Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Tony, a former foster youth and adoptee, was adopted by a same sex couple in the mid 1990’s. He writes about his experiences growing up as both an interracial adoptee and as a child growing up in a same sex headed household in his memoir  “The Son With Two Moms .” Connect with Tony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-hynes-283aa941/ C.A.S.E. offers mental health services and educational resources...

Jenni first encountered the child welfare system in 1995 when her foster brother entered their family as a toddler. His story and five-year adoptive journey had a profound impact, and she has had a desire for systemic transformation since. After several years in the business sector, the road for professional advocacy opened up in 2008 when she had an idea of how to help children who needed loving...

Connect with Sandy at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-pricer-566741107/ RiseUP is a nonprofit that supports teens and at-risk youth (13-23 years old). By teaching life and leadership skills and by filling in service gaps, RiseUP is working to make sure that no child becomes a statistic. We believe every teen can learn the skills and principles needed to become responsible, independent, strong,...

As Director of Adoption and Permanency Services, Erika is responsible for overseeing all functions of the full service Infant Adoption Program, State Wide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) program, and county foster care placement services. She is a Management Team member at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, maintains all financial aspects of the program and is involv...

Connect with Alejandro at: https://twitter.com/alejandro_caw?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-quezada-caw/ “CAW” is an organization realized for those adopted from Chile or even within the country borders in order to provide them with a platform they can relate to.  In the 70s, 80s and 90s there has been a wave of children leaving the country and due to this phenomenon they are curren...

Here's a bit about Julie and her agency from their website: Julie VanHoose-Wells has worked at Greater Love Adoption Decision, Inc (GLAD) since 1997. She began as a Case Manager and became the Executive Director in 2014. Julie’s parents, Rick and Nancy VanHoose, founded GLAD after their own adoption experience. Julie waited 9 years to become a big sister, which was like “dog years” for an only chi...

Bryan Post is one of America’s foremost child behavior experts and founder of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy. The Post Institute works with adults, children and families struggling with early life trauma and the impact on the development of the mind/body system. A renowned clinician, lecturer, and author, Bryan has traveled throughout the world providing expert treatment and consul...

Connect with Kate at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-patel-3569a3170 Diagrama Adoption is an independent, voluntary adoption agency rated GOOD by Ofsted . Their friendly and professional team members are dedicated to finding loving and nurturing families for vulnerable children waiting to be adopted . For more about Diagrama Adoption visit: https://www.diagramaadoption.org.uk/ https://twitter.co...

Jill Crewes, MSW has over 23 years experience working within child welfare and the foster/adoption community. She is the Vice President of Colorado Programs at Raise the Future where she manages program development and critically examines issues and trends in the public child welfare and adoption arenas to determine the most effective avenues to recruit families for waiting youth and support those...

To find out more at her work check out: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-h-murray-174521157/ https://aliceinwonderingland.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/alicemurraywriter https://www.instagram.com/alice.h.murray/ https://www.facebook.com/alice.h.murray Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if...

Here's a bit about New Family Social from their website.  "We're a UK charity, led by LGBT+ adopters and foster carers. New Family Social exists to help you decide if adoption or fostering is right for you and then support you on your journey to becoming parents and carers.  We also work with agencies to develop their services to be as LGBT+ inclusive and friendly as possible. We aim to make the p...

Amy is passionate about helping others heal their hearts from past hurts - through the use of research and evidence based practices infused with the latest neuroscience research. She has personal and professional experience with adoption, developmental trauma and other developmental disabilities. She is a self-proclaimed "brain geek" and continuously finds fun ways to incorporate the latest neuros...

Cynthia K. Jensen is a Certified Social Worker in the State of Wisconsin.  Cindy graduated Cum Laude from Milton College in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  From 1990 to 2009 she was employed by another Wisconsin child placing agency.  During that time Cindy placed more than 550 children with adoptive families.  Cindy keeps current on adoption practice by obtaining an additional 30 hours (or...

