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Our team is what makes us special.
At Triangle Nannies, we envision a future where every family has access to exceptional care that supports their well-being and enhances their quality of life.
Most of us don't even know nannies exist until we have children.
Our team has been in this space for going on 15 years.
You don't have to lose weeks of your life, all your patience, and precious moments with your children while you search for your household team.
We do that for you and we're the best.
Meet Austin
Founder/CEO. Owner/Operator. Mom. Nanny Employer.
Matchmaker. Community Builder.
Austin founded Triangle Nannies (formerly My Girl Friday) in 2012. She set out to build the kind of agency she herself would want to represent her as a nanny. Then she refined that approach to take into heavy consideration the need of the nanny employers. As she delved in, she developed systems that support all parties and help everyone win- especially your littles. Now, as a former nanny, seasoned agency owner, early-stage investor, parent, and nanny employer, Austin brings unmatched perspective to an industry too often treated as casually transactional. She's one of the seasoned industry pros in this space, and if you meet her- you'll know why. At Triangle Nannies, placements are never rushed. They are engineered for lasting success- just like this agency.
Austin embodies the enneagram 6w5: a strategic, systems-driven builder who believes in data, process, and trust earned through rigor. Her reputation for being unrelentingly discerning- what some call “trust issues”- has become one of Triangle Nannies’ most defining strengths. This is not an agency that accepts everyone. Only the most committed families and the most exceptional nannies are brought into its fold, because true compatibility demands both excellence and alignment.
What sets Austin apart is not only her intellect, but her intuition. A highly sensitive human, she reads dynamics others overlook, catching subtleties in family culture and nanny temperament that transform a “good hire” into a lasting, harmonious relationship. It’s this blend of strategy and sensitivity that has made Triangle Nannies the region’s definitive authority in luxury household staffing.
Beyond her agency, Austin is shaping the broader caregiving landscape. She co-founded the Nanny Relief Fund in 2020, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support nannies nationwide. She serves as Treasurer for the organization and is a former Secretary of the International Nanny Association, where she influenced professional standards across the field.
Away from the office and client calls, Austin is devoted to her family and community. She and her partner, Adrian, live in North Carolina with their son Nash (born 2024) and their beloved dogs, Arlo and Tuna Mae. Whether she’s hiking, hosting, or designing her next venture, Austin brings the same blend of precision and empathy that defines her leadership at Triangle Nannies.
For families who expect the best, want to get this right the first time, and who are seeking high retention when it comes to these super important hires, there is no question: Triangle Nannies is the only agency trusted to deliver excellence without compromise.
TLDR; we are the best of the best. You can't afford NOT to work with our team.
Meet Our
Incredible Team
Jeremy Zhang
Jeremy brings a unique blend of financial expertise and strategic thinking to Triangle Nannies, balancing his role here with his position as a Senior Principal Strategy Consultant at Red Hat. His background in corporate strategy and development helps ensure our agency runs smoothly and continues to grow thoughtfully.
As our CFO, Jeremy oversees all financial operations, making sure everything from payroll to contracts works seamlessly for both our families and caregivers. He works closely with Austin to guide the company's strategic direction, always keeping our mission of creating perfect matches at the forefront.
Beyond the numbers, Jeremy brings warmth and creativity to our team. A lifelong musician who's been playing piano and guitar since age three, he's just as comfortable analyzing spreadsheets as he is crafting elaborate meals for friends. You might spot him exploring downtown Raleigh's restaurant scene or cheering on his beloved St. Louis Cardinals.
Jeremy holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, bringing both technical precision and big-picture thinking to everything we do at Triangle Nannies.
MBA from the University of Notre Dame
Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis
Kara Szust
Kara Szust brings a rare combination of academic expertise and genuine intuition to the placement process. With a degree in Education from the University of Central Florida and specialized training in ESOL and reading instruction, she spent a decade in the classroom before bringing that same dedication to the families we serve.
