This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear the full conversation, visit keelysemler.substack.com.
This week’s guest is Kate Granchelli, CEO and Founder of Modern Minders, a creative childcare and staffing agency. We explore the often overlooked value of professional childcare, examining how caregiving sits at the intersection of emotional labor, gender roles, and social inequity. It highlights the cultural and structural challenges caregivers face such as undervaluation, inconsistent expectations, and lack of legal protections while also emphasizing the emotional bonds and ethical tensions inherent to the intimacy found in domestic work.
Even if you don’t have children or don’t plan to, this conversation still speaks to the cultural imperative of supporting the systems that nourish our children and future generations; systems that are already burdened with carrying far more than they should.
Kate Granchelli brings years of experience as a trusted nanny for diplomats and high-profile families in Los Angeles and New York. Formerly the Director of Recruiting for a top LA agency, she now draws on her deep knowledge of private household staffing and her intuitive grasp of family dynamics to guide others in the childcare space. With degrees in Fine Arts and Education, and teaching certifications in both New York and California, Kate is known for her honesty, empathy, and strong sense of connection. She continues to mentor youth and advocate for the arts, staying rooted in the values that have guided her work from the start.
This discussion underscores the urgent need to elevate caregiving as both a professional and profoundly human form of intelligent and intuitive labor.
5:15 The stigma of childcare as “unskilled” work
8:15 Connecting the caregiver and the family
14:28 Orchestrating transitions into and out of caregiving relationships
20:53 Transparency and safety checks for caregivers and families
25:35 Kate’s experience as a nanny & navigating childcare agencies
31:39 Resources and community when affordability is an issue with access to childcare
38:01 Community, wealth, and dependence
42:50 Balancing privacy and transparency
52:45 Connect with Kate at Modern Minders
The final 15 minutes of this interview are available in our extended episode, exclusively for Behind Closed Doors subscribers. This is a slower, more intimate space where guests speak with honesty, vulnerability, and courage about the layers that often go unseen.
Paid subscribers also receive bonus content, including my personal reflections as a women’s health educator, mentor, and doula. If you value thoughtful dialogue and honest storytelling that rarely makes it into mainstream conversations, I invite you to join us at keelysemler.substack.com.
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**Community Offerings***
20% off MOTHERLANDS: Interdisciplinary Health Education for the Modern Woman. Code - MOTHERLANDSPOD
Free support meeting for caregivers and doulas — a space to connect, reflect, and replenish together. Sign up.
Free group meeting for new or expecting parents, preparing for early parenthood and building strong support systems. Sign up.
This fall, I’ll be hosting a women’s retreat in California. A small, intimate gathering focused on deep rest, nourishment, and connection in the heart of nature. We’ll share space without the pressure of a packed itinerary, with plenty of room for solitude as well as meaningful moments in community. If you’d like to learn more, Join the waitlist.
Connect with Kate Granchelli:
IG - @Modernminders
MOTHERLANDS: Interdisciplinary Health Education for the Modern Woman
Women’s Reproductive Health Training & Mentorship
Follow our Host, Keely Semler on IG
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