Connect with Kerry https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-bocook-34261b83/ Heart to Home Adoption Agency, LLC (HTH) is a licensed Kentucky adoption agency that provides home studies, post placement visits, adoptive and foster parent education and referrals to other professional agencies to prospective adoptive/foster parents in Kentucky seeking to adopt domestically. We offer face to face meetings to s...

Open Arms Adoption Agency has been Sam’s vision for many years. Since reuniting with his birth mother 15 years ago, he has been developing a service to support and educate women when they are in a time of need. His birth mother was 15 years old and not prepared to raise a child when he was born, so adoption was the most loving decision for both her and Sam. Their adoption was originally closed, bu...

Terry has worked in the field of children’s social care for over 38 years. He began his career in the Voluntary Sector, working for the then Catholic Rescue Society as a residential child care officer, before moving to work within a local authority setting in 1983. For several years he again worked in a residential setting, helping to manage a “fostering preparation unit”, as a qualified social wo...

Here's some information about Nugent from their website: Nugent Adoption is a registered and approved Independent Adoption Agency located in the North West of England. Nugent became a Registered Adoption Agency in 1943; therefore we have been involved in placing children for adoption for 75 years. We provide a welcoming team of professional and dedicated social work staff who are experienced in al...

Dominic is an ambassador for IAC - The Centre for Adoption - the UK's only dedicated intercountry adoption charity. Connect with Dominic at https://www.instagram.com/dominicpaul91/ IAC’s mission is to place children from all parts of the world, both in the UK and overseas, in loving families and to work in a fair, transparent and professional manner with all individuals who need our services. Find...

Here's the link we discuss in the podcast: https://voice-for-adoption.org/family-portrait-project Schylar, a Montanan, joined Voice for Adoption in May 2016. Schylar has dedicated his professional and volunteer life to the belief that children and youth in the child welfare system need respect, support, and family. Schylar has a bachelor’s in professional and technical communications from Montana...

Get the picture of the Family Wellness House Kristin talks about here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hc5YKcrj0XJuIr1IvVW-z6W7QqaYO9OB/view?usp=sharing Connect with Kristin here https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-orphan-5b2a8113a/ Finally Home is a non-profit whose mission since 2008 is to equip foster, adoptive and kinship families to build healthy homes where kids can heal. Over the years all...

Here's a bit about Kaycee and her family from their website "With a love for Jesus, kids, and stories, Kaycee and her husband Pete had always planned to adopt. In 2016, while Kaycee was working as a youth pastor, they began dreaming about how to change the narrative around foster care adoption, especially within faith communities. Five months later, The Reel Hope Project was born and they began te...

Here's a bit about Eric from his team's website: "Trisha and I have been married since June 26, 1999. We have six kids Madison, Isaac, Robert, Kale, Kelsey, and Halle Jo. We had the joy of serving full time in student ministry from 2000 to 2012. We served for two years in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as youth pastors. Then we moved to Ozark, Missouri, and served as the junior high directors at James...

Pam and her husband Dan are the adoptive parents of two children, a daughter who was born in Korea in 1986 and a son who was born in India in 1989. Her children catapulted Pam into life and career interests she never imagined. Pam’s position as Executive Director has evolved over the past 20 years as she was a volunteer Executive Director for the first 7 years, then the only part-​time paid staff...

Here's a bit about Suzy from her website Hello, I’m Suzy creator of We Made a Wish. I’m an adoptive mum to two beautiful girls who crept into our hearts four years apart. We Made a Wish grew from my desire to create beautiful things to celebrate adoption and families. It brings together my love for adoption, shopping and writing. Magazine We Made a Wish is a free digital adoption magazine, which r...

Joanna Ivey is an adoptee and adoptive parent and has been working in the field of adoption for 16 years. In her work with adoptive families, she meets couples/singles early in their adoption journey and is privileged to get to know them and learn about what brought them to adoption. She writes, “I often read hopeful adoptive parents write “We feel called to adopt,” and while I’m not here to judge...