The Washington, DC area is full of amazing moms: 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 Alicia Dalton! 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 January Mom of the Month: Alicia Dalton
Alicia Dalton is a Behavioral Healthcare Executive, author, and speaker. She lives in Bowie, Maryland, and is married to her love, Kenneth. Alicia is the mama of one handsome son, David, two beautiful daughters Dia and Dayley, and granddaughter, Alissa. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Wayne State University and an M.A. in Healthcare Administration from Siena Heights University.
Professionally, Alicia has 20 years of experience working in the Behavioral Healthcare industry. She is a former substance abuse counselor and has held various roles in health departments and outpatient mental health clinics. Currently, she serves as the Division Director of Families, Community, and School-Based Services at Sheppard Pratt. Sheppard Pratt focuses on improving the quality of life of individuals and families by compassionately serving their mental health, addiction, special education, and community support needs. Alicia’s passion is to promote quality healthcare services for the under-served. Her leadership of doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, and administrators has produced seamless workflows and service delivery in various health settings.
Alicia enjoys cooking and baking for her friends and family. She has created many recipes and blogs about her domestic and international travel; highlighting her love for coffee. She is an author and is also featured in a Christian documentary: Woman of Faith-Coping with Trauma, where she and four other women discuss their experiences with trauma and how they used faith to overcome it.
Here is our Q&A with Alicia:
What has given you strength and hope during these COVID times?
I am reminded of a song that my praise and worship team sang. The lyrics are: “In Christ alone, I place my trust and find my glory in the power of the cross. In every victory let it be said of me, my source of strength my source of hope is Christ alone.” In addition to my faith, my family is a circle of love and strength. Our love is deep and that sustains us in any situation.
Serving others gives me a sense of renewal and purpose. During the pandemic, I was able to serve alongside some of my amazing sorority sisters (Fort Washington Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc). We developed a webinar series: “COVID Conversations”. Each webinar provided support and resources to assist others with, mental wellness, relationships, healthy cooking, exercise, and spirituality. Participants were given a journal and encouraged to document their journey throughout the series.
How do you balance your many roles?
Whew! I balance my many roles by grace. As a mom and wife, there is always something or someone to take care of. There are five things that I do to balance my many roles. Prioritize, delegate, eliminate, set boundaries, and self-care. Prioritizing my to-do list helps to balance my responsibilities. Delegating tasks has been a game-changer for me. For example, every three months I have a service to come and deep clean our home. It gives me a sense of peace and relief. Not to mention some of my time back!
Also, eliminating things that no longer serve me and my family is paramount. It can be something small like cleaning out a closet or my pantry. Doing this provokes a sense of calm and lightness. Leaving room to accept new things coming our way. Setting boundaries and learning how to say no has been freeing. It is great for avoiding burnout. Finally, self-care is important. For me, it’s going to get a manicure and pedicure. Or going to brunch with friends. Early on, I used to feel guilty about doing things for myself. But I have learned that taking time to do things I enjoy makes me a better wife, mom, and friend.
Tell us about your love of coffee!
Ahh! As a little girl I would live for the moments my mom made her Folgers coffee. The coffee aroma would fill the kitchen like a fresh bouquet. Watching her slowly pour the Carnation (Pet milk) into the cup had me on the edge of my seat. She always gave me the first sip. She was sweet like that! As an adult, my love for coffee grew. Every time I would travel, I sought out non-chain, independently owned coffee shops. My husband realized my love for coffee and encouraged me to start a blog.
It has been amazing sampling coffees around the world. I have enjoyed coffee in Hawaii, Italy, Greece, London, Helsinki, Costa Rica, and many places in the United States. My favorite coffee shops in the DMV area are Vigilante, Zeke’s, Rise Up, and Ceremony Coffee Roasters. To me, drinking coffee brings about a new experience in every cup.
The Washington, DC area is full of amazing moms: working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, moms of multiples etc. We want to highlight some of those moms! Each month we will feature one special mom as the mom of the month. Know a fellow amazing local mom here? Nominate them here.
