preston, who is now 7. She has a passion for writing, CrossFit, laughing and helping others. For more of her writing, you can visit her personal “Bookerella” blog at https://i5878.wordpress.com.
Anne Beal
Senior Writer
Anne is a an ambitious free spirit with a passion to interact with moms from all walks of the journey. In addition to teaching full time, she is a mental health and postpartum depression advocate with the initiation of Partum Pals in 2018 as a community and social media space to instill knowledge and awareness to parents finding themselves in need of support, central to Indy. Outside of the “mom life,” she is also known to host trivia events around Indy restaurant establishments and area school philanthropies. Nothing keeps her busier, however, than her toddler son and dog named Whitney Houston. Although, she does love everything from an outdoor concert, to the Hoosiers and Colts, to working out with friends. She is excited to begin this adventure with Indianapolis Moms Blog!
Bailey Streicher
Senior Writer
A self-proclaimed “Hot Mess Mom”, Bailey is enjoying her whirlwind life in Brownsburg with her husband, three kids and a wild Golden Doodle. She’s a proud IU graduate, former Indianapolis Colts Cheerleader, and now taking on her greatest adventure of all, motherhood. When she’s not chasing her kids, she’s likely to be found squeezing in a run or enjoying a good old Netflix binge. Bailey strives to write about real life as a mom: the good, the bad, and the sticky. You can find more tales of her chaos on her blog, Keeper of the Crumbs.
DeAndrea Beaven
Senior Writer
DeAndrea is a quintissential Indiana girl who likes agressive basketball, fast cars, and football in Blue and White. By day, she is a Placement Director at My Computer Career and by night she spends her time caring for her husband of 14 years Stephen Beaven Jr and two small children Weslie (6) and Stephen E. Beaven III (Trey 5). Along with football practice and cheerleading practice DeAndrea has a passion for mentoring teenagers while volunteering for the Center for Leadership Development. In between the busy schedule she enjoys girls nights out that turn into early mornings, reading, journaling and watching Bravo.
Emily Roark
Senior Writer
Emily is a wife and stay-at-home/work-from-home mama to a first grader, preschooler and toddler. When she’s not filling milk cups, singing nursery rhymes or sweeping up Cheerios off of the floor, Emily works as a freelance editor and writer. During her alone time, she enjoys working out, baking, and binge watching her favorite TV shows.
Erin Lapota
Senior Writer
Erin is a Hoosier girl that loves all things Indy. She is a mom to two little munchkins; Clark and Fletcher. When she grows up she wants to be a backup dancer for Lizzo, but until that time, she is a program manager for a large human resources management software company specializing in talent strategy. Erin is a beer connoisseur, she never turns down a carb, and Kacey Musgraves is always on repeat on her Spotify.
Janelle McDonald
Senior Writer
Janelle is a transplant Hoosier after moving to Indy in 2005 from the Pacific Northwest. She currently lives in Greenwood with her husband Ryan, their two kiddos Brice & Blake (who are 10 months and a day apart!) and their three rescue pups. Janelle is a 6th grade teacher by day, speaks fluent sarcasm and is a self-professed chaos coordinator. Her husband is also a teacher and together, they enjoy traveling, checking out the local festival scene and spending time outdoors. She has been writing for Indianapolis moms for almost four years and truly enjoys being a member of such a phenomenal mama tribe.
Jen O'Rourke
Senior Writer
Jen is a licensed psychotherapist, play therapist, and parent educator practicing in Zionsville. After spending 13 years in California she is slowly acclimating to suburban life. She loves exploiring Indianapolis parks and trails with her husband and 2 children. When not with the kids, she loves coffee, mediation, and audiobooks.
Kate Pierle
Senior Writer
Kate is a born and bred Hoosier who has never strayed far from the southside. She and her husband have the privilege of raising their two little boys on acreage family owned for generations. She is a second grade teacher and is consistently figuring out how to balance the “teacher gig” with the “mom gig”. When she isn’t busy wrangling toddlers she enjoys reading, writing, date nights and watching her boys play on the land their Daddy grew up on. She is passionate about writing freely about her experiences, and hopes that she can help remind Mamas that they are not alone in this beautifully complicated job of being a Mama.
