International Nanny Association Conference Speakers … 20 Reasons You Should Attend

Myrna Alphonse, MA/NCC

Press Pause for Extended Play: How Fast Forwarding Early Childhood Education Is Indeed Leaving American Children Behind

Myrna Alphonse is a practicing mental health counselor in Washington, D.C., and has been a career nanny and parenting consultant for more than 21 years. Myrna assists individuals and families in crisis by helping bring calm to the chaos in their lives.

Sue Downey

Mobilizing Nannies in Your Community and Beyond
It Takes a Village: A Lively Discussion of How All Players of the In-Home Child Care Industry Connect

Sue Downey has been a professional nanny for over 18 years and has worked with a wide range of families, including those who have adopted and those who have had multiples. Sue has a passion for connecting, supporting and empowering nannies and feeds that passion by organizing Nannypalooza, an annual conference that brings over 100 nannies together for a weekend of professional development and fun. Sue has also developed the companion website, nannypalooza.com that provides webinars, resources, support and networking opportunities for nannies. In 2010, Sue organized Nannies Across America, a nationwide virtual conference that reached over 500 nannies in 14 cities with educational and networking events. Sue currently resides in Philadelphia, PA where she is a full-time nanny for a 1-year-old girl.  This position was secured after an intensive job search using local and national agencies and online recruiting sites and resources following a 10-year tenure with her last family.

Luz (Lucy) Garza, MS Psych

Love and Logic: Show kids you can handle them without breaking a sweat!

Luz Garza was an elementary school counselor and after-school program director in the Sunnyside School District in Washington State for seven years before moving to Nevada in 2006. Luz served on several committees for the improvement of education and services in her community and the state. She has been a part-time trainer/consultant in the Love and Logic program for over 10 years and enjoys working with families and children. Luz is currently a visiting professor at DeVry University in Henderson, NV, travels the world as a part-time nanny and is an instructor of the Zumba Fitness program. Luz is also a Ph.D. student working toward a degree in psychology and would like to contribute to the research on women’s issues, multicultural issues and the family.

Kellie Geres

Expanding Your Role in the Household
The Nanny View

Kellie Geres is an industry leader with over 20 years of experience as a household employee. Kellie has severed on the INA board of directors for over 10 years in numerous positions, and in 1997, she was named INA Nanny of the Year. Kellie is the current president of the Association of D.C. Area Nannies (ADCAN) and is on the development team of Regarding Nannies. Kellie is the owner of Nanny Island and regularly blogs at www.nannygroups.com, www.AllThingsNanny.com andwww.NNRW.org. Kellie is a household manager/personal assistant to a busy family with two teenagers and a dog named Riley in the Washington, D.C., area.

Kathy Gruhn, MA, CCC-SLP

Games, Rhythms and Signs: Quality Time Activities That Can Make Your Child Smarter!

Kathy Thorson Gruhn has 35 years of child development experience. Kathy is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), holding both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech and language pathology. She gained her clinical expertise by working with children as well as adults with a full spectrum of communication disorders.

One of Kathy’s most rewarding experiences was working for United Cerebral Palsy in an inclusive child development center which was composed equally of children with normal development and those with delayed development. She provided therapy in the classroom and facilitated educational, nurturing relationships between parents and their children, which inspired her ideas for My Baby Compass. Her down-to-earth, approachable style makes this program accessible for all parents and caregivers. Kathy and her husband live on a farm in Weddington, N.C., where she is completing the My Baby Compass series.

Marcia Hall

Families in Crisis – What Is the Role of a Nanny in the Family During Difficult Times?
The Nanny View

Since 1996, Marcia Hall has been working with children and families as a Certified Professional Nanny and an ACPI Certified Coach for Families. Marcia is a graduate of the English Nanny and Governess School and is an INA Credentialed Nanny. In 2011 she was named INA’s Nanny of the Year. Marcia is an advocate for children in every area of her life serving as a children’s ministry director, a “Big” with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program and as a foster parent.

Marcia has extensive experience working with families who have children aged newborn through teen. Marcia launched Strong Roots Family Coaching because she believes that all children are born with great potential. She’s passionate about empowering parents to find the best ways to support, encourage and nurture their children as they build a deeper connection.

Marcia supports families in her community and around the country through workshops, one on one coaching and through her writing. She writes weekly for a blog called YOUR Parenting Questions as well as many other websites and blogs. Her first book, “Parenting Responsively,” co-written with 11 other ACPI Parent Coaches, was released in 2011.

