Holly Kammerer
Chevy Chase, MD
Mom to Kenton, 12, Cally, 9
Nominated by Krysten Jenci
Holly Kammerer is an amazing mother and truly spectacular advocate for
all the kids in our community. Holly has two children who she supports with
all her heart and soul. Through all the ups and downs of motherhood, Holly
faces each challenge with courage, love, strength and persistence. She is hon-
est, generous and kind to other mothers who can feel overwhelmed and overly
taxed during the course of a school year. She is an inspiration to all of us.

As continually recognized by the leadership at both Chevy Chase Elementary
School and Silver Creek Middle School, Holly takes almost every opportunity
to answer the call for parental support. For years, she has volunteered to be the classroom parent, creating once in a life-
time memories for the kids in class. Holly has organized numerous school-wide fundraising activities, and recently chaired
the school’s 100 year anniversary. Holly’s passion for children – both her own and those in the community – underscores
why she should receive this award. She embodies what it is to be a Mom in this day and age.

Occupation: Full-time Mom, community volunteer,
real estate
Fun fact about you
and your family:
My husband, Doug Kammerer (Chief
Meteorologist at WRC NBC4) and I met
at our first jobs after college in TV news.

We worked in Macon, Georgia at a Fox
station where I was a news reporter and
fill-in anchor. It was a small market, and
sometimes (on days I was lucky enough to
not one-man band with a tripod and a 20
pound VHS camera), he would act as my
camera man after forecasting the weather
for the morning show. He would help me
shoot my stories and offer advice on my
stand ups and live shots. In exchange, I
would edit his stories and give him writ-
ing tips. He is so comfortable on camera,
while writing is my strong suit. We filled
in each other’s gaps pretty well and had a
lot of fun laughing and working together.

We were just co-workers for a long time,
eventually became friends and started
dating. We moved around to several TV
markets, Macon, Jacksonville, Orlando
and Philly before making D.C. home.

Turns out we ended up making a pretty
good team for life!
What advice would you give
to new or expectant moms?
Don’t worry about perfection. Perfection
is the present. Who cares if there are
16 WashingtonFAMILY MAY 2019
dishes in the sink? Drink it all in. Take
care of yourself. Laugh. Sleep. Create as
many memories as you can. Cherish your
female friendships and create new ones.

Savor every moment with your children,
love and kiss them until they turn away
and beg for mercy. As they get older, lis-
ten carefully to what they have to say.

Always make eye contact when they are
talking to you. Get down on their level
and play. Enjoy this exact moment in
your life … blink and you’ll miss it!
What goals do you have for
yourself and your family?
As my children get older, I miss the chal-
lenge of work. The old drive is back. My
husband and I had always talked about
doing real estate together because we are
fascinated by houses and neighborhoods.

How do you find your neighborhood? I
am the first one to dive in. My goals for
my children are much simpler. Doug and I
are strong believers in character. We want
to raise good contributing members of the
community. We want them to have a
positive outlook on life, find joy all around
and do their best at whatever they want to
accomplish, but to be resilient. Resilience
is the key. Not everything will always be
perfect in life. The key is to keep trying.

Describe a favorite
mom moment.

There are so many, but my favorite times
are when we are all together. No one else.

Just the four of us. Either playing games
or snuggled up in bed or on a road trip.

When we can just shut the world out
and be together. It’s so simple and yet, it
is everything.

What’s your superpower?
My superpower is my connections with
other moms in our community. I am so
honored to be included in Moms of the
Year, but the truth is, I am surrounded by
incredible selfless moms. These dynamic,
awe-inspiring women encourage and sup-
port each other every single day. They
are all Moms of the Year. I can think of
dozens of women who somehow do it all.

They support their communities, their
schools, their friends, their children,
other people’s children. I feel so lucky to
have these women in my life. I don’t ever
complete any endeavor alone. It takes
a team of women and girlfriends. They
inspire me.

