Family: My husband, Anthony Santella; and our daughter, Olivia, who is 17 months old.

How did you meet your husband? We met through a friend in common at a beach in Norwalk.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We moved here a week before Olivia was born. It was a little chaotic, having a full belly [laughs], and then a newborn while organizing the house, but we love our neighbors and our house is beautiful. My husband grew up in Newtown, so we wanted to move back here. We wanted Olivia to experience the same, growing up in this town. His parents are still here and his brother and his family are in Southbury.

Are you an active member of any clubs, organizations, and/or communities of faith? I am the ambassador of Mom Walk Collective-Newtown. I started this in November last year. I decided to become an ambassador because I am new in town, and I didn’t know many moms around. I also grew up in another country, in Colombia, and after post-partum, I didn’t know where to go, how to meet moms. I went to a walk hosted by the Moms Walk Fairfield, and I saw how organized it was. I started digging and saw that I could become an ambassador for the town.

The Moms Walk was created by a mom in California who was divorced, a single mom, who had a really difficult post-partum. She decided to put online, “Who wants to go grab coffee and go for a walk?” and now it has become a nonprofit company with groups around the whole country, walking and meeting moms. I thought that was awesome, and something for myself to get out of the house. My daughter also gets to know other kids, and have that social environment. I actually met one of my neighbors that I didn’t have a clue about. Now we have playdates, and I don’t know if I would have met her if it wasn’t for this group.

After doing this group I’ve realized we are all in the same boat. We all have similar challenges. There are so many moms in town that are new to the town, or they just don’t have friends who are on the same page. The main purpose of this group is to create community, a village, and to raise the next generation together. The moms get some fresh air, and talk with another adult. I always try to plan events during the week and on weekends so that the different moms are able to go whether they’re home or working. We all adjust to the different activities.

I’m also Catholic and I sometimes to find it really challenging to attend church, so we attend online. We baptized Olivia at St Rose.

What do you like to do with your free time? I like to cook. I like to meet with friends and my siblings. I like to do Pilates. I try to do that Sunday mornings, and my husband will help with Olivia. As a family we like to go hiking on the trails around, we like to go to dinners, and the breweries, and I like to walk. Our neighborhood has dead ends, so we always walk right around there.

Do you have a favorite podcast? My favorite, which is in Spanish, is The Club of the Chaos, which talks about motherhood with specialists, and a lot of topics.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Being a mom. I feel like I’m reborn, being a mom. I am seeing life through her eyes and it’s the best thing to happen to me. Even through challenges, it’s beautiful being a mom.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? Home, Colombia. We always try to travel at least once a year. I grew up there, and moved to this country when I was 23 years old. It’s been 11 years and it’s always so good to get back and see my family. My mom comes from ten siblings, so I have a huge family back there. I have 23 cousins, and Olivia already has seven cousins, so that is something I love and enjoy, and my husband loves Colombia as well. I love to show him where I grew up, and what a beautiful country it is.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? I love that it is so calm and quiet. Where I grew up in Colombia is like Queens in New York — it’s loud and chaotic. I love being surrounded by nature here, and people are so kind and so welcoming. We love our neighborhood, and of course being so close to my husband’s family.