Irina Gonzalez is an editor and freelance writer covering parenting, recovery, and Latinx culture. She is also the creator and host of the Pandemic Mama podcast, which brings you honest conversations about having a baby during COVID-19 times. Her work has appeared in over 50 publications, including The Washington Post, OprahMag.com, Parents, and more. She is based in Florida, where she lives with her husband, brand new baby boy, and their fur babies.
Want to get in touch? Email Irina.
Extended Bio
Irina Gonzalez is an editor and freelance writer with over 15 years of experience in digital women’s lifestyle publications, including Latina magazine, SheKnows, Family Circle, MamásLatinas from Cafe Mom, Brit+Co, Blavity’s 21Ninety, and more.
She is currently the Content Marketing Manager at Tempest (a membership program that empowers you to live alcohol-free) and former Managing Editor at The Temper (which explores life through the lens of sobriety, addiction, and recovery). Plus, she is a freelance writer covering parenting, recovery, and Latinx culture. She has been published in over 50 publications, including The Washington Post, O! The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Parents, Marie Claire, Prevention, Women’s Health, Healthline, INSIDER, Mom.com, Cafe Mom, The Kitchn, them., Good Housekeeping and more.
You can find the latest news and updates under her writer’s blog and some of her favorite published clips above as well. She mostly writes about parenting, recovery, and Latinx culture. But her real specialty is taking a difficult or taboo topic and turning it into an engaging story or personal essay — and she’s written over 100 essays!
Beyond that, Irina used to spend most of her free time working on her memoir, Moscow Chica: How Growing Up Russian and Cuban Made Me an American but progress is on pause for now — but now she’s hard at work on her podcast, Pandemic Mama, which brings you honest conversations about having a baby during COVID-19 times. She is based in Florida, where she lives with her husband, brand new baby boy, and their fur babies.
For more information and to get in touch, you can download Irina’s resume here or simply email her. Want more? Follow Irina on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest!
More About Irina
I was born in Moscow to a Russian mom and Cuban dad. When I was eight years old, my family moved to the U.S. and settled in Southwest Florida. But I dreamed of living in a big city, so I set my sights on New York City.
My love of writing began in the 5th grade, when I won a county-wide contest for my essay titled “How My Cat Makes My House a Home.” But it wasn’t until a bit later that I would hit my stride and fall in love with journalism. After high school, I attended New York University, where I double majored in Journalism and Dramatic Literature and received my cum laude Bachelor of Arts in May 2007. After graduating, I also completed a Digital Journalism Certificate from Media Bistro, and have taken several recreational writing, photography, and cooking classes.
During college, I interned at magazines like Latina, Good Housekeeping, and People. I have worked at InStyle, Family Circle, as a Staff Writer at MamásLatinas, and the Digital Audience Development Manager at Latina Media Ventures (publishers of Latina magazine, Latina.com, and The Latin Kitchen). I was the Food Editor at SheKnows, a Freelance Editor at Brit+Co, and News Editor at 21Ninety. Currently, I’m the Managing Editor at The Temper — which explores life through the lens of sobriety, addiction, and recovery — and a freelance writer who specializes in taking a difficult or taboo topic and turning it into an engaging story or personal essay. As an editor and freelance writer, I primarily cover sobriety, parenting, and Latinx culture.
If you’re interested in finding out more about my work experience or reading some of my best-published articles, take a look at my writing clips.
Although I love all kinds of writing, my personal experience drives me to (mostly) focus on food and health. My passion for food, nutrition, and wellness started after I lost 100 pounds and gained a love of veggies. From there, I enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, where I completed a certificate in holistic health coaching and have since used that knowledge to inform my writing (and personal life). It can still be a daily struggle to maintain my weight loss and feel confident about myself, but I’m happy and proud to be where I am today.
In 2016, I turned 30 and decided that it was time to re-focus my life and do something I’ve only previously dreamed about: become a full-time freelance writer. To do that, I left NYC after almost 12 happy years and settled back in Southwest Florida. Shortly after, I met the love of my life and also started to seriously work on my memoir (tentatively titled Moscow Chica) about how growing up Cuban and Russian made me an American. However, work on the memoir is paused for now.
Then, in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, I was almost 37 weeks pregnant. The experience of giving birth as the world shut down has been one that changed me completely, which is why I have created the Pandemic Mama podcast. Since then, I have connected with so many pandemic parents and I know deep down how scared, anxious, and isolated we all feel. That’s why I have started my podcast, which brings you honest conversations about having a baby during COVID-19 times. My goal is to help us all feel less alone, and know that we will get through this together.
When I’m not working, you can probably find me cuddling with the loves of my life: My husband Adam, our new baby Rio, and our attention-loving pets, Moose the Border Collie, Daenerys Stormborn (Dany for short) the kitty, and Lafayette (Laffy for short) the brand-new-kitten.