Her background in Montessori and Reggio-inspired approaches shapes the way she evaluates candidates — she looks beyond credentials to understand how a caregiver thinks, how they respond to a child's needs, and whether they'll truly become part of a family's story. For Kara, a great placement isn't just a match on paper. It's a relationship built on trust, values, and a shared commitment to helping children thrive.
As Vice President of Placements, Kara oversees our full candidate pipeline, ensuring that every caregiver who reaches a family has been thoughtfully vetted and personally endorsed. She is the standard-bearer for the quality our clients have come to expect.
Outside of work, Kara lives in Raleigh with her husband Nick, their two daughters, and their dog Reece. A Florida native, she has fully embraced life with four seasons — and brings that same sense of adventure to everything she does.
Associates of Arts degree from Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL
Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education with ESOL and Reading Endorsements from the University of Central Florida
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Carrie Bland
After 13 years as a Certified Professional Nanny and graduate of the English Nanny and Governess School, Carrie brings her wealth of experience to Triangle Nannies as our Senior Marketing Manager and creative force behind our social media. Having just returned from maternity leave with her second child, she's excited to be back full-time with our team, bringing valuable perspective as both an experienced mom and industry expert.
Carrie's passion for elevating the nanny profession has made her one of the industry's most respected voices. Her authentic content about life as a nanny-turned-mom has garnered a significant following, particularly among nannies navigating their own journey into parenthood. As the founder of Circle City Nannies in Indianapolis, she created a vibrant community for local nannies through educational events, playdates, and training sessions. A dedicated advocate for professional development, she's particularly passionate about International Nanny Training Day, seeing it as a crucial opportunity for caregivers to grow their skills and connect with peers. Her dedication to the industry extends to her role on the board of directors for the Nanny Relief Fund, where she works alongside our CEO, Austin, to support nannies in need.
These days, Carrie balances her work at Triangle Nannies with her busy home life with Christopher (3), Matthew (3 months), and their family pup, Millie. When she can find a quiet moment, you'll find her diving into her latest Reese's Book Club pick or sneaking off for a peaceful pedicure. Her unique perspective as both an industry professional and mother of two enriches everything we do at Triangle Nannies.
English Nanny and Governess School
Mara Sims
Mara joins Triangle Nannies from Central Ohio after four successful years at Harvard University, where she built a strong reputation for precision, warmth, and excellence in both professional and extracurricular leadership. During her time at Harvard, she worked in the First-Year Experience Office and the Law School’s Office of Public Interest Advising, where she was a trusted first point of contact for students, families, alumni, and visitors and reliable administrative support for the leadership team.
Her passion for helping organizations run smoothly extended into her student leadership roles. Mara served as Secretary for three different student organizations at once before becoming Vice President of the Harvard Black Students Association. Known for her meticulous attention to detail and unwavering kindness, she was praised by peers and colleagues alike for raising the standard of excellence in every role she took on.
Mara also thrived behind the scenes as part of the stage management teams for multiple Harvard theater productions. She describes her stage management experience as a perfect parallel to her work at Triangle Nannies: making sure every detail is handled so others can step into the spotlight.
Beyond campus, Mara invested in supporting young people through volunteer work as a Sunday School teacher and as a mentor with the Association of Black Harvard Women’s high school mentorship program.
At Triangle Nannies, Mara serves as Austin’s right hand, bringing this rare blend of administrative expertise, leadership experience, and deep care for others to her role, allowing the placement team to focus on what they do best—making perfect matches for families and caregivers.
When she isn’t working, Mara enjoys musical theater, Sudoku, and spending time with her family. She is also a devoted fan of baked goods and the color purple.
Bachelor's Degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Harvard University
Minor in Theater, Dance, and Media, Harvard University
Noelle Whittington
Now calling Raleigh home after years in Wilmington, Noelle brings a unique blend of skills to Triangle Nannies as our Vetting Coordinator. Her deep connection to both communities combines with keen intuition to ensure our rigorous screening process identifies caregivers who will truly shine with their families.
