Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Liz Dyer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Liz, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I am a writer, speaker, activist and founder of the Mama Bears organization. In 2014 I had a dream that I could start a private Facebook group to help moms of LGBTQ+ kids find connections, support and resources. As the mother of a gay son I hoped that the moms who joined the private Facebook group would not only find the resources and support they needed, but also be inspired to work together to change the world and make it a kinder, safer, more loving place for all LGBTQ+ people to live and thrive. Today my hopes and dreams are coming true. I started the Facebook group “Serendipitydodah – Home of the Mama Bears” with about 150 moms and now, in 2023, that group has more than 36,000 moms of LGBTQ+ kids. And that one group has grown into an organization with more than 60 local chapters, 8 more private groups and 7 programs serving the LGBTQ+ community. The Mama Bears organization has been featured in numerous news articles and podcasts and is the subject of the “Mama Bears Documentary” that was released in March 2022. For more info about Real Mama Bears visit the website: realmamabears.org

Liz, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

One of the things I am most proud of is the Mama Bear programs that support the LGBTQ+ community. Our programs are mostly supported by members of our private Facebook group for moms of LGBTQ+ kids who call themselves “Mama Bears” and volunteer to make meaningful connections with LGBTQ+ people who need support and encouragement for a variety of reasons. Most of the things the Mama Bears do for the LGBTQ_ community would be considered “small acts of kindness” – they do things like stand in at weddings for LGBTT+ people who don’t have supportive parents, make hospital visits to LGBTQ+ people, include LGBTQ+ people in their holiday celebrations, send care packages, notes of encouragement and hand made blankets to LGBTQ+ people. They do these things to remind LGBTQ+ people they aren’t alone. They want to be a loving presence in the life of LGBTQ+ people. These things may seem small but we know from studies that have been done that LGBTQ_ people who have at least one supportive adult in their life have improved mental health and in some cases it can literally save their life.

A couple of years ago we began to realize that we needed to find a way to significantly expand our impact because there were so many LGBTQ+ people who needed support and encouragement. In order to do that we partnered with a nonprofit organization called “Legacy Collective” and created the Mama Bears Giving Circle. The Mama Bears Giving Circle awards grants to nonprofits in the United States that serve the LGBTQ+ community. In the first 12 months we have awarded more than $150,000.00. The best thing about the Mama Bears Giving Circle is that our members (those who sign up to give monthly) nominate and vote on the nonprofits that receive our grants. Legacy Collective has experts who thoroughly vet the nonprofits that are nominated to make sure they are credible and responsible and then the members vote on the nonprofits that qualify for our grants. It’s the perfect way for us to expand our impact and make sure that more LGBTQ+ people find the resources and support they need.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I spent a few years just learning about what it means to be an LGBTQ+ ally and how to be a supportive parent to my gay son. I made a lot of connections with people and asked them to teach me and give me advice. I demonstrated that my goal was to be a good LGBTQ+ ally and a good parent to my gay son.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

My organization started with an online community and today that online community is still the center of the Mama Bears organization.

In order to create a relavant and meaningful online community I have worked to create a “low friction” environment.

“Low friction” is something you will often hear designers talk about.

Designers will tell you that if you don’t offer “low friction” in your designs/products someone else will and your market will gravitate towards “low friction” designs/products.

And they will tell you the best way to create “low friction” designs/products is by knowing the “desire paths” of your market audience.

The Mama Bears online community is not actually a design/product but I believe the concept applies.

A great example that explains “low friction” and “desire paths” would be a college campus that allows their students to walk where they want – their “desire paths” – and then use those “desire paths” to smartly pave those locations that were the “low friction” routes that people wanted to take.

So in order to offer “low friction” which allows for “desire paths” designers are encouraged to live like their customer, observe them in the real world, and then learn from what they actually do.

That is what I try to do. I try to see through the eyes of the members of our group – I try to listen to what they are saying, observe where conversations tend to lead so I can guide our community in a way that allows for it to flow naturally along it’s “desire paths” in order to create a community that offers a “low friction” environment – a place that feels authentic, vital and relavant to our members and naturally intersects with what they are experiencing and intersecting with in their real life.

By using this approach most of the groups, programs and resources that Real Mama Bears offers grow out connecting and observing the community and listening to the conversations that are taking place there. This approach also allows our community to evolve over time because what the community needed most 10 years ago is different than what mostly need today.

The bottom line is meeting our members where they are and offering them what they need.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.realmamabears.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realmamabears/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealMamaBears/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MamaBearsRock
• Youtube: youtube.com/@RealMamaBears