What au pairs and host families have said about Kim:
“Kim’s community work builds connection and it’s what makes the program whole.”
“Kim is a great counselor who really believes in me.”
“Kim is an amazing CC and she was the sole reason we switched from {our agency} to APIA! Kim has been awesome, responsive, and compassionate through{out}.”
“Kim is great at resolving conflict and having everyone feel comfortable.”
In the 2023 surveys to au pair and host family participants:
Cross cultural education has been my life’s passion, the foundation of my education and the focus of my professional path since my family hosted Fabiola, a Mexican exchange student, when I was in high school. After that experience, I went on to pursue a BA in International Affairs and Spanish from Lafayette College, studied and worked in Spain, England and Japan, and received my MA in Intercultural Relations from the Intercultural Communications Institute/Antioch University. I have spent my career working within many aspects of intercultural education, overseeing these Department of State J-1 visa programs, working as the Western District Director for Youth For Understanding, Intercultural Exchange overseeing offices in WA and CA; as the Program Development Director for Academic Year in America (working in the American Institute of Foreign Studies offices); and serving as the Executive Director of Families In Global Transition, educating and supporting the expat community of various sectors: the foreign service, military, missionary and corporate. As a consultant, clients have included such organizations as Mercy Corps, National Society for the Gifted & Talented and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, where I served as the ghost writer on the publication entitled Adventures Abroad: the Student’s Guide to Studying Overseas. I have an ongoing passion for volunteering and have spent much time with the immigrant and refugee population at the International Rescue Committee and working to eliminate food insecurity and food waste as a Board member for East West Food Rescue and Northwest Harvest in WA. Currently I am the Western Field and Global Awareness Representative as well as a Senior Community Counselor and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team of Au Pair In America. I greatly enjoy designing and delivering cross-cultural content nationwide, supporting those on these amazing cross-cultural programs and being an ally to those furthest from equity. I live in West Seattle with my husband and two sons and years ago bid a tearful farewell to our Mexican “daughter” who lived with us for a year on her own cross-cultural education program (Fabiola’s daughter, Andrea…).
-Kim Van Cleave Michaels (kvancleave@aupairinamerica.com) (she, her)
Some additional words from host parents in Kim’s cluster:
We joined the Au Pair in America community when my oldest was starting kindergarten, and she’s currently in her junior year of high school. Kim Van Cleve Michaels was with us through that entire journey. She’s been a trusted and steady advisor to us as a host family, and an experienced and supportive voice to the au pairs we have had in our home over the years. Her experience and support has made the program so much better for us, creating connections with au pairs already in the area and smoothing transitions into a family’s dynamic. The thing I appreciate most about Kim is that she brings compassion and a smile to any situation and keeps her focus on bringing people together. She’s going to be missed!
In any family, life happens and challenges arise. The same can happen when an au pair joins a host family. What I have loved about working with Kim over the years is that when there is an issue that needs some additional support from Au Pair in America, Kim has been a trusting and compassionate voice that helps the au pair / host family grow for the better. She listens, she supports, and she also is comfortable sharing what she thinks, which has been essential to our family in over a decade that we’ve been in the APIA family. We love her!