INA Executive Board Member Louise Dunham introduces our 2015 INA Conference Coordinator, Kellie Geres. The article below is adapted from Louise’s agency, Placement Solutions, client newsletter.
Kellie is the conference coordinator of this year’s International Nanny Association (INA) Conference which will celebrate the 30th anniversary of that organisation. She has been involved in the nanny industry for over 25 years, was the INA Nanny of the Year in 1997 and was last year recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by another association, DEMA, for her work as a household manager.
Kellie likes to reflect on how much change there has been in our industry over her time.
She took her first job as a nanny at the age of 19, moving from her home in northern Minnesota to New Jersey, not far from New York City. Her job interview at the time involved two phone calls and photos exchanged by mail. At that time, she says, ‘everyone wanted a nanny from the mid-west’. She enjoyed the job from the start, especially watching her charges develop and playing a crucial role in helping them to ‘be kids’ with plenty of time spent outside.
Kellie worked for two families in Atlanta, Georgia, then moved back to New Jersey, outside Philadelphia, and then to a family outside Washington DC. She has been with that family since 2004, first as nanny to their two young children and lately, since those same children have moved away to college, as household manager.
It was in 1996 that Kellie’s aunt asked her, ‘When are you going to get a real job? You can’t be a nanny for the rest of your life’. The question caused a light bulb moment for Kellie: she realised that being a nanny was a real job, and that it was a job she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Having joined the INA two years earlier, this conversation motivated Kellie to nominate for the Nanny of the Year award with the support of her then employer. After winning the award she became more involved with the INA, including joining the board, and has been passionate about nannies seeing themselves as professionals ever since. Her long involvement with the INA has helped her realise just how important peak organisations are in educating stakeholders – in the INA’s case both parents and nannies.
That education role is still important. In the internet era it has become much easier for parents to hire nannies directly, without the safety net of an agency’s vetting of qualifications or background. ‘[The internet] can create a false sense of security,’ Kellie says. In the end, though, she believes the old adage that ‘you get what you pay for’ holds true, and professional nannies need to have the confidence to speak up if they are not being paid what they are worth or otherwise looked after properly.
Nannies also need to take advantage of the enormous benefits that are available to them thanks to the internet, especially in the way of online courses and the ability to connect with other nannies. ‘No longer do you have to rely on meeting other nannies at the playground or at story time at the local library.’
There are, of course, even more benefits to be gained from attending conferences, and in this respect, in her role as convenor, Kellie had to point out that the INA conference in April is a great way for any nanny to get some intensive and highly topical education and support. She does recognise that Cancun, Mexico is a long way to go for an Australian though! The conference will be focusing on ‘Remember when…’ as the INA reflects on how quickly its first 30 years have gone.
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