Katy Gentry McCord
Senior Writer
Katy is a licensed teacher and a master’s level special educator K-12. Katy is also an accomplished actor, speaker, and studio vocalist with roles spanning theaters in the midwest and Carnegie Hall. She has published works in The Lilly’s Anxiety Chronicles by the Washington Post and the popular online blog, Sweatpants & Coffee. After teaching special education for eight years, she is now a stay at home mom who really doesn’t stay at home. She is a speaker and worship team leader at St. Lukes Methodist Church in Indianapolis and on staff with SpeakIndy, LLC. She and her husband became licensed foster parents in 2015 and met, fell in love, and adopted their son who is now 4. They also have a two year-old daughter. Katy is an Ennegram #7 – scattered, adventerous, a multi-tasker, and has a tendency to believe that something better awaits her but fears the pursuit of it. Katy is very open about her struggles with anxiety, depression, and panic attacks (see previous sentence on being a #7). She is a survivor of sexual trauma and has been gratefully sober since May 9, 2015. Katy’s passions include politics, dismantling racism, cake, writing, educating herself on trauma and the Autism Spectrum, tacos, deep conversations, and bargain shopping in used clothing and resale shops. Katy drives a mini-van, would rather sing to a room of 10,000 people than go to a party of ten people, more introverted than she thought, and dreams of changing the world.
Kaylee Hardwick
Senior Writer
Kaylee is a wife to Cody and momma to Lewis, Sheamus, and Odin. She has been a central Indiana girl her whole life, currently residing in Avon with her family and bullmastiff Buckley. Kaylee is a part time teacher and full time mom/WWE Smackdown referee for all her boys. She’s a lover of bookstores, comfort TV, good food and beer, naptime workouts, vacation planning, and treating everyday like Christmas while navigating this messy and wonderful life.
Kelly Sutter
Senior Writer
Kelly has lived in Indiana all her life and loves being a Hoosier! She met her husband Aaron during her first day of college and the rest is history. She is the mom of an eight year old boy and five year old girl. Kelly runs her own marketing company, Wild Flamingo Marketing. She is passionate about helping businesses based here in Indianapolis grow with the right mix of strategy, branding, social media, website, and email marketing. She loves Indiana basketball, hanging out at the pool, spending time at her cabin in Brown County, listening to true crime, checking out local restaurants, atteding concerts, and traveling.
Kristi Howard-Shultz
Senior Writer
Kristi grew up in Danville, Indiana where she met her childhood sweetheart and now husband Elliott. After years of living apart including graduate school in New York City and military tours abroad, they resettled and started a family in Indianapolis. Together, they are raising two bright and busy boys—Henry and George. She is a proud extrovert who is genuinely curious about people and enjoys making new friends. She is a social worker by training and has enjoyed a 15 year career in non-profit. In her “spare” time, she enjoys reading memoirs, doing yoga, playing with her boys and listening to her husband, the funniest person she knows.
Lauren Schregardus
Senior Writer
Lauren is a wife, mother and public relations professional. A born and raised Hoosier, she loves all things Indiana. After spending two years fighting the tourists in Orlando, Florida, Lauren returned home to this great state and now lives in Carmel. Lauren loves spending time with her family, Andrew (6), Madison (18 months) and husband James. She is a sports lover, runner and avid traveler. Lauren considers motherhood her greatest adventure and loves that she gets to share her stories with IM readers.
Lindsey Cornett
Senior Writer
Lindsey Cornett is a loud talker, iced coffee drinker, and lover of the written word who lives in downtown Indianapolis with her scientist husband and three young kids. In both writing and life, she explores the intersections of faith, family, creativity, and freedom from perfectionism. She’s out there providing hope and solidarity to any other women who find themselves afraid to make mistakes. If her kids aren’t demanding to be held, she’s probably carrying a pen, a book, or a coffee. You can find her on Instagram @lindseycornett.
Marianne Holsinger
Senior Writer
Marianne is originally a small town Indiana girl, but has been living in Indianapolis since attending Butler University (go Bulldogs!). Marianne and her husband, Jordan, are high-school sweethearts, and their family has now grown to include two children (Axel & Campbell) and two fur babies. Marianne is a Pharmaceutical Marketer by day and is openly addicted to Target, iced coffee, HGTV, & Amazon Prime.
