The Washington, DC area is full of amazing moms. There are working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, moms of multiples, foster moms, adoptive moms, etc. We want to highlight some of those moms like our Mom of the Month: Lena Iglesias.
Each month we will feature one special mom as the Mom of the Month. Know a fellow amazing local mom here? Nominate them here!
Meet our December Mom of the Month: Lena Iglesias
Lena Iglesias was born and raised in Germany, growing up close to the Black Forest. She started her career in a cooperative studentship with Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart Germany while working towards her Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 2011. She worked for Mercedes in different roles (Interior development engineer, technical project lead and ramp up specialist for the procurement and supplier quality department, technical market support for automated driving) in Stuttgart.
After completing her Masters of Engineering in 2019, she met her husband and moved with him to the DC area in 2021. Now, she works at Electrify America as a Product Manager. She enjoys hiking, riding bikes, traveling and of course spending as much time as possible with her daughter and husband.
Here is our Q&A with Lena Iglesias
1. How did you get your start as a Program Manager at Electrify America?
I was kind of worried that language barriers were going to be a problem for me, since English is my second language. I started an American Corporate Partnership (ACP) mentorship through the Military. My mentor helped me feel more secure and self-confident in my abilities. Just a few days afterwards, a recruiter on LinkedIn reached out to me and asked me if I’d be interested in working for Electrify America. I was so nervous before my interviews – but it worked out well and they were very impressed by my background. My husband was so proud of me, and so was I. I have been with Electrify America for one year now and I can feel how everyone is appreciative of me and the work I am doing. The flexibility my job offers is helpful, they really make it possible to put the family first.
2. How has your partner supported you on this parenthood journey?
My husband is my biggest fan. Without him, none of this would be possible. Since the day our daughter was born, he is on parental leave, he’s on permanent diaper duty and I can see and feel the love he has for our daughter and myself. Whenever I have a rough night with my daughter, he makes sure to take care of her in the morning so I can sleep in and get some rest. He is going to retire from the military soon and made sure to line up a hybrid position so he can be home with his family’s few days of the week. We recently decided to move closer to Reston, where my office is, so I will have a shorter commute to work – while he is going to have a longer commute. He definitely puts our needs first, and makes sure that we are happy and healthy.
3. What tips do you have for other new parents?
- Always keep in mind: You are a team. Being new parents is rough. No sleep, new challenges, arguments, different perspectives – it’s exhausting. It leads to a lot of frustration in the marriage – but in the end you have to remember that you love each other and that you’re on the same team.
- Your child doesn’t want to annoy you. The baby has needs that they can’t express in a better way, so it’s frustrating for both sides.
- Everyone (friends, family, even strangers) wants to tell you “how to be a good parent”. Everyone thinks they know how to do it (parenthood) best, we realized at some point that it is important to listen to only a few select people and to ignore the rest. Don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right to you (just because someone else thinks it’s the right thing to do).
- You and your partner will see and do things differently (diapering, playing, putting to sleep, etc.). Let them do it differently, different doesn’t mean worse. You both want only the best for your child!
Do you know an amazing mom? Nominate a mom of the month here!
