Founder, Newborn Care Solutions

Tonya Sakowicz.
A lifetime in newborn care.

Tonya has spent more than 35 years as a nanny and Newborn Care Specialist. Today she teaches the next generation of specialists, and the agencies and families who work with them.

From a childhood goal to a career

Tonya knew at age 11 that she wanted a career in newborn care. She attended Central Washington University and went on to work for decades as a nanny, Newborn Care Specialist and household manager.

Along the way she became:

  • An INA Credentialed Nanny and Newborn Care Specialist
  • A CAPPA trained Postpartum Doula and Parent Educator
  • A certified Eco-Maternity Consultant and Green Birth Educator, through her partner company, Baby Go Green, which she founded

She does consulting, in-home sleep conditioning and newborn care for her own clients.

Why she founded Newborn Care Solutions

With her husband, Todd, Tonya founded Newborn Care Solutions to train high-level Newborn Care Specialists. The company is the home of the Master NCS training program. It has grown to include education for agencies that place Newborn Care Specialists, and targeted education for parents of newborns.

Tonya is the Owner and Director of Education. In the Foundational and Advanced programs, you learn from her on video.

Watch “Newborn Care Solutions: Meet Our Founder” on YouTube

Service to the profession

Tonya has held leadership roles in the professional organizations of her field.

  • International Nanny Association (INA): Co-President (2018 to 2020), and a former member of the executive and general boards
  • INA: past Chair of the Nanny to Nanny Mentoring Program, past NCS Committee Chair, and a volunteer in the Monday Mentor Program
  • DEMA, the Domestic Estate Management Association: past Scottsdale Chapter President
  • The Baby Dream Team: founding member and advisory board member. This group of Newborn Care Specialists volunteers with families around the country after the birth of higher order multiples.

Awards and recognition

  • 2017: DEMA Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 2017: DEMA Educator of the Year
  • 2016: DEMA Educator of the Year
  • 2004: Nominee, National Association of Nannies Harriette Grant Memorial Award (a nomination by her peers)
  • 2004: Nominee, INA Nanny of the Year
  • 2003: Professional Childcare Provider of the Year

Speaking and media

Tonya is an in-demand speaker at the INA annual conference. She has spoken at National Association of Nannies conferences, at the annual conference of APNA (the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies), at National Nanny Training Days around the country, and for nanny agencies and parent and caregiver organizations. See speaking

She has been published in or featured by Parents Magazine, Child Magazine, The Seattle Times, The Arizona Republic, The Wall Street Journal and the INA Vision. She has been a contributing expert for NannyPro.com and other websites.

On television, she has appeared on the news in Seattle, Portland and Phoenix. In 2007 she appeared on the Today Show in a special on the Masche family, whose sextuplets she cared for after their birth. See media

Beyond work

Tonya and Todd live in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have two children. She loves to cook, knit and travel with her family. She is also a Certified Master Scuba Diver. In 2015 she fulfilled a lifelong dream on a dive trip in the Tuamotus, diving alongside Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Learn with Tonya