INA Conference Speakers!!

The International Nanny Assocation annual conference is set for April 12 - 15, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky. Here is a run down of the speakers coming for the nanny track portion of this amazing conference. The conference also provides a track of experts for Newborn Care Specialists and Nanny Placement Agency staff. Many of these speakers have national and international reputations.

For more information on conference details visit www.nanny.org - click the link on the home page that will bring you to conference pages.


  Beth Bittenbender

Creating a Toxin-free Environment for the children in Your Care

Beth Bittenbender is Co-Founder and CEO of Pure Strategies, a consultancy providing expertise for fine estates in the revolutionary new field of toxin-free cleaning and maintenance. In her 20 year career, she has been a consultant and an industry advisor for real estate management professionals at all levels. She has worked with health care facilities, Fortune 500 companies, Ivy League Universities, hospitality venues, governmental institutions, major airports, and a host of other diverse industries.

As an Account Manager with ServiceMaster’s Healthcare division, Beth gained extensive knowledge of cleaning for health in a variety of hospitals, including Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Back then, chemicals were used liberally, without thought for the adverse effects of their residues, or the toxic soup created in the process. This background provided the perfect basis for her next career in performance-based contract management with Elliott Affiliates, Ltd.Now, with Pure Strategies, she helps her clients materially change the way they maintain their estates, with systems approaches that have a significant impact on the health of principals and their children, and measurable financial benefits. Her practical experience and innovative approach has made her the leading expert in the application of cutting-edge toxin-free cleaning technologies.

Beth is an expert in the field of sustainable, toxic chemical-free systems. She believes passionately in the benefits that this field has on people, especially young children, and the planet. Reducing and eliminating toxic chemicals from our homes safeguards the health of everyone.

 

 

Vicke Bowman

Come and Play the Heuristic Way; Treasure Baskets for Young Children

Vicke Bowman is a wife, mother, grandmother, and educator. She has 40 years of experience in Early Childhood Education working as a preschool teacher, child care director, training specialist/technical assistant and instructor. Vicke has a mMsters degree in Education and is an Associate Professor at Sullivan University in Louisville Kentucky. She is a Master Trainer for the state of Kentucky and provides training to both Kentucky Credentialed trainers and Early Child Care professionals. Vicke is also a Happiest Baby on the Block Certified Educator.

 

 

  Gina Deveary

Sensorific

Gina Deveary has been in early childhood special education for over 30+ years in various roles. Past work experiences consist of being an Early Intervention Specialist with First Steps, Co-Founder of the Louisville, Ky, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Parent Support Group, and currently working as an Early Interventionist and Early Childhood Trainer for Community Coordinated Child Care in Louisville, Ky. She has been teaching as an Adjunct Professor at Sullivan University for 4 years in the early childhood education department.

 

Cheryl Fekete

Emergency Preparedness in the Home

Cheryl has worked in the field of Early Care and Education for the last 20+ years. She has served as the director of both a half day preschool program and full day child care program. As a classroom teacher, she has taught 2's, 3's, and 4's. For the last 14 years she has been the training manager at the local child care resource and referral agency in Louisville, Kentucky where she has provided training and technical assistance to child care providers in a variety of settings. She also teaches several on-line classes for Sullivan University’s Early Childhood and Nanny Program. Prior to working in Early Care and Education, she taught for Jefferson County Public Schools working with primary age children and special needs, hearing impaired children K-12.

 

Deborah Gilboa, MD

Helping Children Cope with Grief and Celebrate Life

Teach Responsibility: How to pass on a Great Work Ethic

Doctor G. (Deborah Gilboa, MD) empowers parents and educators to raise respectful, responsible and resilient kids. Around the country and around the world, she works with those who raise children to increase their knowledge and to utilize the instincts they already have. Doctor G is the host of the new PBS show "The Parent Institute" premiering in February 2013. As a Board Certified Family Physician, mother of four, author of Teach Resilience: Raising Kids Who Can Launch! and a professional parenting speaker, she captivates attendees through her humorous straight talk and takes the guilt out of raising kids. Doctor G is a regular contributor to Huffington Post Parents, Your Teen Magazine and several of the largest parenting sites online. Doctor G is a Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the recipient of multiple awards and the proud mom of four amazing boys!

