After taking three years off to take care of her newborn daughter, Laura Nix Gerson tried to return to the workforce in 2010. But the former marketer and events planner found it wasn’t as easy as writing up a new cover letter.

“I realized it was very challenging to build a new business network, to find the right people to meet with, to talk with, about going back to work,” she said. “It’s challenging for so many moms to figure out. What are the steps?”

She has turned these questions into a new career, launching a popular blog, MomAngeles, which addresses some of those issues. Now, Gerson is taking things a step further: She’s created MomFair, billed as the first mom-only job fair in Los Angeles and set to take over the DoubleTree Hotel in Culver City on Thursday.

The event will feature panels and guest speakers as well as recruiting firms and direct-sales companies available to speak to mothers looking to rejoin the labor pool.

Janis Adams, chief executive of Santa Monica tutoring company Academic Achievers, will be at the fair looking to hire part-time tutors for students from 3 to 18 years of age. She said about one-third of the company’s 56 part-time tutors are moms and she wants to add more.

“We work with a more selective clientele,” Adams said. “We don’t want tutors who are undergraduates. To find someone that is qualified and is comfortable working one on one with children – moms are often the answer.”

Gerson plans to organize six more MomFairs around the country, including in Orange County and Atlanta.

“There are no easy answers. We’re not proposing we have them but we want to provide access to as many resources as possible,” she said.

– Alfred Lee