There is one hashtag that describes this next set of speakers -#PowerLatinas! While this year’s conference will continue to celebrate the diversity among social savvy moms and dads, we thought today we’d honor just some of our Latina bloggers scheduled to speak at the Niche Parent Conference. Who are you most excited to hear from? Share in comments below!

Lorraine C. Ladish - @LorraineCLadish

Panel Title: Freelancing 101
Session Description: This session will describe how to make a career of freelance writing for publications, improve on your writing, pitch and work with editors, organize your schedule and negotiate pay. How to handle yourself professionally and peer etiquette. Differences between a blog and an article. How and where to hone your writing skills. Finding mentors, and becoming a professional writer, whether you have your own blog or not.

About the speaker: Lorraine C. Ladish is a 17-times published author of both fiction and non-fiction with over 20 years of experience as a freelance writer and editor. The subjects of her books include pregnancy, parenting, raising creative kids, writing and publishing and relationships. Her latest book is based on her bilingual blog Success Diaries (Diario del Éxito), which she launched in 20008 during the recession, when she found herself unemployed and forced to reinvent her writing career from print to digital.

Born in Madrid, Spain, of Spanish father and American mother, Lorraine is bilingual and bicultural. She has contributed to People en Español, Redbook and La Palma of The Palm Beach Post, and was the managing editor of VOXXI Mujer, an online news site for English-speaking Hispanics. In June 2012 she was appointed Editor in Chief of Mamiverse.com, a digital hub for multicultural moms and their families, that is published in both English and Spanish. A passionate communicator, Lorraine writes and speaks from a place of honesty and openness and thrives on empowering women. She is based in Sarasota, Florida, with her blended family that includes a bilingual and bicultural writing partner, three children under 12 and an obstinate dog. Connect with Lorrain at  @lorrainecladish @mamiverse www.lorrainecladish.com and www.mamiverse.com

Caroline Murphy- @SmartyPantsMama

Workshop: Vlogging – Starting With the Basics Ending With the Results

Description: Video blogging doesn’t require fancy bells and whistles! With a camera/smart phone, decent lighting and touch of lipstick, you’re on your way to publishing vlogs on YouTube! Learn how simple vlogging can be and why you shouldn’t be intimidated!

About the Speaker: Caroline Murphy is a 30-something Hispanic mom who is influential both on and off-line. Her “been there, done that” approach on product reviews, cuisine and travel has made her a reliable voice. She is often sought after for recommendations and endorsements. Well known brands have used Caroline’s professionalism, social media presence, video production skills and creativity to support their social media marketing campaigns.

Caroline is an avid vlogger. She has published over 150 videos on YouTube. Her series #CarpoolChat provides viewers with 1-2 minute snippets of her day, products she’s reviewing and general news events.

As the Smarty Pants Traveling Mom, Caroline shares her travel experiences on the internationally recognized TravelingMom.com site. She focuses on South Florida travel destinations, and products & attractions that provide smart cultural experiences for families.

She is a native New Yorker (Long Islander to be exact) who is now in South Florida, by way of the Washington DC/Baltimore area. She holds a Masters Degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from the University of  Maryland  University  College and a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education, with a minor in Spanish from Loyola University Maryland.

Connect with Caroline across these social networks: YouTube.com/SmartyPantsMama, Twitter @SmartyPantsMama, Facebook SmartyPantsMama

Sili Recio -@MyMamihood

Panel: Brand Relationships 2.0

Panel Description: What happens AFTER you get the pitch or begin the relationship. The business side of working with the brand. Questions that will be answered: Your pitch was approved! Now what? I’ve blogged about the product, what should I do now? Closing out a campaign. Reporting on your success: how to do it and what information to include.

About the Speaker: Sili is one of the founding members of Social Influenz, an influential and authentic group of people that are deeply involved in social media and would like to invest in each other’s success through all platforms. It is the place where multicultural and influential meet.

Entrepreneur by morning, student by afternoon, blogger by night and Mami 24/7, Sili’s drive and determination to succeed while helping others is what sets her apart from the rest. She is not only the Chief Executive Mami at her blog, My Mamihood, but she is also the owner and Digital Ninja for Mami Ink Media, a digital services agency specializing in social media management, project management, strategic planning and process improvement. She is an expert in tailoring her services to help you leave your mark in the world. 

Selected as one of Latina Magazine’s top 10 Mommy bloggers this year, My Mamihood was described as  “a haven for fashion inspiration, baby concerns, must read books and even tech musings! This blog will keep you reading for hours…”. When not appearing on top 10 lists, Sili loves hanging out with her frog princess, setting up all-girl Fantasy football leagues, reading and finding new gadgets to play with. Sili believes that you are your best asset and should build your brand while building your blog.

Eileen Carter-Campos was a school teacher since the tender age of twenty-one. She graduated from New York University with honors and is a proud member of Kappa Delta Pi.  Eileen received her Master’s in Early Childhood Education and taught Pre K, Kindergarten, second grade and third grade. She has also worked for the YMCA as a counselor and Reading Specialist. Today, Eileen is a work from home mom and currently the community manager of Mamiverse.com.  She has also written for Voxxi.com and is a contributor to Latina Bloggers Connect.

