Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Nicole Ward Moore is a Board Certified Adoption Attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator who manages and operates the Orlando office. Nicole has been practicing with the firm since opening the Orlando office in 2005. Nicole practices exclusively in the area of adoption law throughout the State of Florida and in conjunction with out-of-state placements. Nicole also represents ad...

Stephanie K. Sterling, MSW, LCSW is the Director of Family Services at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.  Stephanie received her MSW degree from Tulane University in 1996. She holds a 90-hour post graduate certification in Adoption and Foster Care Competence.  Stephanie has experience with inpatient, outpatient, and primary care behavioral health as well as pregnancy counseling.  S...

Here is a link to the podcast episode I mention about the Primal Wound at the end of the episode. https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/primally-wounded-or-fundamentally-unwoundable-with-nick-mabey Mark Hoult-Allen is Chair of We Are Family, Jay Nicol is a Trustee. Here’s a bit about them from their website: We Are Family is a peer to peer support community by adopters, for adopters. W...

Sharen Ford is a nationally-recognized child welfare consultant and the retired Manager for Permanency Services for the Colorado Department of Human Services in the Division of Child Welfare Services. She retired with 30 years of comprehensive work history with the department. She oversaw six programmatic areas including the Foster Care and Adoption Program and supervised a team of professional st...

Nina is Director of Post Adoption Support at The Cradle, connect with her at: https://www.facebook.com/nina.friedman.cradle https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-friedman-4a3b82/ Here's a little about The Cradle from their website: At The Cradle you will find a legacy of excellence, decades of experience, and a reputation for quality education that helps to inform adoption decisions.  Renowned as one o...

Connect with Brian here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-lynch-a7352320a/ Brian is CEO of The Children’s Community Programs of Connecticut  This is a multiservice agency founded in 1999 whose mission is to provide diverse and creative support services to children and families throughout Connecticut.   Find out more and connect at  https://www.ccp-ct.org/ https://www.facebook.com/CCPConnecticut/...

Allison Davis Maxon, M.S., LMFT is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of child welfare and children’s mental health specializing in Attachment, Developmental Trauma and Permanency/Adoption. She is the Executive Director of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency  and was the foster care consultant for the Paramount Pictures movie Instant Family . Allison was honored in 2017 with t...

Anna Valdez is the Program Director at Chosen and came on board in January of 2022. She is bilingual, and holds a BA in English with a Teacher Certification and an MA in English with a concentration in Literature and Culture and is completing her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. After teaching high school for 2 years, Anna Valdez lived in Monterrey, Mexico for 5 years as a Program Coordina...

Here's a link to  the episode I mention in the podcast https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/with-joy-carter-Ni_rUkb3   Lori Holden writes at LavenderLuz.com and hosts the podcast Adoption: The Long View . She’s the author of the acclaimed book, The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole , written with her daughter’s birth mom and featured on required readi...

Abby Jacobson is a professional Adoption Consultant bringing over 20 years of experience from her previous career as a psychotherapist & substance abuse counselor. Additionally, she has received training as a National Adoption Competency Mental Health Provider. With her knowledge of family systems & networking, it is her aim to provide support to individuals who have experienced the process of ado...

Marnie and Gail work with The Forget Me Not Family Society. Here's more about them from their website. It was formed for education, consultation, peer counselling and to offer support to all those who are impacted by adoption. We are a provincially registered, non-profit society in British Columbia, Canada and a federally registered charity, (88908-4869-RR0001) run by a dedicated group of voluntee...

Connect with Christian at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-mayer-001/ Email him at carayamayer@gmail.com Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

HelpUsAdopt.org, founded in 2007, is a national 501(c)(3) adoption grant program. HelpUsAdopt.org was founded by Becky and Kipp Fawcett as a response to their own personal adoption experience - they have 2 daughters -  in an effort to make adoption more feasible for all families.  The organization is the only one of its kind in the United States that embodies all of the following criteria: awards...