Before joining our team, Noelle's diverse path took her from the fast-paced world of Manhattan's textile industry to a decade of leadership in Kunga Yoga, where she led 12 international retreats and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for nonprofits like Homes of Hope India and Farm Sanctuary. This varied background gives her a special talent for seeing the whole person during our vetting process, looking beyond just credentials to understand what makes each caregiver unique.
Her hospitality experience and years of mentoring shine through in how she guides potential caregivers through our process. Outside of work, you'll find Noelle immersed in her passions - studying Vedic Wisdom and Sanskrit Mantra, playing harmonium, or performing with various bands (many of which she played with in Wilmington). Her creative spirit and genuine interest in people make her a natural at identifying caregivers who will bring something special to their families. Additionally, she has a keen eye for identifying inconsistencies, padded resumes, and references that need to be further explored.
North Carolina State University
Helen Hebert
Helen brings a depth of experience in early childhood education, family support, and educational leadership to Triangle Nannies. Originally from south Louisiana's Cajun French region of Acadiana, she grew up between Lafayette and New Orleans before her journey took her across the world and back. After graduating from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a degree in English, Helen spent nearly five years in Prague, Czech Republic, where she discovered her calling in early childhood education. She taught English as a second language, recruited and vetted teachers, and helped expand an early learning center into a Czech/English primary school — all while falling in love with the resilience and capabilities of young children.
Returning to Louisiana in 2018 to be closer to family, Helen obtained her teaching license and taught 1st and 2nd grade, developing a deep dedication to early literacy during those critical academic years. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, she pivoted seamlessly to support students and parents through the sudden shift to online learning. Her next chapter brought her to western Colorado, where she embraced mountain life in Carbondale. There, she gained experience in ABA therapy supporting children impacted by pandemic-related service disruptions, then served as preschool director in El Jebel for 3.5 years. Under her leadership, the program expanded from 5 to 7 classrooms serving over 120 families, with Helen providing key support for staff development, parent communication, and curriculum integration.
Helen's greatest passion is standing beside families during moments of uncertainty, providing steady support, and ensuring their loved ones feel happy, safe, and fulfilled. She believes that strong, supported families build strong, resilient communities — and she's committed to contributing to that foundation at Triangle Nannies. Having found a true home in the Carolinas and Tennessee, Helen is thrilled to serve the families and communities she loves in this region.
Melissa Salter
Melissa grew up in the Great White North and raised her family in Ontario, Canada. As a stay-at-home mom with two children and a husband in the music business, she knows the juggle struggle of managing kids and a home intimately.
Once her children started school, Melissa pursued a Yoga Teaching Training Certificate to delve deeper into the mind, body, spirit connection, then went back to school to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Brock University. Realizing her passion for helping children with special needs, she completed a Graduate Certificate Program in Autism and Behavioral Studies from Niagara College. Her work in autism centers as a behavioral therapist taught her the essential truth: it takes a village to raise a child.
When her husband's dream of moving to Music City called, Melissa and her family relocated to Nashville in 2019. Seeing the demand for nanny support in the city, she applied to a nanny agency and was placed with a wonderful family who embraced her as part of their village. After their contract ended, Melissa joined our team in 2021, and now serves as our Vetting Coordinator—the first screen and thorough final filter on verifying that candidates are who they say they are. Her background in behavioral therapy and firsthand nanny experience give her an unmatched eye for authenticity and excellence.
When she's not working, Melissa enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, cooking, doing yoga, knitting, watching movies, trying out new restaurants, and two-stepping the night away with her husband.
Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, Brock University
Amy Rullis
With a background as diverse as the families she supports, Amy brings a uniquely intuitive and people-centered approach to her role at Triangle Nannies. A New York native, she holds degrees in Acting and Political Theory and is trained as both a Waldorf early childhood educator and a social worker specialized in crisis intervention. Her early career was spent teaching at a nature-based private school and advocating for unhoused children and families navigating the court system, as well as organizing in communities and working in farmworker outreach with Legal Aid—experiences that taught her how to connect deeply, listen closely, and advocate with both compassion and clarity.
After relocating to North Carolina and welcoming her son, Amy transitioned into private household work as a family assistant and private chef. She later expanded her skillset into systems and operations consulting for emerging and established food businesses, with a focus on talent acquisition, training, and development. This blend of organizational leadership and relationship-driven work gives her an exceptional ability to design support systems that anticipate what families truly need.
As part of our leadership team, Amy leads client experience and backup care coordination for Triangle Nannies, ensuring high-caliber support is always available when our clients need it most. Her customer service excellence and strategic approach to floater network coordination mean families can trust that even unexpected situations will be handled with care and precision. She has a natural gift for making others feel seen and understood, and her systems-thinking allows her to create seamless backup care experiences that families can rely on.
When she's not working with families, Amy enjoys life in downtown Raleigh with her son and can often be found experiencing art in its many forms, cooking, or exploring local food culture.
Igor De Lima
Igor builds the systems that make Triangle Nannies work. While families are navigating one of their most important decisions—who will care for their children—Igor ensures our technology gets out of their way and actually helps.
He's an operations and solutions architect who excels at designing workflows that create effortless experiences for both clients and candidates. Whether it's streamlining our placement process, building tools that surface the right matches faster, or eliminating friction points in our digital experience, Igor sees where systems break down and fixes them before anyone notices.
His technical expertise is grounded in real life. As a father of two who lights up talking about his kids, Igor knows exactly what's at stake when families search for childcare. His wife works for their church, and together they're deeply involved in their community through volunteering and service. That foundation—family, faith, and genuine care for others—shows up in every system he designs. He builds technology that honors the trust families place in us during one of their most vulnerable decisions.
Igor has been part of Triangle Nannies since 2021, which means he doesn't just understand our business—he's helped shape it. He's seen us grow, knows where we've been, and has built the infrastructure that's allowed us to scale while maintaining the personalized service we're known for. He's not coming in to learn our values; he's been living them alongside us for years.
Bachelors of Communications and Design, Dallas Baptist University
Top-rated by parents, kiddos, and nannies.
Jeff Turpin
Morgan Camu
Dr. George Dignan
Christy Zigler, Ph.D.
Katie Simons Pahner
Martha Newport
In addition to providing us with this amazing resource/family member, they have been more than willing to offer advice and guidance whenever we have had questions about how to handle various situations, like nanny compensation, COVID, etc.
Amazing search firm and resource! Love, love, love!
Jenny Zador
Brittany Speer
This nanny agency isn’t like others. They do an in depth background check on every nanny, no matter what. They work with your schedule on interviews, not the other way around. They provide great support on how to structure your agreement. They check in on you after the nanny has been placed. It’s a full service company!
Thank you My Girl Friday! I feel confident with my nanny and you made the process streamlined and so much easier than expected.
Christmas Abbott
Kathy Colby
Live local, love local
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My Girl Friday is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We celebrate our employees’ differences. Different makes us better.
We believe in the power of connection.
Nothing beats meeting someone face to face, in person. IRL, if you may. We love to support local trainings, playdates, coffee dates, and nanny meetups. If you're hosting something, let us know and we'll bring by coffee and snacks!
We take the time to really get to know our nannies- especially if you're providing back-up care to our clients. If you're looking for an agency that really wants to know you and support you- look no further. We're all about long term relationships.
On a national level, you can find us at all the industry conferences. We have deeply rooted friendships within this space and love to see our friends all over the country and world!
We stay connected and involved because we love this what we do and the nannies we support. This team really values the care our nannies provide and we live to support the supporters.
Community & Education