Miranda Tworek
Senior Writer
Miranda has called Indiana home for her whole life, but currently resides on the Near West side of Indianapolis with her husband and five-year-old son, Avett. The three enjoy being about 1 mile away from all that downtown Indianapolis has to offer and you can find them most weeknights biking the cultrual trail, walking on the canal, or catching live music. Miranda is a real estate agent and loves that the job allows for flexible family time while allowing her to share her love of Indianapolis neighborhoods with buyers and sellers. In her free time you can find her restoring her own home and homes for other families, trying a new brewery, camping, hiking, or traveling!
Roleen Demmings
Senior Writer
Roleen is a local educator, grad student and fitness instructor. She created Baddie Cardio, an intense workout series, powered by popular hio-hop, latin and reggae music. Roleen resides on the westside of Indianapolis with her husband, Antoine and their three children, Reya, Maxwell and Aria. She enjoys hosting epic themed parties composing educational songs and fanatically shopping for lipstick at MAC. You can visit her website www.fitnessbaddie.com and follow her on all social media outlets to keep up with her fun adventures.
Sarah Becker
Senior Writer
Sarah grew up a small town Indiana girl, now living the Midtown mama life with her husband and three little boys. In addition to the chaos at home, she is a full-time teacher on the westside of Indianapolis. Before having kids, Sarah and her husband took a small break away from Indianapolis to live in England for a couple of years while traveling around Europe. When she isn’t dreaming of her next travel adventure, she loves spending quality time with her family outside, as well as her four favorite stress relievers: running, cooking, reading, and coffee runs.
Sierra Sullivan
Senior Writer
Sierra is a wife and mom passionate about telling stories to inspire and encourage others. Born and raised in Indianapolis, she and her family now call Fishers home. After years of “balancing” life as a working mom, she decided to take a career pause to intentionally focus on her family. When she’s not chasing her little ones, she enjoys a hot cup of tea, reading, listening to podcasts, documentaries, yoga, and walks with friends.
Alicia Gebert
Alicia is a full-time bookstore manager in Indianapolis. Our family of four, Hubs Ellis and daughters, Claire & Isla have settled in Fishers. Our family wouldn’t be complete without our two kitties. Loves books, Harry Potter, coffee, houseplants, being surrounded by nature.
Alicia Noneman
Alicia is a former high school social studies teacher who became a stay-at-home mom when they ventured westward in 2016. They enjoyed their time in Scottsdale but missed the change of seasons and the culture of the Midwest for raising a family. After a few years in the desert, they discovered you really can go home. She and her family moved back into their old neighborhood (literally next door to their old house). Alicia is a wife to husband Jesse and mom to three kids -Carolyn, Calvin, and Cora. Two golden dogs round out the chaos blessings of their home. She attended Butler University for her undergrad in Education and has a MA in Political Science from Ball State. She’s a coffee-loving, relationship prioritizing, stress cleaning, Jesus following, Target loving, wine sipping, book reading, podcast obsessing, and athleisure wearing mom in Carmel. She is passionate about bringing civility back to political discourse, increasing civic engagement, and ensuring all kids have access to quality public education. She’s still trying to figure out her next step as her children continue to grow (despite her insistence, they don’t have to). In the meantime, she’s trying her best to be present in the moment and enjoy the ability to be home with her family because she knows time is a thief and babies don’t keep.
Amanda Hauser
Amanda McIlwain Hauser is an author, professional educator, contributing blogger, wife, and mother to eight little (and big) humans. But, what really sets her soul on fire is keeping magic a part of childhood, and that inspired her to create and write the Impish the Elf children’s book series. Amanda loves supporting, serving, and empowering women in her community as a board member of Women of Westfield. A military mama, Amanda also serves as the current president of the US Air Force Academy Parent Club of Indiana.
Brynna Blodgett
Originally from central Illinois, Brynna moved to Indy in 2008 to take a job with the NCAA. Since then, she’s added wife, breast cancer survivor and mom to her resume. She married her husband Case in September 2015, was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2015, and gave birth to their miracle baby girl Siena in 2019. Her family is rounded out by two loveable but mischievous dogs, Wrigley and Ivy. In her free time, Brynna loves to host parties for family and friends, travel the world, run 5Ks with girlfriends, cook/bake, read and volunteer with the local non-profit Noble.
