Check out this official BlogHer '12 badge: Clearly they are open to our kind! :)

This past year since starting Natural Parents Network, Dionna (of Code Name: Mama) and I have become ever more convinced of the power of the natural parenting community. We'd love to harness and celebrate it by speaking at the BlogHer blogging conference this August in NYC.

We want to bring our collective voice and our perspective to BlogHer. But first we have to get there!

That's where your help comes in. It will take only a minute, it's a one-step process that requires no log-in or complicated popularity voting, and it will mean so much to us.

We respectfully ask you, if you believe in us and the message we can bring to BlogHer, to nominate us to be speakers at the conference.

How to nominate us

Simply go to BlogHer '12 Call for Ideas and fill out the one-page form, selecting "Speaker Recommendation Only" under "Are you submitting." You have to fill it out today, because the deadline is 5 p.m. Pacific time.

I'll walk you through the form for a little more detail if you need it. (Please note that this is just a copy/paste of the actual form but you can't use the one here to submit. You need to go to the official form on BlogHer to nominate us. Click here to open the form in a new window to follow along with this post as you fill it out.)

• {YOUR CONTACT DETAILS HERE}Nominator First Name *
• Nominator Last Name *
• Nominator Email Address *
• Are you submitting: *
  {CHOOSE SPEAKER RECOMMENDATION ONLY}   Please use the guide (-->) to select your submission type.   Topic Suggestion Only   Session Proposal   Speaker Recommendation Only   Moderator Recommendation Only  
  Topic Suggestion: A session you'd want to attend, or a topic you'd like to see explored.
  
  Session Proposal: A session you'd like to speak on or moderate. Please include specific details about what the session would cover, as well as a diverse list of individuals who could join you on this panel.
  
  Speaker Recommendation: A nomination for an individual, yourself or another, to speak on a panel. Please include descriptive links wherever possible.
  
  Moderator Recommendation: A nomination for an experienced moderator, yourself or another, to lead a panel. Please include descriptive links wherever possible.
• Session Track {SKIP THIS OR CHOOSE THE PERSONAL OR THE PROFESSIONAL}

  
  

  The PersonalThe PoliticalThe ProfessionalThe Technical-- Geek BarThe Writing--Writing LabThe Visual
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• {OUR NAMES GO IN THIS NEXT SECTION. IF YOU KNOW ONLY ONE OF US, FEEL FREE TO NOMINATE JUST ONE OF US. IF YOU KNOW AND LIKE US BOTH, FEEL FREE TO PUT BOTH OUR NAMES IN — WE'D LOVE TO SPEAK TOGETHER!}
  OUR INFO:
  Lauren Waynemail@hobomama.com http://www.hobomama.com
  Dionna Forddionna@codenamemama.comhttp://codenamemama.com#1 - Proposed Speaker Name *
• #1 - Speaker Email Address (if known)
• #1 - Speaker URL (if known)
• {IF YOU'RE FILLING THIS OUT FOR BOTH OF US, CHOOSE YES AND ANOTHER SLOT FOR NAMES WILL APPEAR.}

  Would you like to recommend additional speakers?

  
  

  YesNo
• #2 - Proposed Speaker Name
• #2 - Speaker Email Address (if known)
• #2 - Speaker URL (if known)
• Would you like to recommend additional speakers?

  
  

  YesNo
• {PLEASE WRITE SOMETHING LOVELY & TRUTHFUL ABOUT US HERE. WE DON'T WANT TO PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN SEE BELOW ABOUT WHY WE WANT TO SPEAK.}Why do you think these individuals should speak at BlogHer '12? Please also list speaker's area(s) of expertise. *
• {YOU CAN SKIP THIS PART UNLESS YOU KNOW A STRONG MODERATOR (NOT US).}Can you recommend strong moderators? Please provide specifics, if available: name, email, URL, links to past experience (video, liveblogging, conferences, etc.)
• {WE HAVE NOT SPOKEN BEFORE, SO YOU CAN LEAVE THIS BLANK.}

  Do you know whether the nominated speaker/moderator has ever spoken at a BlogHer event?

  
  

  BlogHer Annual ('05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, or '11)BlogHer Food ('09, '10, '11, or '12)BlogHer Writers ('11)BlogHer Handmade ('11)BlogHer | bet ('11)BlogHer Reach Out Tour ('08)

Then just submit (on the official form at BlogHer)!

Easy enough, yes?

Why to nominate us

Dionna and I have been blogging devotedly and professionally for several years each. We're so happy with the natural parenting audience we've been able to reach, and the community we've fostered on our blogs, on Facebook and Twitter, through our Carnival of Natural Parenting (169 writers last year alone!), our other link-ups and carnivals, our promotion of other like-minded blogs and writers, and, of course, our co-founded Natural Parents Network, which is meeting our every hope of informing, empowering, and inspiring thousands of parents to live more naturally and authentically.

We feel we have a platform to address topics of interest to the women bloggers who attend BlogHer conferences. Some of our proposed session topics include:

• Blogging in the Natural Family Living Niche
• Creating and Harnessing the Power of Community
• Collaborating With Other Bloggers
• The Ins and Outs of Running an Awesome Blog Carnival
• Managing a Volunteer-Run Website
• Balancing Blogging and Parenting

and more.

In fact, if you want "extra credit," you could submit any of these session ideas on the same Call for Ideas form under "Session Proposal," recommending us as speakers for them as well!

We also have a wild dream someday to sponsor our own conference for natural parents. We'd love our trip to BlogHer this year to be a springboard to bringing that dream to fruition. Couldn't you picture a big room full of people just like you, with sessions on different babywearing ties, lactation consultants available to answer questions, doulas handing out business cards, and babies in arms everywhere? The whole vision makes me smile.


I know this isn't our usual type of blog post, and we're not asking you fill out the form if you're uncomfortable with it in any way. Do it only if the idea of having us bring the natural parenting perspective to BlogHer resonates with you. This is a unique chance for Dionna and me, and we realized we really wanted to include you, our supporters, in the process to (hopefully) bring our particular voices — which are your voices as well — to BlogHer this year.

Thank you so much for coming alongside us. We're proud to be part of this natural parenting community!