Stern is careful to emphasize that Chamama is not a cure, but a show of care. Stern and Maltz landed on the name “Chamama” from Stern’s daugther’s end-of-day greeting for her mom, Chamama’s home! “That’s what we wanted to capture—that feeling of your person walking through the door, that feeling that everything is going to be okay. Chamama boxes are valued at over $400 and will retail for $99 with a portion of the proceeds going to Survivor Corp, the largest COVID survivor community to date. “If we learned anything this past year, it’s that life can change in an instant,” says Stern. “And you need to be ready. There’s no shame in changing direction. My business was built on bringing people together. That became near impossible. And so, I took a hard look at what I was doing, what I wanted to do, and what was possible. But you need to be honest, open-minded, and practical.” Her canvas has widened, and even with bouts of brain fog she still experiences, her focus and drive have helped her juggle all the balls she’s thrown into the air. Case in point: DivaMoms, Stern’s long-time marketing platform. When events in the city dried up, she headed to The Poconos to Tyler Hill Camp. For two retreats now, Stern, along with Tyler Hill Camp’s owner Wendy Siegel, has sponsored a “DivaMoms Getaway Weekend” that treats women to three days of spirit-lifting indulgences: morning meditation, yoga, acupuncture, cooking, hiking, wine-and-dye, campfires, gourmet dining, and energy alignment sessions with Stern’s personal healer, Tara Mandy (savagebalance.com), who offers guests private sound baths and Reiki in an outdoor pavilion. There’s also free time to paddleboard, nap, or just find your calm on a blanket by the lake. The three days may sound like a short amount of time, but when the moms go off the grid, even for a
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few hours, it makes the world of difference! By the end of the weekend, it is so clear how this experience is necessary. Not only do the moms look different when they leave at the end of the weekend (super well-rested), they feel as if they were away for a month! Oh, and of course let’s not forget the most coveted gift bags that every mom receives (worth over $1 thousand in value). “Moms have had quite a year, and we deserve a weekend for ourselves,” says Stern. “We’re CEOs of our family, but we haven’t had a vacation. This is it. Our weekend getaway is just what we need after months of home-schooling, lockdowns, child-care, and managing our homes. This has kept me sane,” said Stern. “Being with like-minded women far away from life healed my soul in so many unexpected ways.” The retreats have been so well received that they are adding to the Fall and Spring, DivaMoms, Glamas (Grandmas) and Dads retreats. The next Fall retreat which already has a long wait #lysst is October 1st - 3rd.
Stern’s creativity and entrepreneurial instincts took hold when she was a teenager working in retail, she dove into the deep end after graduating from Syracuse University and getting her “hazing” from New York’s toughest, most feared publicist and event
queen: Peggy Seagal. It was challenging work but taught her the value of the hustle. She enjoyed a thriving career, social life, and relationship with her now-husband Brian, and soon began a family. And that’s when her most extraordinary pivot began. “Before I married and had kids, I led a very glamorous Sex and The City life in New York City,” Stern remembers. “I worked in PR and events with one of the toughest bosses in entertainment and was out pretty much every night, either for work or with girlfriends. But when I started my family, it was expected that you just had to give that up. I said no. I still wanted to dress up, go out, see friends, and stay social. I knew I could be the best wife and mom and still be me. And I was one of the first to identify I wasn’t alone. There were millions of people just like me who could do laundry in their Louboutin’s. I brought all these women together through DivaMoms.” It started small, then grew and grew! But not without incredible persistence. “I had to convince marketers my audience was worth it,” says Stern. “DivaMoms helped open brands to a new kind of consumer: stylish, sexy, socially connected women living their best lives. This was no small feat—it took years, but it worked. Major products, movies, even book series like Fifty Shades of Grey were made successful because of this audience.” Marketers have come to see immense value in Stern’s audience, which includes social media, events, sponsorships, and publishing (she’s authored two books: Motherhood Is a B#TCH! 10 Steps to Regaining Your Sanity, Sexiness and Inner Diva, co-written with Sheryl Berk, and If You Give a Mom a Martini, co-authored by Julie Klappas). She is also working a third book as well as a secret project she will not talk about (she is superstitious) and wears her evil eye necklace or bracelet daily.
