Minnesota Chamber of Mothers: How One Chapter Started With a Pitch Deck

How2Mom

If you have ever felt like you are doing everything right and still getting nowhere, you are not alone. Maybe it was going back to work after maternity leave and realizing there was barely enough time to recover, let alone catch your breath. Maybe it was looking around at childcare costs and wondering how any of this is supposed to work.

We see this a lot. Moms carrying a full load at home and at work, quietly wondering if things could be different, and not sure where to even start.

In this post, we’re talking about the Chamber of Mothers, a national movement working to create meaningful change for mothers and families. We’ll explore what the Chamber of Mothers is, Katy’s journey to discovering the organization, how Katy and Stephanie brought the movement to Minnesota and started the Minnesota chapter together, and a few ways you can get involved if this mission speaks to you.

What is the Chamber of Mothers?

Chamber of Mothers is a nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots movement built to unite mothers around a shared goal: a better America for moms and families. It is organized as a 501(c)(3), and it works on three main pillars: maternal health, paid family leave, and affordable childcare.

What we’re seeing across the country is local chapters forming in cities and states, each one giving moms a place to bring their frustration, their energy, and their ideas, and turn them into something that actually moves.

How the Minnesota Chamber of Mothers Chapter Got its Start

The Minnesota chapter began the way a lot of good things do. Not with a big plan, but with one person noticing something wasn’t working and deciding to say something about it.

Before she had her first child, our guest and How2Mom client, Katy was working at a creative agency with a maternity leave policy that fell short. She used her graphic design background to build a pitch deck showing why the agency should offer better maternity and paternity leave, and she tied it directly to the company’s own values.

The pitch worked. The agency doubled its maternity leave. That deck later became a template that is now available on the Chamber of Mothers website for any mom to use with her own employer.

From there, Katy connected with the national organization, started volunteering, and eventually asked herself a question a lot of moms ask but don’t always act on: why doesn’t Minnesota have its own chapter? She reached out to Stephanie, and by the fall of 2024, the two of them hosted their first meeting at the Eastside Co-op Community Room. The room was packed.

What this has to do with Paid Leave and Childcare in Minnesota

Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave law is still new, and many families are still learning what it means for them. For parents, it can provide a safety net that didn’t exist in Minnesota just a few years ago. Paid leave is also one of the core issues the Chamber of Mothers advocates for as part of its broader work to create a better system for mothers and families.

This can look like a lot of different things depending on where you are in your own season. It might mean using your workplace’s paid leave for the first time. It might mean advocating for a better policy, the way Katy did. Or it might simply mean learning what paid leave is available to you before you actually need it, so you’re better prepared when that time comes.

What can help here is remembering this is not just a personal issue. Research consistently links adequate parental leave and postpartum support to better maternal mental health outcomes, which is part of why maternal health is another core focus of the Chamber of Mothers, alongside paid leave and childcare.

Advocacy Beyond the Birth Room

One thing that came up in this conversation is the idea that doulas are, in many ways, the original advocates. Someone in the room with you during one of the most vulnerable moments of your life, making sure your voice is heard. That same instinct is part of what pulled Stephanie into this work outside the birth room too.

This is where a broader advocacy organization like Chamber of Mothers can be really helpful alongside the one-on-one work of a doula. One supports you individually. The other works to change the systems around all of us. Not a competing approach. A complementary one.

How Involved Do You Actually Have to Be?

This is a fair question, especially if you are already stretched thin. The honest answer is: as involved as fits your season. Chamber of Mothers is intentional about offering different sizes of action items so that no one feels like they have to choose between showing up and taking care of their family.

- A small action, like signing a petition or joining the newsletter, something you can do in the middle of a night feed
- A medium action, like attending a virtual or in-person meeting when your schedule allows
- A large action, like joining a chapter board or attending an advocacy day, for seasons when you have more capacity

Katy herself is a good example of this. After helping build the Minnesota chapter from the ground up, she stepped back into a quieter role once she was preparing for her second baby. That is not a step away from the mission. That is the mission working the way it is supposed to.

What Happens After You Have the Baby?

This is where we want to be honest with you. Postpartum is its own season, and it deserves its own kind of support, separate from any advocacy work or bigger mission you care about.

If you are in the thick of postpartum recovery right now, whether that is physical healing, adjusting to a new identity, or just needing another set of hands, our postpartum support is built for exactly this season. It is one option among several, and there is no pressure to figure it all out alone.

The Cleveland Clinic has good information on what postpartum recovery can look like in the weeks and months after birth, and it’s worth a look if you want to understand what’s normal and what might need extra support.

A Few Ways to Get Involved

If any of this resonates, here are a few starting points. None of these are the one right way. Pick whichever fits where you are right now.

Sign up for the Chamber of Mothers newsletter to hear about local action items
Attend a Minnesota chapter meeting, virtual or in person, just to see what it feels like
Use the maternity leave pitch template if your own workplace policy needs work
Reach out for postpartum support first, if that is the season you are in

Frequently asked questions

Chamber of Mothers is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit that organizes mothers around three pillars: maternal health, paid family leave, and affordable childcare. It has local chapters across the country, including one here in Minnesota.

Not at all. The organization is built around small, medium, and large action items, so you can contribute in a way that fits your current season, whether that is signing a petition or joining a chapter board.

Yes. Minnesota's paid family and medical leave law is relatively new, and it gives parents access to paid time away from work for birth, bonding, and other qualifying family needs.

You can start by visiting chamberofmothers.com to find local chapter information, sign up for the newsletter, and see upcoming virtual and in-person meetings.

That is completely okay. If you are in the middle of postpartum recovery, our postpartum support is there for exactly that. Advocacy work will still be there when and if you're ready for it.

You Are Not Doing This Alone

Whether you are the mom putting together a pitch deck at 2am, the mom trying to figure out paid leave for the first time, or the mom who just needs support getting through the next few weeks postpartum, there is a place for you in this story.

The Minnesota chapter of Chamber of Mothers started because one mom asked a hard question and refused to sit still. You do not have to build a whole chapter to matter here. You just have to take the next right step for your season.

To hear the full conversation with Katy, including how the Minnesota chapter grew into a full board and what it was like advocating in Washington, DC, listen to Episode 54 of the Mom2Mom Podcast.

And if postpartum is where you are right now, we would love to help. You can explore our postpartum support whenever you are ready.

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