Voting for our 2021 – 2023 INA Board of Directors will begin on April 6, 2021, and before our Members vote, we would like you to get to know them. Today we are getting to know Margaret Macfarlane.
Austin Macfarlane: Austin is a dedicated, loving, passionate professional who really focuses on getting involved in projects she truly cares about. She lives by the saying “love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Over the last 10 years she launched My Girl Friday in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Her team at My Girl Friday is close knit, loving, passionate about the betterment of the nanny industry, and they love finding amazing fits for both nannies and families. Helping create wonderful relationships is at the center of their focus.
She and her partner also have a kombucha brewery out of Cary, North Carolina—Tribucha Kombucha. She and Adrian have worked together to raise sizable capital for the brewery and have put a huge emphasis on company culture, health, and wellness. In 2020, she helped launch the Nanny Relief Fund, which quickly raised almost $100,000 for nannies in need. She assisted with building out secure systems that allowed the team to get this money into the nanny community’s hands as quickly, thoroughly, and fairly as possible. She loves working with this dynamic team and has developed a passion for the ins and outs of nonprofit life.
In her spare time, she loves to hike, kayak, and be on the water in any capacity she can. She also has a love for traveling! She’s a dog mom and enjoys spending time with Arlo, her pup. She loves to garden and cook with her veggies and herbs. She appreciates the meditative nature of cooking intricate meals and can oftentimes be found in the kitchen making amazing dishes from scratch. She loves learning from and connecting with other human beings. She’s addicted to Audible and just recently jumped into Clubhouse!
When completing their application, they provided us with the following information.
Q: Have ever served on an INA Committee or supported the INA through any type of service?
A: No, 2020 was to be my first year!
Q: What Skills do you feel you possess that would help serve the INA?
A: Content writing, organization, systems and flow expertise, finance expertise, advertising expertise, connections with legal and management of legal teams and expectations, fundraising experience (I’ve helped raise $2 million in funding for one of our companies + helped raise around $100,000 for Nanny Relief Fund in 2020), management consulting experience. I’m also passionate about the things I care about and hope I can help put this passion to good use within this organization.
Q: What committees are you interested in being involved with?
A: Conference Workshops, Conference Endowment and Grant, Exam Development, Newborn Care Specialist, Marketing and Promotions, Diversity, Ambassador Program, Business Membership Support, Caregiver Mentor, Membership, Nanny of the Year, Governmental Affairs
Q: What do you feel is the most important contribution you can make to the INA Board of Directors?
A: Hmm… vision, execution, and helping with evolving the INA towards the “New INA” I seem to be hearing more and more about. 🙂 I also think I can help improve some content on the website, fix some broken code, etc… I can put energy into projects already being incubated and help come up with fun new projects to explore.
Q: Why do you want to be on the INA Board of Directors?
A: I love this industry and have enjoyed running my agency but appreciate the outlet that Nanny Relief Fund provides for actually helping evolve the industry as a whole—in deeply meaningful ways. I feel INA is working towards the same mission NRF is– helping the nannies achieve fulfillment, success, and balance within their professional lives and personal lives.
I’m also a workhorse type 3 enneagram and I will grind, grind, grind. It’s in my nature to put a lot of energy and passion into my work and projects. My CliftonStrengths are balanced between Relationship Strengths, Execution Strengths, Influence, and Strategy, which has served me well in my personal and professional life. I love to thoughtfully get things done, work on a team, and really enjoy raising funding for the projects I am involved with. I also love social media and content writing and enjoy helping with that with all the projects I am involved in.