Marcia and her husband Scott, reside in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with their 2-year-old daughter Nadia, whom they adopted days after birth. They are in the process of adopting their second child. Marcia is currently a full-time nanny in Mequon, Wisconsin for a 5-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. She is fortunate to be able to bring her 3-year-old daughter with her.

Brandi Hylton

It Takes a Village: A Lively Discussion of How All Players of the In-Home Child Care Industry Connect

For the past 10 years, Brandi Hylton has been a dedicated professional nanny in Leawood, Kansas.  Her wide range of child care experiences include caring for children ages newborn to ten. Brandi is an INA Credentialed Nanny and passed the INA Credential Exam in May 2011 at the INA Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida. Brandi enjoys freelance writing for Regarding Nannies and taking professional development classes.  After a two month job search using her local agency and word of mouth network, Brandi accepted a position as a live-out nanny for one child in Kansas.  As a component of her job description, she works as a live-in nanny for the family in their Arizona home three months out of the year.

Cindy Horgan

What Our Boys Need
Staying Connected to Our Middle School Child When They Need Us Most

Since 2004, Cindy Horgan has served as the Family Support Coordinator for Cape Cod Children’s Place She also co-founded the Parenting Station, more than 12 years ago. Cindy completed a graduate certificate in parenting education form Wheelock College in 2000 and is slated to finish her master’s program in educational systems there in the spring of 2012. Cindy has created and presented parenting and professional development workshops throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island and is the recipient of the 2008 Children’s Trust Fund Emerging Leader Award for Massachusetts. Cindy is also a 2009 Schott/Cayl Fellow and created the DVD series “Raising Healthy Families.” Cindy is trained in several parenting curriculums, has taught preschool for five years and specializes in working with teen parents and fathering groups. Cindy, with her husband, Dan, of 27 years, are in the process of parenting their five children ranging in age from 24-18.

Becky Kavanagh

The Nanny View

Becky Kavanagh has been a professional nanny/household manager for more than 21 years. In 1998, Becky was the recipient of the Parents Magazine Child Care Award, which honors outstanding child care providers and advocates. In 2006, Becky was chosen as INA’s Nanny of the Year. Becky currently serves on the INA Board of Directors as co-president. Becky has been a member of INA since 1989, having served as a past INA president, newsletter editor and publications committee chair. In 2010, Becky received the Harriette Grant Service Award Pin for 20 years of service in the in-home child care industry. An INA Credentialed Nanny, Becky also has an associate’s degree in early childhood education with an infant/toddler specialty certification and is a certified parent coach. Becky has been a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children for more than 25 years. She is a charter member of her local nanny support group, Twin Cities Professional Nannies, and serves as the current secretary. Becky is an avid blogger, public speaker and Girl Scout training volunteer.

Deborah McNelis, M.S.Ed

Sibling Rivalry

Deborah is an author, speaker, educator and parent. Her passion is to achieve the best possible outcome for all children and make brain development common knowledge. As an early brain development specialist and owner of Brain Insights, Deborah is the award winning author of “The Brain Development Series.” She has been seen in several publications, heard on numerous radio shows, and receives rave reviews for her enlightening and engaging presentations. Deborah is overjoyed with the response to all that her company provides due to her passion to create awareness of the critical importance of the early years.

In addition to the brain series, she has also created a brain packet called Naturally Developing Young Brains. Deborah has additionally created a valuable newsletter, the Early Childhood Brain Insights blog, and the BRAIN Initiative. Her goal through this work is for everyone to gain an understanding of early brain development, its impact, and the ways we can all easily make a REAL difference.

Glenda Propst

Gentle Transitions
The Nanny View

Glenda is a founding member of INA, co-founder of the National Association of Nannies and in 1991 she was named INA’s Nanny of the Year. In 1998, Glenda developed the Nanny Transitions workshop to support nannies as they process the grief that comes along with leaving a family. In 2010, Glenda created the INA Service Award Pin Program, which she continues to chair.

Glenda has over 27 years of professional nanny experience, 18 of them with her current family. Glenda currently serves as a development team member of Regarding Nannies, www.RegardingNannies.com.

Greta Schraer

The Nanny View

Greta Schraer has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in theology. She began her nanny career in 1992, working as a full-time, part-time, temporary and summer nanny over those years. As a nanny in the Cincinnati area, Greta found that there was a need for the nannies in the area to feel connected and so she began CincyNanny, a website and blog giving the local nannies their own community and families resources they can use. Greta was the 2010 INA Nanny of the Year and serves on the INA Board of Directors. She also serves on the Regarding Nannies development team.

