Momaraderie is an occasional feature I write about professional moms I meet, engage with and want to learn more about. I first was introduced to the inquisitive Dawn Comber via a Headway Theme Twitter chat. We got to exchanging tweets, and she seemed to pop in to lend her thoughts on a regular basis.
Dawn Comber (@DawnComber on Twitter) is a keen lifelong learner with a passion for building communities both on and offline. She hails from Oakville, Ontario, where she manages her small business, volunteers for a housing charity, and raises her youngest child, who is 13. The other four of her five children were homeschooled for nine years while she managed a grassroots not-for-profit.
Dawn began 
juggling her own education along with that of her kids, heading back to school part-time and emerging with a Master of Arts in Leadership. Grant writing for a single organization morphed into consulting to a variety of nonprofits, eventually leading Dawn to focus on helping clients articulate who they are and what they do online. She now specializes in rewriting offline materials for Web publication.
Speaking with Dawn, it’s immediately clear she’s serious about making genuine connections via social media and the small business community; here’s Dawn:
Thanks so much for asking me to contribute to your Momaraderie series.
One of my bigger goals for social media has been to really contribute to community, or find a sense of community with a few people online around me. You kindly reached out to me and that was encouraging. I want to contribute to other people’s blogs and business life in a genuine way — not with a goal to increase my presence, so to speak. I want to make genuine/real connections online; you know, the “social” in social media. (I blogged about it here.)
Participating in your blog is a creative way to get some peer-to-peer support virtually. I am also building offline learning partnerships and working partnerships with women! I meet monthly with two colleagues to discuss new business tools – online or otherwise. I also work closely with 2 colleagues (who are also good friends) on web development (me on the word side) and marketing for start-ups. I try to attend a monthly WP meetup — another place to learn and make connections.
For now, I’ll leave you with a final thought from Dawn, on how she stays centered:
My partner/husband laughed out loud when he saw that question. I’m not really very good at taking care of myself (a downfall of many a woman I am afraid) — but a glass of wine and a hot bath helps sometimes. Mothering keeps me from obsessing on business and vice versa. And friends really help a lot – I have a nice circle of people that I care about and who care for me.
To learn more about Dawn we couldn’t squeeze in here, visit Dawncomber.com. And, please share your suggestions for a Momaraderie feature!
Hi Jayme… Thanks for featuring me on Momaraderie. I’ve sat here for 10 minutes wondering what I can say. I types and deleted, typed and deleted. But honestly, the one thought that has come pretty strongly is that I continue to appreciate how you reach out to people online. You’ve been an online-encourager to me – and others, I am sure. Your blog is refreshing and engaging because of the wide variety of topics that you write about. I count it a privilege that I have gotten to know you a bit – and I hope that I can get to know you more. Along with the other women of Momaraderie.
On another note, I am also thankful for a partner who is supportive, flexible and forgiving. As many women know, when you work for yourself, you have to work crazy hours sometimes and that can interfere with life sometimes. A partner can make or break what you are trying to accomplish in business.
Looking forward to more Momaraderie!
Dawn, it’s my pleasure. Your gift in return to me is your compliments about my blogging style. That encouragement for me is wrapped in a bow. Thank you.