Help with kids. And pets. And …
When Tessa Lowinske Desmond’s husband was offered a tenure-track position at Harvard in 2010, the opportunity proved too enticing for the academic couple to resist. But the Desmonds’ dream job was also every new parent’s nightmare: a distant relocation to a city where they knew virtually no one. “We moved from Wisconsin, with newborn in arms, excited to be at Harvard but nervous to not have any resources,” Desmond said, referring to child-care help for her son, Sterling, now almost 3. Last year, the Desmonds turned to a resource that has been gaining ground among Harvard parents: the WATCH Portal, an online child-care hub that helps connect faculty, staff, and graduate student parents with student sitters. “It was just a huge blessing for us,” said Desmond, the program administrator for ethnic studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Heartened by early success stories like Desmond’s, the Office of Work/Life and the...