Favorite local spots?
Maki Bar is our go-to Mommy
& Me spot. The Tournedos at
Duck Duck Goose is my all-
time favorite meal! Our
favorite museum is The
Renwick. And I love to
go dancing with my Mom
friends to live music at
Villain & Saint.




Lauren Lawson-Zilai
Potomac, MD
Mom to Kiley, 5
Nominated by Justin Zilai
Lauren is someone who believes in social impact and is tireless in her efforts to
make a difference in the community. As the senior director of PR for Goodwill
Industries International, Lauren leads the external communications strategy
for North America’s nonprofit leader in workforce training for people looking
for employment or career advancement. Lauren serves as a Stephen Minister for
our church where she provides caregiving to people facing crisis in life. Lauren
also utilizes her skills to provide pro bono PR services for numerous D.C. non-
profits, including Mary’s Center, a D.C.-based community center that provides
social services to individuals whose needs are unmet by the public and private systems. Lauren is selfless with her time from
mentoring others to guest lecturing at local universities. She volunteers with our daughter and ensures that she is enriched
with activities from learning multiple languages to embarking on educational outings and taking classes such as yoga. For
Lauren, volunteering is a genuine and demonstrated passion, and one that she has instilled in our five-year-old daughter.

Occupation: Senior director of public relations
and national spokesperson, Goodwill
Industries International
Favorite “mom-ism:”
“Mommy gets cranky after 8:30 p.m. I’m
tired. Please go to bed.”
What advice would you give to
new or expectant moms?
Find your support group of moms. I feel
very fortunate to work for an organiza-
tion where one of my colleagues started
a private email listserv to share tips, arti-
cles, frustrations and the like with each
other. It’s also important to find your
tribe of moms who can serve as a peer
support group, identify with your strug-
gles and triumphs and share experiences,
friendship, resources and comfort.

What goals do you have
for your child?
I want my daughter to be inten-
tional about helping others and
being aware of other’s feelings
— treating others as they want
to be treated, as everyone has
their own standards and beliefs. I’m
encouraged by the fact that we live in a
society where it’s “cool to be kind” and
there is more of a focus on anti-bullying.

My daughter and I always talk about
“girl power.” As she enters elementary
school, I will continue to encourage and
celebrate women’s empowerment, inde-
pendence and confidence so that she knows
there are no limits or boundaries based on
her gender.

How has motherhood changed
your outlook on life?
After giving birth, your priorities change.

Different issues take different precedence.

You no longer have the physical or emo-
tional energy for the things that used to
occupy all your time. For me, the biggest
shift has been the energy that I used to
spend worrying about anything and every-
thing. There is simply no capacity for that.

Describe a favorite
mom moment.

My daughter came home one day and told
me her teacher was complaining of back
pain. She wanted to provide comfort to
her teacher, so she took one of our big
throw pillows, wrapped it up with tis-
sue paper in a bag, and presented it her
teacher the next day. She has these innate
compassionate moments where she wants
to care for others. I was really touched by
her kind act as was her teacher.

What are three things
you use everyday that
you can’t live without?
adventures for families and a GPS so my
directionally-challenged self can find my
way to all of my daughter’s classes and activ-
ities across the greater metropolitan area. A
purse with crayons, toys, wipes, tissues, hair
bands and the like also helps.

What’s the best thing you
are listening to right now?
Simon Sinek. He is the author of “Start
with Why” and also has a TED talk called
“How great leaders inspire action.” He
emphasizes focusing on your why – your
purpose, your cause, your motivation and
your beliefs. Why do you get out of bed
in the morning? And why should anyone
care? As a result, the way we think, act
and communicate is from the inside out.

It is a great lesson both professionally
and personally to put priority on why you
do, not what you do, and to follow indi-
viduals who inspire those around them or
find others who inspire them.

Favorite local spot?
National Harbor. We love all the activ-
ities at the Gaylord during the holidays;
the family-fun destinations during the
summer from the carousel to the boat
rides, the beach and the park as well as
the seasonal displays at MGM.

A large latte, listservs like Beltway Bambinos
that provide recommendations on weekly
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