Meet the Moms
Tu Nidito’s 2022 Class of Remarkable Moms!
What is a Remarkable Mom?
A Tu Nidito Remarkable Mom is someone whose life and community contributions speak to the heart of Tu Nidito’s mission. Each year, a select group of mothers are celebrated among friends and family at Tu Nidito’s signature fundraising gala, The Remarkable Celebration, which raises essential funds to help ensure that no child grieves alone. As our community navigates unprecedented grief, Tu Nidito is able to serve and support Southern Arizona’s grieving children and families, thanks to the generosity of our REMARKABLE community.
This year, Tu Nidito continues its traditional Remarkable Celebration, bringing people together to celebrate Tu Nidito and Remarkable Moms from our community.
The Remarkable Celebration: All You Need is Love is taking place Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Tucson Country Club, featuring dinner, dancing, entertainment, silent auction, special tributes, and of course, honoring of Tu Nidito’s 2022 Remarkable Moms, whose lives and community contributions speak to the heart of Tu Nidito’s mission and vision of ensuring no child grieves alone.
See our full list of event sponsors here.
Without further ado, meet this year's Remarkable Mom Honorees!
Cristina Baena
Born and raised in Colombia, Cristina came to the United States at the age of 17 to learn English and eventually play collegiate golf for the University of Arizona. Today she and her two children Benjamin, 12, and Daniela, 9, are proud to call Tucson home. Never forgetting her roots and experiences growing up in a country devastated by war and turmoil, Cristina places exceptional value on helping others and giving back to our Tucson community; something she models for her children through dedicated volunteer work with organizations including Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, EasterSeals Blake Foundation, San Miguel High School, the American Heart Association and First Tee of Tucson. Citing motherhood as the most rewarding job of her life, Cristina has managed to balance an incredibly successful career; working her way up as the Partner and President of Employee Benefits division at Crest Insurance, where she leads a team of 65 of professionals across multiple states, many of whom benefit from Cristina’s passion to mentor, support and advocate on behalf of working mothers who are pursuing their careers, while never losing sight of their jobs as mothers. Through it all – motherhood, volunteering, and her professional career, Cristina always remains focused on following-through with her ultimate goal: helping others.
Make a donation to Tu Nidito in celebration of Cristina here.
Adiba Nelson
From an early age, Adiba’s mother told her that life is what you make it, a mantra that continues fueling her aspirations as a community advocate, published author and writer, performer, and as a mother to her daughter, Emory. Full of sass, spunk, beauty, and humor, 12-year-old Emory also has a rare form of cerebral palsy that makes it difficult to do things like walk, speak, brush her teeth and get dressed in the morning. As a single mom, Adiba spends much of her time ensuring that Emory has everything she needs. Whether it’s driving her to therapy appointments, helping her in and out of her wheelchair, advocating for her health needs, or making sure she has the coolest new hair and shoes for the first day of school, Adiba makes it happen. Every day she leans into her mantra “life is what you make it” by choosing courage, faith, and resilience and showing up every day as her authentic self, with determination to make the world a better place for Emory and the global disabled community. So much so, that when she realized there weren’t any children’s books where Emory could see herself in the stories, Adiba wrote and published her first book, Meet Clarabelle Blue, and she has worked tirelessly to get it out into the world. Her second book, “Ain’t That A Mother” is currently available for pre-order, and will be available everywhere books are sold on May 3, 2022. Adiba is an amazing mother and advocate for Emory, and a remarkable advocate for all children in our community who need to be seen and heard!
Make a donation to Tu Nidito in celebration of Adiba here.
Beth Justice Cole
Together, Beth and her husband John have raised their blended family of six sons: Shawn, Dustin, Ben, Wes, Kyle and David. Loving and embracing every crazy, messy, noisy second of motherhood, Beth cites no greater joy in life than being a mom. Once their children were grown up and out of the house, Beth began volunteering with Tu Nidito where she credits learning great lessons about humanity, humility and grace; lessons that served as a catalyst for her obtaining both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. Beth credits Tu Nidito for shaping her professional career as a social worker, a career that has provided her with the opportunity to give back and support so many individuals in our community. Recently retired, Beth now enjoys her full-time role as Nana to 15 grandchildren, embracing “mom” and “nana” as the two sweetest words she ever hears. Always keeping her family close to heart, Beth is the catalyst for starting an annual family tradition of adopting a family each Christmas in memory of her grandson, Sebastian, who died in 2014 in a tragic car accident. “This annual tradition is both a nod to the loss of our grandson, and an affirmation to the hope, faith, and healing that is possible,” Beth shares.
Make a donation to Tu Nidito in celebration of Beth here.
Beverley Tidwell
Beverley grew up on a dairy farm in the north of New Zealand. After becoming a registered nurse, she followed her aspirations to travel the world and left on a sailboat, and eventually arrived in the United States where she met her husband Stephen. Together they found their way to Southern Arizona to live closer to family and raise five children: Amy, William, Kevina, Brendan, and Alana. As a young family, they encountered what Beverley refers to as “circumcision of the heart” – when their 4-year-old son William was diagnosed with a brain tumor, setting in motion life-changing trials for their entire family. With his family by his side, William ensued a 7-year battle with cancer, including cranial surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and eventually palliative care, until he died at the age of 11. Seeking bereavement support, Beverley and family found support at Tu Nidito, a community of people who walked the road before and beside them. Loved deeply by his family, William’s loss is still genuinely felt in the Tidwell family, but Beverley has made it her personal mission to make life better for families whose children have cancer through her work as Executive Director of Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona. To this day, there are very few children in our community who have been diagnosed with cancer whose lives have not been touched by Beverley.
Make a donation to Tu Nidito in celebration of Beverley here.
Anita Rubio
For Anita, it’s always been in her heart to find something to be grateful for, even during life’s most challenging moments. For Anita, she is grateful for the gift of motherhood and watching her children Carys (15), Daniel (13) and Kyndra (10) grow into unique individuals. Likewise, seeing them come out of difficult times in a way where they thrive, has been one of the biggest challenges of motherhood, especially watching them endure heartbreak after their father died by suicide in 2019. Seeking out support for her children, Anita found Tu Nidito’s bereavement support groups for her family. Although she was hesitant to participate, Anita was determined to get her children the help they needed after such a traumatic loss. Before long, Anita became a dedicated participant, finding comfort and support during the darkest of day and over time, has become a beacon of hope to all new parents and caregivers who have walked through Tu Nidito’s doors. Having found strength from other grieving parents, especially other suicide survivors, Anita has made it a personal mission to help destigmatize suicide by helping to foster a safe, judgment-free space for her kids and many others in the community who are grieving a suicide death. Today, Anita can acknowledge that while life can be brutally hard, and sometimes really ugly, she has come to understand that there is deeper meaning behind it all; including hope that her children will continue finding the many things in life they have to be grateful for, most notably, each other.
Make a donation to Tu Nidito in celebration of Anita here.