About me

I grew up on Long Island, an only child with a close-knit extended family—my cousins were like my siblings. My loves were the beach, football, and wrestling. I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Bible & Theology from Mid-Atlantic Christian University. From there, I worked as a youth & children’s minister at various churches, and later as a youth sports coach. In 2014 I moved back to NYC to pursue a music career and joined Smartsitting.

Most of my work as a manny over the last five years has been in an after-school position with two boys, now 14 and 12 (they were 9 and 7 when we started). My responsibilities with them have involved after-school pick-up (and occasional morning dropoffs when needed), homework help, diffusing fights, ordering dinner, overseeing clean-up and music practice, and reading bedtime stories. I introduced them to several new sports, bands, and shows, which we have enjoyed together, especially as I’ve deepened Caleb’s music knowledge and supported Lucas’ new passion for basketball. Most of my temp work through Smartsitting has been with this same age group. I've also babysat twin infants, which required diaper changes, dinner prep, story time, and preventing the boy from biting his twin sister. Before SmartSitting, I was a youth/childrens minister, teaching Bible lessons, and I was a football/basketball/volleyball coach and guitar instructor to middle schoolers, and a camp counselor to 1st-6th graders. I am youth & infant CPR certified.

I like to see children at peace with themselves, and thriving. What I can contribute to this end as a manny is honesty and an open heart, allowing the sitter/child relationship to operate from trust and reason, rather than force or bribing. I’m adept at explaining things in a way a child can understand, and patient with the process of discerning what that will be for the specific child. I am always down for fun. I can devise intricate games on the spot—but sometimes speaking in a new silly voice is enough to change a child’s day. Perhaps Lucas gave me the best compliment—“You always make boring things fun.”