By Kathy Chouteau
Richmond resident and all-round mom worker bee, Viviana Millan-Alioto, is currently in second place as a Group Finalist for the “Super Mom” online competition. The winner of the Super Mom title will receive a two-page feature in Woman’s World magazine, $20,000, plus a weekend getaway to Palm Springs, CA.
The Super Mom competition seeks one “extraordinary woman” to become Super Mom 2023. Voting for Group Finalists—which includes Millan-Alioto—ends this Thurs., May 11 at 7 p.m. PDT. The Finals begin June 2-8, with the Grand Prize winner being announced on or around June 15.
“I am second place in my group, I must be in first place this Thursday in order to continue to the quarterfinals,” Millan-Alioto told the Richmond Standard. “I would love to get local support…If I were to win, I would give back to my community and continue to bring greatness to the families that I serve.”
The Belding Woods mom came upon the competition online, and after doing some research, decided to give it a go. “I submitted my application and left the rest to God,” she said.
If anyone has earned the esteemed title of “Super Mom,” it’s Millan-Alioto, who juggles multiple roles as a partner, mother, caregiver and preschool teacher in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD).
Along with her fiancé, Mark Parker—who also works for the WCCUSD—Millan-Alioto has what she calls a “combination family of eight” including themselves and six children ranging in age from four to 16 years old. “When we first met, I had one boy and he had four boys, then together we had our last child, a girl.” She said that their family is “very neurodiverse,” which makes her a “fulltime advocate for my children’s rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education.”
In her professional life, Millan-Alioto works at the Dover Elementary School site and is part of the Cameron School Special Education Team as a Special Education teacher. She has worked for the WCCUSD since 2016 and earned her masters from San Jose State University while teaching and helping support local families. Early on during her time with the district, Millan-Alioto said she subbed at Valley View Elementary in a Special Education preschool classroom and “fell in love with the work involved in supporting families and children who are neurodiverse.” Separate from her current work, she also studied Classical voice for 18 years.
When she’s not busy being a mom and working with Special Education preschoolers, Millan-Alioto takes care of her father-in-law, who is battling CMML leukemia and is undergoing treatment at the Comprehensive Cancer Center: Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley. Millan-Alioto and Parker take turns driving him to his chemo treatments and appointments and have also welcomed him into their home. “He is an important part of our family unit; we love him very much,” she said.
So what would Millan-Alioto do with her winnings is she earns the title of Super Mom? She said that she often hears how families “need more connection to other families” but that they often don’t feel comfortable accessing extracurricular classes for their children that neurotypical families take for granted—such as a dance class, cooking class or a swim class.
“I want to use the monies from the competition to start to create a space where parents can bring their children to learn how to create together,” she said. One thought is to create an industrial kitchen where parents can help train their children to learn job/life skills, create a product—such as fresh pasta—and have fun in a judgment-free space, she added.
“I want to deeply give back to my community and help empower and create family networking” said the Super Mom Group Finalist.
Supporters of Millan-Alioto can either vote for free or by donation, benefitting the Children’s Miracle Network. The Super Mom is competition is operated by Colossal.org as part of a fundraising effort for DTCare, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, per contest organizers. While DTCare runs the competition, Children’s Miracle Network focuses on fulfilling its mission.
Remember, to vote for Viviana Millan-Alioto, while also optionally supporting the Children’s Miracle Network, click here.