Greta’s current position is as the part-time nanny of triplet boys. She is also a proud new mom.

Kathleen Webb

The Business Side of Nannying

Kathy Webb co-founded HomeWork Solutions Inc. in 1993. Her business provides payroll and payroll tax services to families who employ nannies, housekeepers, elder care providers and other private service professionals. Kathy and her partner started their business with an idea and a sublet 90-square-foot office. Today her firm employs 15 full-time and 3 part-time employees and assists thousands of families nationwide with their household payroll and “nanny tax” compliance.

Kathy took her company online in 1995 at 4nannytaxes.com. In 1996 she launched NannyNetwork.com, the first searchable national database of nanny placement agencies. The NannyNetwork.com site was the first online nanny industry website to articulate standards and practices in the nanny industry. The site featured the first electronic bulletin board in the industry, which enabled nannies, from their own computers, to network with, problem solve with, and share the joys and sorrows of their jobs with other nannies, other people who “got it.” The site today has between 65K – 80K unique visitors per month, with an average of 6.2 pages viewed by visitor and in a recent industry survey was rated the #1 online resource for nannies.

Kathy believes strongly that families and the nannies they employ have the greatest probability of a successful relationship when there is clear communication and an understanding of the norms and practices in the domestic service industry. She wants families to understand their responsibilities – for reference checking, background checking, and payroll tax compliance. She also wants nannies to be informed and strongly encourages written work agreements to establish the terms and conditions of employment. She has authored numerous articles and is consulted frequently by national media on nanny industry issues.

Kathy is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College and lives with her husband of almost 30 years in Northern Virginia. She is the proud mother of three young adults, mother-in-law to two others and “Grammy” to a beautiful baby girl!

Karen Yatsko

Expanding Your Role in the Household

Karen Yatsko is a past board member of INA, an INA Nanny of the Year nominee and a veteran conference presenter. With over 26 years of nanny experience, Karen currently wears the hat of nanny, household manager and personal assistant for a busy family with two children in Northampton, MA. Karen is an avid photographer and enjoys capturing the beauty around her on film.

Newborn Care Workshop Speakers

Christy Bunting-Hill

Ask the Experts
The Parent Factor

Christy Bunting-Hill, CANCS, CAISC, PD has been birthing balanced homes for families with newborns for 19 years. Christy’s strength is in newborn parent coaching, coaching families through a journey of discovering their new family rhythm when expecting and as baby is brought home. Christy’s ultimate passion is to create confident parents. She asked herself: “How can the intentional processes of developing confident parents be better offered to more parents who are seeking help?” Christy answered her passion by creating a collaborative, relationally directed parenting coaching program for families of newborns. Christy assists over 300 families a year through coaching, nightly care, classes, webinars and blogs. She studied education, psychology and development at Southwestern University and has since received advanced certifications as a newborn care specialist, infant sleep coach and is currently completing her DONA postpartum doula certification.

Cortney Gibson

Ask the Experts
The Baby Business: Ethics, Contracts and Securing Clients
NCS 101: Newborn Care Basics and How to Apply Them on the Job

Cortney Gibson is a newborn care specialist and parent educator. She holds a certificate in newborn care from Alexandria School and is a certified greenproofer and green birth educator.

Cortney owns and operates Gibson Newborn Services, a company dedicated to helping the parents of new babies succeed through education, newborn care and support. GNS offers families the highest level of newborn care, sleep consultations, greenproofing, and exclusive newborn care placement services, available nationwide.

Cortney has been working with families and providing in-home care since 1997. She specializes in the care of preemies and multiples, as well as early sleep teaching and parent education. Cortney has spent over 60,000 hours nurturing babies and caring for young children all over the country.

A long-time supporter of the INA, Cortney has served on the board of directors since 2007 and now serves as secretary. Cortney chairs the NCS committee, mentor program, and plans the newborn care track for the Annual Conference.

Rachel Lawrence

There ‘s a Study About That

Rachel Lawrence was the founder and president of Wilmington Nanny Agency L.LC., a full-service nanny agency in Wilmington, North Carolina from 2005-2010. Her former work with Wilmington Nanny, as well as her position at Gibson Newborn Services, was sparked by her own work as a nanny for more than 10 years in a town with no agency to help families or care providers. It is through this experience that Rachel found her passion for helping families and care providers find the perfect match with one another.

