We are SO CLOSE to announcing our INA Nanny of the Year™ for 2021.” Our new NOTY™ will be announced on May 22, 2021 during our 2021 INA Awards Ceremony. This will be viewable on Facebook Live at 11:00 AM EST and available on YouTube following the event.
The INA Nanny of The Year™ Selection Process is performed by a new, unique, and separate group of people each year. The panel has five individuals within the nanny industry who are familiar with the INA and the industry.
The NOTY™ Committee sought a group of three business professionals and two experienced caregivers. The five individuals chosen would numerically evaluate each of the NOTY™ Nominees without knowing anything about their identity until the very end. They did this work individually rather than as a group. The average of the five evaluations will determine who will be the 2021 Nanny of the Year™.
We are so thankful for each of these volunteers and the significant time and passionate support they have given to this process. Let us introduce you to the 2021 NOTY™ Selection Panel:
Let us introduce you to the 2021 NOTY Selection Committee:
La Quinsa (aka Q) is a Cache Certified and Elite Newborn Care Specialist, Child Passenger Safety Technician, Certified Babywearing Consultant, and Holistic Sleep Consultant. Q enjoys empowering and educating new and growing families, offering them holistic and evidence based support.
Over the years, she has found her passions in life are caring for babies, supporting postpartum families, traveling extensively, eco-friendly/plant based practices, and continuing education. Q has worked with multiples, including twins and triplets, and specializes in working in staffed, high net worth and High Profile homes. When she isn’t dedicating time to her clients, Q still tries to give back to the community by volunteering her time, providing hands-on or virtual assistance with caregivers.
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, human resources professional, licensed private investigator, and HR consultant. In 1999, he created Imperative to bring high-quality, high tech, and high-touch to the employment background screening market. Today, Imperative serves hundreds of businesses across the U.S. and, through its PFC Caregiver Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.
Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence by Fort Worth, Inc. magazine and has twice been named HR Professional of the Year. Additionally, Imperative is included in the prestigious Best Places to Work lists for both Fort Worth and Texas and was named the Texas State Chamber of Commerce’s small business of the year.
Mike maintains his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute. He is also an SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Mike lives in Fort Worth with his very patient wife and they are one high-school graduation or juvenile court sentencing away from being empty nesters. He maintains his sanity by practicing yoga and improv comedy, often unintentionally at the same time.
Louise Dunham is the CEO of Placement Solutions, a niche recruitment firm specialising in In-Home Childcare (also known as Nannies). Louise established this business in 1988.
She is the 2016 author of The State of The Nanny. Louise sat on the Senate Steering Committee that wrote the Interim In-Home Care Standards in 2007, which are used to set quality guidelines within the Australian In-Home Childcare Sector. In 2001 Placement Solutions became an inaugural provider of the Department of Education approved In-home care scheme that offers childcare rebates to eligible families.
In 2011 Louise set up Just Family Nanny Payroll Services Pty. Ltd. to cater for parents who wish to employ their Nannies, access payroll company advice, and have advice on all legal employment responsibilities.
From 2012 until 2017 Louise sat on the INA board, the first non-American and hence first Australian to be on this 35-year-old Board. She held several positions on this Board and served as the Vice President and the Chair of the Ethics Committee and Assistant Treasurer as well as contributing her many years experience within this industry to better regulate the profession.
Louise is a past VP of the Australian Home Childcare Association Inc. (AHCA) Board. AHCA remains the peak body for the in-home childcare sector aka nanny sector in Australia. Louise and Placement Solutions are proud to have invited Sue Downey of Nanny Palooza to Australia in 2016. They were the organisers and major sponsor for the ground-breaking conference NannyPalooza Oz.
In 2018 Louise was honoured to receive two APNA (Association of Premier Nanny Agencies) awards, Agency Excellence and a Lifetime Achievement Award. This is the first time that two awards have been won by one company in the same year and the first time that a Non-American Agency has won. In 2020 Placement Solutions was licensed to provide in-home childcare in Tasmania. Louise accepted a position on the Editorial Board of the Boston based Nanny Magazine.
Lauren Holgate is a former nanny with over 15 years professional experience. Her knowledge and expertise in the nanny industry has not only been gained in the Netherlands but worldwide; working and living in major cities such as London, New York and more recently in Amsterdam. Lauren is passionate about raising the standards in the nanny industry for the benefit of the families, the nannies, and the children. Her nanny career has varied from full-time nannying, to working as night nanny, travel nanny, family assistant, and household manager. In 2018 Lauren founded Holgate Nannies agency, based in Amsterdam placing nannies across the Netherlands and Europe.
Cynthia Wilkinson has been weaving together her passions and talents in the arts with her nanny career, for over four decades. As a nanny, she has served families in Colorado, Connecticut, and California. Currently, she is caring for two young children in the Denver area.
One of her specialty areas as a nanny has been serving multicultural families, caring for children newly adopted from China, and assisting with their transition to this country, both emotionally and through focusing on their speech and language development. Another area of expertise has been fostering creativity in each of her charges.
In addition to caring for children, Cynthia is also an accomplished musician and recording artist. Her children’s CDs include Jumpin’ Up to the Moon and Jumpin’ On Down the Road. She has served as an educator with arts organizations such as the Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. In 2009, she began her Jumpin’ With Cindy Music Blog for parents, educators, and nannies, with a focus on arts education for children.
Her involvement in the INA includes serving on the board of directors from 1993-1997, where she chaired the Membership Committee. Since that time, she has served on numerous INA committees, as a workshop presenter for INA conferences, and written for INA’s INAVision. In 1998, Cynthia was chosen as the INA Nanny of the Year. And in 2019, she was awarded her 40-year Harriette Grant Service Pin Award.