Rebecca Ballard
Rebecca is passionate about market-based social change, values-based consumptive behavior, and ending homelessness. She founded the DC-based sustainable fashion company Maven Women (www.mavenwomen.com) to create a socially conscious option for elegant, flattering women's attire and "move the needle" in the global garment industry. Rebecca has two children, Nathan (2017) and Lily (2019). Her parenting passions include social justice and minimalist parenting, (re)claiming her authentic self in her journey, and hyper-local child-raising.
Likes: vegetarian street food, sunning & swimming, long city walks, sleeping late, old Hollywood fashion.
Dislikes: mushrooms, driving, the saying "everything happens for a reason", being told something is impossible.
Born This Way: Teaching My Toddler Pride
My mama told me when I was young
We were all born superstars
~ Lady Gaga, Born This Way
DC is my favorite city in the world. My husband and I are in this city by choice, not...
7 Tips for Raising Non-Picky Eaters
My friends encouraged me to write on how I get our kids to eat like we do, so here are some tips for raising non-picky eaters. I am not a nutritionist or doctor, although...
Teaching Young Children About Racial Justice
As a white parent of a white son, I feel a strong responsibility to teach my child about racial justice. I believe the last thing this country needs is another entitled white man. In...
My Birth Story: Finding Resilience With My Second Childbirth
When I struggle with an area of my life I often want a “redo,” I take the time to assess what I learned from that experience and then try something very similar again. I...
How the Death Penalty Shaped My View on Anti-Racist Parenting
A beautiful baby with an uncertain future
I held a tiny baby for the first time fifteen years ago. At that time, becoming a mother wasn’t on my radar—I hadn’t even met my husband. Yet...
Dupont Circle/ Logan/ Kalorama Neighborhood Guide
We are grateful for the sponsors of this guide: Hagen Bergstrom and Kelly Kelley. Each of these teams are experts in this area. Please be sure to check out thorough details about their practices...
LASIK for Moms: My Rationale & LASIK Experience
When I was in middle school I learned I needed glasses, which was no surprise as everyone in my family had them. In high school I was thrilled to get contacts for my fifteenth...
Treating Clothing As An Investment: Why and How
The fashion industry is a women’s industry through and through, as women make up the majority of its producers and consumers.
Over seventy percent of American consumer spending is driven by women. This spending...
Thank you, Emily Oster, for Empowering Me As A Parent
Before I became pregnant with my first child I went to my gynecologist with a long list of pre-pregnancy questions. One was, “Can I have ibuprofen as needed”? As part of his response he...
Me & My Uterine Septum: Wisdom From Surviving A High-Risk Pregnancy & Traumatic Birth
When I was pregnant with my firstborn I hated being asked my due date. “Spring” was what we would say, which prompted puzzled expressions and sometimes a flurry of questions. However, making it to...
Why Parents Need Non-Parent Friends
There are many articles on the importance of friendships with fellow moms. These friendships are special and needed. I could write that article, but it’s already been written many times over.
A lesser discussed, yet...
Five Tips for Minimalist Parenting of Young Children
Many people in this region of the country are minimalists like myself. It’s often driven by multiple factors including necessity, with the high cost of living and smaller living spaces, as well as eco-consciousness....
Conscious Fashion Consumption and Motherhood
Although contours of our lives may look different, there is something uniting about being mothers no matter where we may live in our world.
Fashion Is A Women's Industry, From Producers to Consumers
The fashion industry...
My Surprising (and Bittersweet) End to Breastfeeding
Is Breastfeeding Really A Choice?
When I was pregnant I was regularly asked if I would breastfeed. My reply of “I’m going to try” left many people confused and prompted a few insensitive remarks.
My...