Paige Adams Strickland (1961- ) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and adopted at 13 months. In 1987 she began a search for her biological family members. She has a BA from Florida State University in Spanish Education. She has 30 years experience in teaching. Her writing has been featured and won attention from scinti.com, a wordwithyoupress.com, soniamarsh.com and adoptionvoicesmagazine.com. Find out...

Steph is an independent Social Worker, Therapist , Trainer, Manager, Academic, Practice Educator and Consultant. The main focus of her career has been children's mental health and she managed an award-winning mental health service for children and adopted children for over a decade Connect with her at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-dip-s-w-ba-bsc-ma-pgce-fhea-08633890/ Guests and the host...

A Little About Damon Davis "I had the good fortune to be reunited with my biological mother in 2009 in a heart warming story of coincidental history, a mutual desire to be reunified, and the pure luck to be able to surprise my biological mother, Ann, for our reunion on her birthday! I always enjoy hearing and sharing the real stories of our lives that makes each of us who we are. I’m devoting this...

Here's a bit about Jaclyn from her website  "I believe healthy, post-adoption outcomes begin with pre-adoption education and intentional parenting. My goals are to create a space that embodies compassion, to foster a therapeutic relationship that enables vulnerability, and to support the exploration of your whole self. I am an ally, an empath, and an attuned listener. I offer a safe environment wi...

Jeanette Yoffe, M.A., M.F.T., earned her Master's in Clinical Psychology, specializing in children, from Antioch University in June of 2002. She treats children with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and /or multiple placements. She has specialized for the past 18 years in the treatment of children who manifest serious deficits in their emotional, cognitive,...

Andrea Damone-Brown received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and her Masters in Education focusing on Professional Counseling and Psychotherapy through Oklahoma City University. She has been working in the adoption field since 1992 and was the Director at a licensed adoption agency in Dallas for six years. Andrea also co-founded and co-Directed Lifetree Adoption Agency in Dallas, Texa...

Steve Sunday has worked in the field of adoption for more than four decades as a caseworker, supervisor, and administrator. Currently, he is the Founder and President/CEO of Forever Bound Adoption, as well as an advisor to the adoption advocacy support organization, United for Adoption. Since graduating with his MSW in 1981 from Arizona State University, he has worked professionally in Arizona, Ne...

Pat joined the Coalition team in December 2016 as the Director of AGAPE in the Southern Tier/Finger Lakes region.  After three months he transferred to the Long Island Rockland Region to be the Director of AGAPE after AFFCNY was awarded an additional contract. He now serves as the Coalition’s Executive Director. Pat is an adoptive dad. The former Founder and Executive Director of You Gotta Believe...

Matthew McCall started at The Home in 1998 as a Child Care Worker. Matthew has held virtually every client serving role at The Home, from counselor, to clinician, program and department director, in both congregate care and community settings.  For much of his career at The Home, Matthew served as an internal consultant to all The Home’s programs, providing support and leadership during times of t...

This Is Me - No Darkness Too Deep Here's a bit about Fiona's Autobiography "This is my story, a harrowing account of me as a young mixed up teenager going down many wrong paths, into the darkness of drug and alcohol addiction, prostitutution and surviving more than one life-or-death moment in the midst of the madness.  The book also details my encounter with Christ and the journey of a baby Christ...

Karen is the State Director for Pennsylvania at Children's Choice Here's a link to podcast mentioned in this episode https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/unpacking-our-own-baggage-as-adoptive-parents-with-hollyann-petree-mom-executive-director Children’s Choice was founded on April 1st, 1982. By Reverend Doctor William and Doctor Carolyn Eberwein. Affectionately known as Doctor Bill a...

Shaun Doyle comes to Adoption STAR with 20 years of experience working for not-for-profits in the area of developmental disability. After studying at SUNY Fredonia, Shaun moved to Orlando, Florida to work for Walt Disney World. There he learned to train not only Disney Cast Members, but also to train people from other organizations on Disney’s Approach to Quality Service and Disney’s Innovation in...