When They Were Young: Amplifying Voices of Adoptees

I reached out to Melissa who is actively on the front lines of educating people in the adoption community. We discuss the harmful language Abby Johnson uses to describe her own adopted son in the infamous youtube video. There are misconceptions about the black community that she perpetuates with alarming conviction. Melissa is a formidable essayist, mother, blogger, author (THE WHITE SAVIOR MENTAL...

This week I reach out to my biological aunt Dr. Juliana Olson-Deans who is a fellow adoptee as well as an adoption therapist. We discuss the 9 character types of the enneagram and how we're using the information to navigate our budding relationship. You may recognize Dr. Deans from the Interracial Adoptee Panel series, where she was co-host. I was first introduced to the Enneagram by Dr. Barb...

This week I discuss the exquisite poetry of Schai Belair-Toussaint Schairer, a fellow sister in adoption, spoken word poet and founder of F.I.S.T. (Fighting Injustice Standing Together) a non-profit organization working to empower incarcerated women through writing. Schai was a panelist on three of the four International Adoptee Panels sponsored by USFCH. She and I unpack her motivation for writin...

I have the rare opportunity to interview my mother, Karla Shelley-Albert and my godmother Heidi Husted-Armstrong. It’s an incredibly unique thing for an adoptee to interview their parental figures, most parents refuse, but mine were eager to support me in this endeavor. They, like myself are committed to educating the adoption community, which means getting vulnerable and embracing all perspective...

I continue my conversation with The president and CEO of Fondation pour les Enfants d’Haiti, Gladys Thomas. Gladys addresses why she stopped facilitating adoptions, how she introduced her adopted son to his family and what adoptees should do under the pressure of supporting their biological family once they grow up.  She is the recipient of recipient of its 2013 William Jefferson Clinton and Goodw...

Episode 1. Gladys Thomas: Finding Courage (Part. 1) The president and CEO of Fondation Pour Les Enfants d'Haiti (sister organization to US Foundation for the Children of Haiti) the organization helming the orphanage I came from, once called Haiti Home for Children and later was known as Rainbow of Love Nursery. Gladys is one of the most powerful voices in adoption. She is an adoptive mother h...