THE HISTORY OF MDAH

Minnesota Dads At Home Inc. began in 1997 when founder Mark Abraham went in search of other stay at home Dads in the Twin Cities. He found no other stay home Dads let alone any kind of organizations. After a national search that bounced phone calls from South Carolina to California, Abraham learned of the "First Annual At Home Dads Convention" in Des Plaines, Ill. Rushed but fortunate timing gave Abraham one week to prepare for the trip to Illinois where he met 50 other AHD’s from across the country.

Upon his return, Abraham, a former regional Director for Habitat for Humanity, set about building a network of AHD’s in the Twin Cities. An article in the February 1997 issue of Minnesota Parent helped start the ball rolling and get the word out. Dads popped out of the woodwork and MDAH grew quickly.

Special thanks go to founding MDAH Dads such as Abraham, Peter Hohs, Bob Schaettle, Chuck Strinz, Joe Lombardi, John Andrew, Steve Francken and more who helped pioneer the early years of MDAH. And to Chris Stafford, original founder of slowlane.com, and his successor, Jay Massey, for hosting the MDAH web site for many years.

Years later to the present, MDAH has enjoyed a variety of media attention and is organized by a loose knit but dedicated board that continues to serve at home Dads around the Twin Cities and is now reaching out to greater Minnesota. As always, it is a commitment to their families that unites the Dads of MDAH.