OUR NEW YORK TEAM
Petra Hurkmans, Client Services Specialist
Petra grew up in Germany and relocated with her Dutch husband to the United
States in 1994. Prior to that she was working in the clearing, settlement and
custody department of a private bank in Cologne and moved to Frankfurt to work
for Deutsche Boerse AG in the customer relationship management.
Petra lives in Manhattan and is raising two teenage boys in the private school
system. Trying to balance motherhood and professional life, Petra volunteers at
her son's schools and started to teach German at the German-American School
and at Berlitz Language Inc. Petra has an active lifestyle in Manhattan and Long
Island with all her international friends. She enjoys traveling, yoga and working out
at the gym. Petra is fluent in German and English and intermediate in Dutch.
Email Petra...
Marcia Siegel, Educational Services Specialist
Marcia grew up in the borough of Queens in New York City. When she graduated
college she started her career as an elementary school teacher. She completed her
Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at Hunter College and went on to teach in
the New York City public school system.
After she married and had her two children, Marcia worked as a teacher in the
parenting center at Central Synagogue. She also became a parent educator and
taught and developed seminars and workshops for parents of infants and toddlers
at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in NYC, as well as other venues in the city. Marcia
then became certified by the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in the
study of infant, children and family development.
Since 2004, Marcia has worked in admissions as an educational consultant. She
assists NYC Navigator's assignees with finding the perfect schools for their families.
Marcia has lived in the city for over 40 years and has brought up her two children in
Manhattan. She truly loves the Big Apple, and is a die hard New Yorker!
Email Marcia...
Louise Vaux, Director of Client Services
Louise grew up in England & found a love of travel while studying for her BA. She
has ventured all over Europe & America, and even took a year off to travel around
the world. She worked in both New Zealand & Australia before gradually moving
through South East Asia & China & heading back home on the trans Siberian
railroad via Moscow.
Following her Masters Degree studies in Literature & Linguistics at London
University, she joined the highly regarded retail management training programme at
John Lewis Partnership in London. She later moved to Japan, taught business While
working as a manager here she decided that she wanted to go overseas again so
studied to become an ESL teacher.
She later moved to Japan and taught business English to adults, recording several
English Language radio shows with NHK for high school ESL students & a variety of
specialist curriculum writing. Her management skills were then put to the test when
she managed the recruitment & programme development side of Linguarama
Language School.
After attaining a post-graduate certificate in Japanese Language Louise became the
International Coordinator & in-house translator for Hitachi Cable Ltd in Tokyo. She
transferred to New York with the company in 1999. With motherhood came a
change in focus & after spending time negotiating the minefield of the New York
school system, she became the Chairperson for the Parents’ Associations in her
daughters’ schools.
As you can see Louise doesn't sit still for long! She, her husband and three children
have recently relocated to Hong Kong, but we couldn't let her go, so she continues
her work for NYC Navigator remotely. Having personally relocated many times she
is fully aware of the stresses & strains it can entail and is an absolute pro at
organizing relocations!
Email Louise...
Kate Wessman, Client Services Specialist
The proudest “Quarter-Rican” you’ve ever met, Kate, our intern extraordinaire, has
always been inspired by her multi-faceted ethnic background (Portuguese, Puerto
Rican, Greek and Swedish). She is a 21-year-old rising senior at the College of
William & Mary, majoring in Hispanic Studies and receiving her Masters in Foreign
Language Education and ESL. Kate’s strong passion for languages and great
curiosity about other cultures has led her to travel, study, and live abroad in various
countries, including Brazil, Spain and Portugal. In fact, she has just returned from
her second of two full semesters abroad, the first in Florianópolis, Brazil, and the
second in Sevilla, Spain. She speaks Spanish fluently and has an advanced level of
conversational Portuguese.
Kate’s experiences abroad have given her the opportunity to experience life and
new cultures from a local’s perspective. She really understands what it’s like to
make the transition to living in a new country! In addition, she has been a proud
New Yorker all her life, currently residing in Westchester County. She enjoys
helping newcomers explore the city and the Tri-State area.
Email Kate...
Click here to meet more of our New York Team...
Click here to meet our California Team...
Click here to meet our Miami Team...
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