Niche Mommy asked Eileen…

Niche Mommy (NM): What influenced you to start blogging and why?
Eileen Carter-Campos (EC): I began blogging because even before teaching I was accepted to the University of Miami on a full scholarship for journalism. My father didn’t allow me to go and so I settled into teaching. It was something that I had always thought about (writing) and I was still doing but I wanted others to read my thoughts. When my son my diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD I began writing even more- it became more of an outlet for me to relieve everything I had running through my mind. One night I worked up the courage to write Lorraine C. Ladish and literally the rest is history.

NM: What was your greatest achievement in 2012?
EC: My greatest achievement was being able to follow by dreams of writing. I followed Lorraine C. Ladish to Mamiverse as a contributor and also became the community manager of our site.

NM: What’s on your 2013 bucket list?
EC: Taking my blog to another level and continue to learn, write more, speak at various events about education, parenting, and raising a child with Asperger’s and ADHD.

NM: What is something you learned in the last week?
EC: I learned even more about the rights of parents with all of the elementary school testing. I also learned that we have the right to opt out of these field tests that they give the children. I am constantly learning as a parent so it’s never ending and I LOVE it!

NM: What would you name the autobiography of your life?
EC: I would title my autobiography “What a Dream!” because my life does feel like a dream and I never want to wake up. I feel blessed for what I have and how hard I have worked to get to where I am today. I think it’s important to follow your dreams and take those leaps of faith!

NM: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
EC: I see myself enjoying my life with my boys and husband. I also see myself writing children’s books and attending more speaking events to help parents with any issues they may have as well as talk to children about the importance of education and staying in school.

NM: Why did you join The Niche Mommy Network?
EC: I joined The Niche Mommy because I love what the site stands for. It has a wealth of information and I can completely relate. I also thought that Nadia was so sweet online and when I met her in person at Hispanicize she was a million times nicer- an absolute pleasure!

NM: If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
EC: I would love to learn how to race a car and compete in the Daytona 500.

NM: Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?
EC: I am always mistaken for Ricki Lake. Go Ricki, Go Ricki, Go Ricki!

NM: When you have an hour of free time, how do you pass the time?
EC: If I have free time I always aim to pick up a book for pleasure. I keep them close by my bed, curl up and read and I feel like I’m in heaven.

NM: If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
EC: I would donate to various charities- cancer charities and charities for children with special needs. I would also make sure that my children would be taken care of.

NM: Where’s Waldo?
EC: Waldo is somewhere is Puerto Rico hanging out on the beach

Family dynamics are changing in America. We are seeing more work from home dads or stay at home dads  take care of the children while moms work full-time jobs. Whether it’s a household where both parents work or not, more dads are taking an active role in sharing the responsibilities in raising children. As the modern family changes, so is the digital landscape. Dads are engaging the 2.0 parenting community in record numbers by sharing their parenting stories through blogs and social media channels.  And of course, their presence at social media conferences and blogging retreats is rising. There was even Dad2.0 Summit this year which was a huge success.

As the number of dad bloggers rises, naturally so has their social media influence.  Although mom bloggers continue to dominate marketing dollars, brands are devoting more of their marketing budgets and efforts towards engaging dads that blog and are doing so in more meaningful ways.

In 2012, when the Niche Mommy Network & Conference launched its hands-on social media conference for moms, I wasn’t expecting many dads interested in attending a mom conference. To my pleasant surprise, not only were some of my favorite dad bloggers like Eric Payne, Fred Goodall of Mocha Dad, and others interested in attending, they also spoke on a panel as the Content Kings.  Their perspective and insight were definitely valuable and well received by attendees. In fact, our conference survey told us their session was one of the best at the conference.

Our first goal for the 2013 conference was to give our fellow digital dads an equal share of voice and presence at the conference. We love our dad bloggers and are excited to invite them to join us this year. Naturally, we evolved our conference name to fit our audience. But today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve also changed  the name of our blogger network!  Moving forward, we will be the Niche Parent Network.  This has been in the making for some time and we’re already in the process of connecting brands to campaigns with our dad bloggers. So if you’re a dad active in social media and  interested in joining our diverse community of over 400 digital moms, please join here. We have exciting things in store.

To help us rally our dads, we’re also proud to announce a new member of our team. You may know him on social media as Super Dad Blogger, but to his wife he’s one of her Benz. Benjamin Floyd,  principal at Socially Savvy, The VP of Marketing at Fluencr and Super Dad Blogger at My Dad Saved the World, has joined the Niche Parent Team as our Chief Digital Dad.

We are excited about our growing team, mission, and of course, the upcoming conference. Our newly expanded community has just become even more influential!

Please help us welcome Ben to the team. Give him a shout on Twitter by clicking to tweet: “@NicheParent adds @Superdadblogger to team as Chief Digital Dad for newly expanded network! #NicheParent13″ http://bit.ly/NicheDad”