Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Your 2012 - 2013 ADCAN Board of Directors Nominees

Here are the individuals running for the ADCAN board of directors. Voting will take place in May, by current ADCAN members.

Michele Greene - My name is Michele Greene. I am in the process of planning my wedding so I will be Michele Whitesides in May. I am working in Great Falls, VA with three children. I have been there for over a year and as one member said to me recently " i like a challenge" so I am a nanny to an autistic little boy. I have been a nanny to twins, triplets and quad in the past but this is the most challenging job yet.

I have been a nanny since 1995 and in 1997 I joined ADCAN. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made! I have been on and off the Board of Directors since I started. Currently I am running for Co -President .

ADCAN has been the place that educates me and supportes me and makes me a better nanny. It is also the place that has brought so many amazing friends into my life. Over the next year, I hope to bring ADCAN into the lives of other nannies that truly need our community support as much as I did and still do.

I look forward to meeting you all soon! :)

Melissa Doran -
Hometown- Pulaski, Wi
Born in Chicago,IL
Oldest of six kids
11 nieces and nephews

Been a nanny for 15 years. First nanny job was for a navy family 1 girl and 1 boy. Lived in Jacksonville, FL and Corpus Christi, TX. Worked there for 4 1/2 yrs. Second job was my first job in VA working for 2 girls for 6 1/2 yrs. Current job is for the three A's a boy and 2 girls. Been working here for over 3 yrs.

I kind of fell into the nanny profession. My friend back home found an ad in the paper for a nanny agency and wanted to give it a whirl so I thought why not? I signed on with an agency and was having no luck. One day my grandma called from FL with a job offer. A lady was shopping in my aunt's store and was telling my aunt and my grandma how she needed a nanny because hers had to quit. They told her about me and we talked over the phone a bit. Less than a month later I had given up my apartment, sold my car and furniture and moved to Jacksonville, without even meeting the family. 15 yrs. later still loving what I'm doing.


Joanne Garrelts - My name is Joanne Garrelts. I was born in London, England and have worked as a nanny for 15 years, including working in Germany, France and Singapore. I moved to VA in 2004, joined ADCAN and I have been a member since then, except for a break between 2006-2008 while I was living overseas. I live in Springfield and currently work in Alexandria with 2 ½ year old triplets. I have been with them for over 2 years. It is a fun position but also a challenging one.
In my spare time, I like to spend time with my Husband and 5 cats relaxing at home and also enjoy reading, meeting up with friends, going to the movies and out to dinner.

Leah Corum - Hi I am Leah Corum, I am running for co-president. I have been on the board before as just about everything except vice president and president. I look forward to this new challenge and I know my co-president has lots of knowledge that will help me through. ADCAN is an amazing group that has helped me become a better professional nanny and person, and I can't wait to help others the same way. I have been a nanny for 15 years, 14 of those years have been in Northern Virginia, and 1 year in Chicago. I have been with the same family for the last 10 years. I am married to Dwayne and we have a daughter Kailey who is 3. I get to bring Kailey to work with me everyday and my nanny family loves her. I also have 5 step children that I love and keep us busy with school functions. I look forward to helping ADCAN in the year to come.

Sue Krzos is running for Secretary of ADCAN. She has been a member for 22 years and has held many positions in ADCAN. Sue would like to see more nannies become active and attend meetings. She enjoys the educational aspects of the meetings and the networking. Sue lives in Reston and works for a family in Great Falls.

Hayley Smith has been a nanny for 17 years. She has had the luck of working for some wonderful families over the years the family. She currently works for a family in Washington, DC taking care of 9 month old boy/girl twins. She keeps u with all things to do with our profession and loves to attend the INA conference as well as Nannypalooza. She is excited about being a member of the ADCAN board and helping as much as she can to share and promote all our wonderful professional nannies.
Jennifer Mulaski   is running for the position of Vice President for ADCAN. 
 
     Like many of you, I fell into the role of being a nanny. My whole life has been intertwined with kids. First, helping raise my younger sister and brother. My mom was a single mom, so as the eldest with a slight age gap, I had a lot of responsibilty helping to take of them at an early age.
     Then I moved on to being the neighborhood babysitter. While going part time to college I found a full time job with a couple from NYC. They had two kids that called me their nanny for the first time and not  the babysitter.
      I left upstate NY where I grew up almost 20 years ago, to make the move to the No.Va area. Since being here I have held two full time nanny jobs. Currently, the job I now have is going on 15 years. They use me more as a household assistant now as the kids have almost all reached their teen years.
       So, thankful I am still a part of the kids daily very busy lives. I have enjoyed watching them grow up,after starting when the middle one was 6 wks old.
      The past few years ADCAN has been an important part of my working and personal life. As the play groups faded, and play dates started arranging themselves into just hanging out. I found I missed connecting with others who shared the same nanny work life. That life which crosses into so many personal and emotional connections with our employers and charges.
       I firmly believe no one "gets" the job unless they have experienced it personally. So, it is important to have ADCAN filled with professional nannies that have shared the same experiences and can offer advice, or just lend a sympathetic ear.

Many of our nominees will be at National Nanny Training Day.  Ballots will be emailed to all members on May 6, with a voting deadline of May 12.  

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