Community Spotlight: Moms in marketing

Read lessons and advice from customers and partners in the Klaviyo Community about how motherhood has influenced and inspired their careers in ecommerce marketing.

For so many people working in ecomm and marketing, “Mother’s Day campaign” is a line item on a calendar. But behind every brief, every flow, and every launch are real people juggling Slack notifications with school runs, strategy decks with bedtime stories, and QBRs with sick days.

This year, we asked a few moms in the Klaviyo Community to share how motherhood has changed the way they work and what they’d say to other moms in the industry. 

What came back wasn’t just cute kid photos (though there are plenty). It was a masterclass in focus, empathy, boundaries, and what it means to build a career you’re proud of and a life your kids can see themselves in.

“How has being a mom inspired your work?”

Time is no longer theoretical. It’s the strategy.

For several of the women who shared their stories, motherhood turned time from an abstract “resource” into something you can literally feel slipping through your fingers, and that showed up directly in how they think about customers.

“Being a mom has made me a better marketer because it taught me that time is a luxury (there is never enough of it, and it goes too quickly!). Once you truly feel that, you never want to waste a customer's time with messaging that isn't intentional, meaningful, and worth their moment.”
— Shannon Jörgenfelt, Sr. Manager, Email & Retention @ TATCHA

That same awareness shows up in how campaigns get prioritized. Instead of chasing every possible idea, motherhood has a way of forcing ruthless clarity.

“Becoming a mum didn’t make me a better marketer. It made me a more effective one. I stopped chasing every shiny project and got brutally clear on what actually moves the needle. My time has a hard stop now. That’s the best strategy I’ve ever had.”

— Victoria ap Gwynedd, Freelance & Fractional CRM Consultant, Victoria ap G Marketing

“Motherhood taught me something no marketing course ever did: not everything deserves your energy. Before 9am and after 5pm, and every single weekend, my world is just one person, and that clarity has transformed how I work. I know what matters. And that focus shows up in everything I do.”

For others, the shift is less about saying “no” and more about how they show up in the hours they do have.

“Being a working mum has made me more efficient, intentional and present. When your time is precious, you show up fully and get it done!”
— Kel Hannon, Digital & Online Trading Manager, P.E. Nation

Empathy, prioritization, and the ability to “read the room”

Parenting and marketing both require you to constantly scan for context: Who’s in front of me? What do they need? What’s actually urgent, and what can wait?

“Being a mum has strengthened my ability to prioritise, adapt quickly, and focus on what really matters — qualities that make me a more effective marketer. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where mothers aren’t held back, but are truly valued for the strengths they bring.”
— Amy Last, Marketing Director, Must Have Idea 

“Nothing sharpens your empathy or your prioritization skills like raising three tiny humans. Not everything gets done, and that’s okay. What matters is reading the room quickly, figuring out what matters most, and making sure the actions you take towards problem solving it count. These skills have led me to be a sharper strategist, a more patient leader, and, honestly, a lot better at knowing when to let something go. Turns out the gap between a toddler meltdown and an at-risk account is smaller than you’d think.”
— Marina Carroll, Head of CRM Strategy, New Standard Co.

Those same muscles – empathy, triage, staying calm when everything feels like “a lot” – are the ones these moms lean on when they’re leading teams, navigating tough quarters, or deciding which metric actually matters this week.

“Being a mother has always come first. I built my life and career around what mattered most, without hesitation. That carries into my work. Clear priorities, strong boundaries, and decisions that move things forward for my business and my clients.”

— Alexandra Palau, Founder, All About Email Marketing

Holding space for a whole identity

Beyond metrics and workflows, many of the moms talked about identity: who they are to their kids, and who they are at work and how powerful it is when those things don’t have to compete.

“I think when we become mothers, we have a tendency to have a bit of an identity crisis. Who am I now that I have this little human who’s suddenly the center of my world!?! How could I possibly care about anything else?! Am I even allowed to?!

What I have learned over the years, after exercising a lot of mom guilt,  is just how important it is to nurture all parts of yourself, and to show up as a multifaceted human being for your children.

My girls know that I’m Mom, but they also know I’m a boss, a vintage-fashion fiend, a traveler, a great friend, a Disney adult and they get to see all of those sides of me. I share wins at work at the dinner table. They help me pick my outfit before a big presentation and love the sound of my heels clicking across the floor. They get excited when they see a Dermalogica ad, or a display in Sephora, and brag to their friends at school that their mom does ‘marketing for skincare’ (hairtoss) 

I love being their mom, but I also love being a whole human being they can be proud of. And honestly, I hope seeing me embrace all those different parts of myself gives them permission to do the same someday.”
— Courtney Wallace, Head of Ecommerce, Dermalogica

For Courtney and others, that visibility is the point: when kids can see you owning a full, complex identity, it becomes easier for them to imagine their own.

“I was a young mom with a lot to prove and no safety net. That combination made me efficient, decisive, and relentless. I just didn’t realize until much later that motherhood was building me professionally the whole time.”

— Ali Riveira, Chief Digital Officer, PeakActivity

“What advice would you give to other moms in the industry?” 

Alongside stories about time and identity, we asked these moms what they’d want to pass on to other mothers working in marketing, ecommerce, and CX today.

1. Guard your energy because not everything deserves it

Several contributors came back to the same theme: motherhood makes it painfully obvious that your energy is finite. That’s not a liability; it’s an advantage. 

“Motherhood made me more efficient, more empathetic, and more decisive in how I work and lead. It’s forced me to prioritize what truly matters and move with intention, so my advice is to lean into it, those are the skills that set you apart.“

— Marta Maciel, Director of Retention, GOAT Foods

2. Lead with heart and remember how it feels on the other side

“Put your heart into it and think about how you’re making someone feel.”
— Loan Dang-Mei, Director of Marketing & Business Development, CV Linens

Whether you’re building a lifecycle program or an in-store experience, that lens (how does this actually feel for the person receiving it?) is a throughline in how these moms work. It shows up in creative decisions, in support policies, and in where they’re willing to push back when something doesn’t sit right.

3. Model the world you want your kids to walk into

Amy talked explicitly about wanting her daughter to grow up in a world where mothers are valued for the strengths they bring, not penalized for them. Courtney’s daughters see her as both “Mom” and “boss,” watching her celebrate wins, walk into big presentations, and own her expertise.

That modeling matters – not just for kids, but for teams. When leaders are open about school pickups, sick days, and the realities of caregiving, it gives everyone on the team more permission to design work in a way that’s humane and high-performing.

4. Remember: you’re allowed to be more than one thing

If there’s a single thread tying these stories together, it’s this: you don’t have to choose between being “all in” on your career and being “all in” on your family. The moms in this spotlight are doing both – often imperfectly, sometimes messily, but with a lot of intention.

They’re building brands, shipping campaigns, and leading teams. They’re also reading bedtime stories, navigating meltdowns, and serving snacks between Zoom calls. And they’re turning all of that experience into better, sharper, more empathetic marketing.

Happy Mothers Day!

To every mom in marketing who’s ever answered a Slack message from the school hallway, written copy with a baby on your lap, or rescheduled a campaign review around a childcare emergency: this spotlight is for you.

Thanks for the way you shape this industry, and the humans who are watching you do it.