Cathy Jackson
Cathy left the not-for-profit and education sectors for the toddler world of splash pads, bubble guns, and play kitchens. She has a Master of Arts in organizational leadership and works to build a thriving family culture. She is married to Josh and together they are raising their child, Blake (3yrs). Cathy and Josh are Indy foodies who have to try every new restaurant. Passions are painting, the outdoors, travel and staycations.
Chandler Billups
Chandler is born and raised in Indiana. She currently lives in Brownsburg with her husband, Brett, their daughter, Elyse (Ellie), and their son, Preston. Chandler graduated from IUPUI with a degree in pyschology and recently completed her Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. She currently works as an Associate Registrar at an online college. When she has freetime you can find her reading, in the kitchen baking, or shopping.
Elizabeth Frye
Elizabeth is a Northside native, doing life with her husband, two kids, and quirky border collie. A former K/1 teacher turned SAHM, she now spends the majority of her day running a sensory-play business called Krafted for Kids. Elizabeth loves traveling, crafting, baking, and a good, organized checklist!
Emily LeFors
As a part-time English teacher and a full-time mother, Emily lives on the northside of Indianapolis with her husband, Jeff, and their four-year-old daughter, Everette. Though they attended Butler University together, Emily and her husband did not officially meet until their early thirties. Once he popped the question, though, it was a whirlwind 12 months of moving in together, getting married, and finding out they were pregnant. During her free moments, Emily loves watching dramas on CBS, listening to audiobooks, and traveling near and far. Good punctuation and grammar also make her smile.
Megan Montague
Megan is a lifelong Hoosier who lives in a Midtown “zoo” that includes her husband James, sons Harrison and Rory, two dogs Izzo and Wyatt, 6 chickens and usually at least one foster dog. She’s driven by her heart for helping others and has spent the last decade working in fundraising and community impact. Outside of her full time job, she serves as President of a local dog rescue and volunteers as a canine-assisted therapy team alongside her dog. Megan and her husband also own a real estate investment company. Always up for an adventure, she loves to travel, restoring their century-old home, crime dramas and learning about wine! She loves sharing her unfiltered take on motherhood and life with the Indianapolis Moms community.
Molly Childs
Molly is a Navy brat who has called Indianapolis home since 2010. She is a wife and mom to Theodore, Harrison and Felicity. She likes long walks down the aisles of craft stores, perusing Pinterest for her next DIY project and her Kindle. She is a stay at home mom and a reluctant suburbanite with a mini van that has an “I’m still cool” sticker.
Roleen Demmings
Roleen is an elementary school teacher and a fitness instructor. She created Baddie Cardio, an intense workout series, powered by popular hio-hop, latin and reggae music. Roleen resides on the westside of Indianapolis with her husband, Antoine and their three children, Reya, Maxwell and Aria. She enjoys hosting epic themed parties composing educational songs and fanatically shopping for lipstick at MAC. You can visit her website www.fitnessbaddie.com and follow her on all social media outlets to keep up with her fun adventures.
Sarah Harker
Sierra is a wife and mom passionate about telling stories to inspire and encourage others. Born and raised in Indianapolis, she and her family now call Fishers home. After years of “balancing” life as a working mom, she decided to take a career pause to intentionally focus on her family. When she’s not chasing her little ones, she enjoys a hot cup of tea, reading, listening to podcasts, documentaries, yoga, and walks with friends.
Sierra Sullivan
Sierra is a wife and mom passionate about telling stories to inspire and encourage others. Born and raised in Indianapolis, she and her family now call Fishers home. After years of “balancing” life as a working mom, she decided to take a career pause to intentionally focus on her family. When she’s not chasing her little ones, she enjoys a hot cup of tea, reading, listening to podcasts, documentaries, yoga, and walks with friends.
Tori Hart
Tara is a wife to Chris and mama to Lauryn, 7 and Joshua, 2. She left her job in July 2019 as a church office administrator, and started in the front office of her daughters elementary school so she could enjoy more time with her littles. When Tara isn’t chasing kids or picking – up the house, you can find her crafting with her cricut or enjoying a good book and glass of wine.