Grace Bastidas

We got the privilege of attending the Moms Who Move Brooklyn breakfast & panel celebrating Brooklyn mothers ✨ Motherhood in Brooklyn is rooted in community — and that spirit was felt throughout the entire morning. Hosted by @bklynorg , the event celebrated the impact of mothers across our neighborhoods, businesses, and civic life. The conversation explored what it means to raise families in a borough filled with diversity, culture, connection, and opportunity. 🤍 Moderator: Grace Bastidas, Journalist, The Mommune (Substack) @brooklynwriter Panelists: * Grace Rauh — Executive Director, Citizens Union I @citizensunionny * Laurie Cumbo - Former Commissioner Department of Cultural Affairs I @cmlauriecumbo * Latham Thomas - Founder, Mama Glow Foundation I @mamaglowfoundation * Katie Denny Horowitz - Executive Director, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance I @nbkparks * Cynthia McKnight - President, Community Education Council 13 I @cynthia_mcnight #newyorkfamily #brooklynorg #brooklyncommunity #momswhomovebklyn

Happy Mother’s Day. ♥️ I wrote about my mom on Substack. Link in bio.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, I went on @NBCNews Daily to talk about the importance of making and sustaining mom friendships. It may seem like one more thing when you’re already stretched thin but there’s no one like a mom friend to listen, validate the hard stuff, and remind you that you’re doing the best you can.

I love being in a room full of moms. They are the most engaged audience because showing up takes time, effort, and planning, especially on a school day. And @bklynorg and @brooklynbridgeparents delivered yesterday with their Moms Who Move Bklyn event. I had the honor of moderating a panel featuring some amazing women—civic leader Grace Rauh, education champion Cynthia McKnight, cultural steward Laurie Angela Cumbo, maternal health visionary Latham Thomas, and public space advocate Katie Denny Horowitz—all moms on a mission to strengthen our communities. The conversation was authentic, vulnerable, funny, and a reminder that moms need spaces like this where they feel seen and understood.

Say it loud & proud: Moms Move Brooklyn, and yesterday they showed up! 💐 Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Moms Who Move Brooklyn breakfast and panel cohosted by @bklynorg @brooklynbridgeparents , @stardustfund and @empiremindsnyc It was a memorable morning of connection, conversation, and community...from the flower bar and networking to the panel discussion moderated by Grace Bastidas @brooklynwriter and featuring 5 inspiring women: @citizensunionny , @cmlauriecumbo , @mamaglowfoundation , @nbkparks and @cynthia_mcnight Brooklyn is powered by extraordinary women balancing careers, families, creativity, leadership, and service, and it was amazing to celebrate them together ahead of Mother’s Day.  Thank you to our amazing speakers, partners, and attendees for making the morning so meaningful. ❤️

Celebrated the amazing institution that is the @studiomuseum at a luncheon on Friday where I got to spend time with women and (mothers) I admire. Thanks to @carolsuttonlewis for the invitation. What a privilege to hear civil rights activist @sherrilynifill talk about the power of art during times of despair. And what a treat to be in such great company!

I’ve thought about this moment a lot since attending Generation Hope’s national conference, Hope 2026, in Dallas last month. The student parents this organization serves are the very definition of determination and resilience: pushing past obstacles, ignoring naysayers, and putting one foot in front of the other even as the road ahead continues to shift. I had the privilege of speaking to scholars about what community really means when you’re doing the hardest thing with little support. My favorite moment came at the end when I asked audience members to give a shoutout to someone who had shown up for them. I wasn’t expecting the heartfelt responses I received. But that’s the beauty of community: When you create space for people to acknowledge one another, something powerful happens. We are reminded that all parents are worthy of care and validation. Proud to be on the board of GH. @supportgenhope

The other week I sat down with my friend, former Parents editor-in-chief and creator of The Mommune, Grace Bastidas (@brooklynwriter ), and she asked me a question that no one has ever asked me: How has what you’ve survived shaped the way you parent? “Well, in the early days of motherhood,” I told her, “I was terrified my daughter would be snatched.” I’m a survivor of sexual violence and of being taken against my will. For a long time, that history lived just beneath the surface of my motherhood. When my daughter Lily was little, fear followed me everywhere—I needed her close, always within reach, my mind bracing for the worst. Healing didn’t erase that instinct. But it changed my relationship to it. Through therapy, writing, and learning how to feel safe in my own body, I’ve found ways to move through it, instead of being ruled by it. Now I still notice every exit. My eyes still move between my daughters when we’re out. But I’m no longer parenting from panic—I’m parenting from awareness, from grounding, from love. When you’ve survived that kind of harm, surviving becomes part of your architecture. It doesn’t leave you, but you learn how to live inside yourself again. Thank you Grace for all your love and care, and (!!!) for celebrating my dear friend @leahsoojinkim —her book Mom Unfiltered is out April 30 (see last slide ❤️). Read the full interview in the link in my bio and Stories.

Honored to co-host the first-ever Breakfast Conversation: Mothers Powering Our Borough on May 7. Kicking off Mother’s Day weekend with a meaningful conversation alongside our panelists @cmlauriecumbo @mamaglow @cynthia.mcknight.9 @gracerauh moderated by @brooklynwriter —celebrating the women building and strengthening our borough. Ticket link in bio. @bklynorg @citypointbklyn Please join us. 💗

Personal stories don’t just humanize policy. They inspire real solutions. That was my biggest takeaway from moderating a conversation at the Forum on Children and Families with Dr. Sheena Meade, CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative and mom of five, and Representative Aaron Pilkington, MHA, of Arkansas, dad to three boys and a baby girl. Both of these leaders carry their lived experience as parents into their work every single day, and it shows. When advocates and policymakers lead with authenticity, not just data, they bring an urgency to family issues that’s hard to ignore. Thank you to Ascend at the Aspen Institute for always elevating these critical discussions. @iamsheenameade @aaronpilk @aspeninstitute

Entering the teen years… ✨🌟✨ And accepting all your best advice below ⬇️

Data isn’t enough to create meaningful policy change. Decision-makers need to hear from the people affected by the problem in order to deliver real solutions. That’s why lived experience is so important. Our stories have the power to reveal the human impact behind systemic barriers and make a difference. Can’t wait to delve into this topic with Dr. Sheena Meade (@iamsheenameade ) of the @cleanslateinitiative and Representative Aaron Pilkington of Arkansas at the 2026 Aspen Forum on Children and Families in DC next week. There’s still time to register and attend remotely! #AFCF26 @aspenascend