 

Carly Jennings

Understanding Bilingual Families; How Caregivers Can Support the Learning Goals of Multilingual Families

Carly Jennings began her advocacy for families and children 26 years ago, working as a legislative intern on Capitol Hill. Since becoming a child development consultant in 1996, Carly has educated families, caregivers, administrators and classroom teachers using the developmental domain approach to understanding and caring for children.

MommyGarten.com (as well as the soon-to-launch NannyGarten.com) helps parents and caregivers confidently navigate the developmental domains of early childhood. By describing the behavior of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in exquisite detail, we help nurturers learn what behaviors to expect, when to expect them, and what to do about them.

 

Sheri Lopez

How to Stand Out in an Interview and Make a Lasting Impression

Sheri is a professional, career nanny with close to 31 years of experience caring for children of all ages, however now she specializes in children birth-5 yrs of age. Caring for children, loving them and helping them grow is a passion of Sheri’s and a job she takes very seriously. Sheri believes it is important that she makes a lasting impression in the lives of the children and families she cares for. Sheri began babysitting during her middle school years, and when she graduated from high school, decided she was not ready to go to college so she began her nanny career with a wonderful family that supported her immensely. Over the years her confidence and skills became stronger and she began to see that she could really make a difference in the life of a child. Sheri went on to college, and received her degree in childhood education and business. She has taken many child related training courses, and is a volunteer CPR instructor for the American Red Cross, where she teaches ‘Introduction to Babysitting’ course for teens. She recently formed the ‘Professional Nannies of Arizona Association’. Sheri’s desire is to love every child as if they were her own.

 

Bonnie Low-Kramen

Making the Most of Executive Skills, from Top Celebrity Assistant Bonnie Low-Kramen

Bonnie Low-Kramen’s voice is one of the most respected among private service professionals. With honesty and humor, she pulls the curtain back on a career that is glamorized and misunderstood. She is known for her passionate commitment to professional assistants and to affecting positive change in the American workplace through workshops and presentations. For 25 years, Bonnie worked as the personal assistant to actors Olympia Dukakis and Louis Zorich and their family. Seeing there were so few resources for assistants, she authored the book, “Be the Ultimate Assistant” and is a co-founder of New York Celebrity Assistants (NYCA.)Her writing on workplace issues is widely published.

Bonnie is a popular speaker at conferences in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. on her quest to set the record straight. She spoke at the DEMA Convention in September, 2012 and was the first American to speak at an assistant’s event in the UK when she presented at the Hays Conference in London in October, 2012.

 

Angela Riggs

Thematic Learning Stations

Angela began her teaching adventure over 20 years ago.She taught for 9 ½ years in a public school setting, grades K-5.Next, she explored new opportunities at Sullivan University where she has enjoyed leading the Professional Nanny and Early Childhood Education department for the last 13 years. Her position as Dean has awarded her many opportunities such as:curriculum development for the day division, teaching Early Childhood Educational and Professional Nanny courses both live and online, creating a customized textbook titled Under the Child Care Umbrella, developing the competency exam for American Council of Nanny Schools, supervising externship students, supervising both adjunct and full-time faculty, online course development, hosting and planning outreach and community service events, interviewed on The Today Show, and other leadership roles. Her most recent project is combining her passion for education and travel by customizing adventures for children ages 4 to college age as owner of Personalized Educational Adventures, LLC.

 

Mary Beth Uberti

Caring for Teens in Today’s Social Media culture

Mary Beth Uberti is a Certified Life Coach, speaker, trainer and facilitator as well as the Program Developer at Operation: PARENT. As a mom of two children, she has practical experience in the struggles of parenting in the digital world. Using her background in computers and software training she provides a positive and practical approach to parenting social media. Operation: PARENT’s mission is to provide education, support and hope to those raising teens and pre-teens in today’s culture.

 

Laura Wathen, MS-IECE

Understanding Infant and Toddler Temperaments Once and for All

Communicating with Families When Developmental Red Flags appear

Laura Wathen, a Lexington native and mother of 2 young children, earned her BA in Psychology and MS in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education from the University of Kentucky. Ms. Wathen was the Infant / Toddler Program Coordinator and Toddler Lead Teacher at the University of Kentucky Early Childhood Lab for 7 years after also teaching there as a Graduate Assistant for 2 years. Ms. Wathen has also taught Infant Development, Child Development and Guiding Young Children at UK for 7 years before joining the Kentucky Department of Education as a Program Consultant in the Division of Early Childhood Development in 2007. She accepted the position as the Associate Dean for the Early Childhood Department at Sullivan University Lexington in June of 2012.