Rachel also believes strongly in an industry standard of excellence, and has therefore been a member of the International Nanny Association since 2005, and has served on the INA Board of Directors, since May of 2009.

She is an avid media contact for our industry in her area, and has contributed to segments on ABC, as well as published articles in: The Star News, INAVision, Be The Best Nanny Newsletter, Wilmington Parent Magazine, Avenue Magazine, Going Green Magazine, and the NANC Gazette.

In 2008 Rachel was awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Coastal Small Business awards, by a partnership of regional and national Small Business Associations.

Tonya Sakowitz

Ask the Experts
Preemie and Newborn Car Seat Safety
Recognizing and Dealing With Food Allergies in Newborns

Tonya Sakowitz is the owner of Nanny Answers, a parent education consulting company and Baby Go Green, a greenproofing and maternity eco-consulting company.  Tonya is a credentialed nanny through the International Nanny Association, where she served as past chair of their nanny to nanny mentoring program. Tonya has also been a speaker at several INA Annual Conferences as well as a speaker for the National Association of Nannies, the Valley Professional Nanny Association and for nanny agencies nationwide. Tonya  is a contributing “expert” for the website Daddy Bluez, a site dedicated to expecting and new dads.

Tonya was voted the Professional Childcare Provider of the Year in 2003 and nominated for the International Nanny Association Nanny of the Year in 2004.  In addition, that same year, she was deeply honored with a nomination by her peers for the National Association of Nannies Harriette Grant Memorial Award.

Tonya has been published in several trade journals and she has appeared in Parents Magazine, Child Magazine, The Seattle Times, The AZ Republic and The Wall Street Journal and INAVision.   Tonya has also made numerous television appearances including news segments in Seattle, Portland and Phoenix as well as an appearance in 2007 on the Today Show for a special on the Masche Miracles (a family with sextuplets).

Dr. Shosh – Shoshana Bennett, Ph.D.

The Darker Side of Motherhood:  Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Shoshana Bennett, Ph.D. (“Dr. Shosh”) from the popular DrShosh.com Radio Show is the author of “Pregnant on Prozac,” “Postpartum Depression For Dummies,” and co-author of “Beyond the Blues: Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression & Anxiety.”  National TV shows including  “20/20” and “The Doctors” feature Dr. Shosh as the postpartum expert and news stations consult her. Several publications including the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News have written articles on Dr. Shosh’s work. She’s interviewed regularly on national radio and has been quoted in dozens of newspapers and magazines such as The Wall Street Journal, WebMD, Boston Globe, Fit Pregnancy, Glamour, Parenting, Psychology Today, New York Post, Self, Cosmopolitan, and the Chicago Tribune.

Dr. Shosh is a pioneer in the field. She is a survivor of two life-threatening, undiagnosed postpartum depressions. She founded Postpartum Assistance for Mothers in 1987, and is a former president of Postpartum Support International. She has helped over 19,000 women worldwide through individual consultations, support groups and wellness seminars.  As a noted guest lecturer and keynote speaker, she travels throughout the US and abroad, training medical and mental health professionals to assess and treat postpartum depression and related mood and anxiety disorders. She earned three teaching credentials, two master’s degrees, a Ph.D., and is licensed as a clinical psychologist. She can be contacted through DrShosh.com.

Carolyn Stulberg, BSN, CCE

NCS 101: Newborn Care Basics and How to Apply Them on the Job
Sores, Cracks, Bleeding, and Painful Breasts! What Is a Newborn Care Specialist to Do?

Carolyn Stulberg founded Alexandria School in 2007 with a passion for teaching high quality in-home child care. With over 30 years of experience in child care education, Carolyn holds an associate’s degree in nursing from Purdue University and a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Skidmore College. She has worked in pediatric wards and neonatal intensive care units of hospitals, and has taught prenatal, postnatal, parenting, grandparenting and breastfeeding classes. She has developed the Alexandria School course for newborn care specialists. A mother of four, grandmother of three, Carolyn is committed to educating and training nannies with a demanding, practical curriculum that positions graduates to be the best in their profession and has presented workshops the past several years at INA Annual Conferences.

Are you interested in attending this year’s INA Annual Conference?  If so please read the article Ways to Save at the 2012 Annual Conference on the great money saving ways to attend this year’s conference  for new members and existing members.