Heather Schultz Gittens (she/her) is a transracial adoptee who grew up on Long Island, NY. She was born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted at four months old in 1984. At age 30, she visited her birth country, reconnected with her Korean roots, and searched for her birth mother in 2014. When she returned from this first motherland trip, she became involved with the adoptee community in New York City. 

Given her passion for adoption reform, Heather served as the Communications and Development Manager at The Donaldson Adoption Institute from 2016 to 2017. She also was on the Board of Directors of Also-Known-As, Inc. (AKA) from 2015 to 2016 and ran a monthly session for preteen adoptees for All Together Now in 2015 to 2016.

In 2017, Heather transitioned from nonprofit communication to academia. She started her teaching journey as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at CUNY Baruch College. In 2022, Heather was appointed to a full-time Lecturer position. She teaches Professional Speech Communication, Introduction to Business Communication and Business Communication. Her classes blend theoretical concepts in communication, career development skills including interviewing and networking, and self-care and self-love tools including positive affirmations and mindfulness. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Master of Public Administration from Baruch College.

Heather is also the Founder and Owner of Huh Healing Hub LLC. She earned her Usui Reiki Master Certification from Lily Rubinstein at The Center of Inner Wisdom in 2018.  After moving through feelings of abandonment, grief and shame as a Korean adoptee and motherless daughter, she is deeply devoted to helping others heal themselves through Reiki, meditation and writing. 

In 2019, Heather created her Reiki company (Huh Healing Hub) in New York City. She included her birth surname (Huh) into the business name to honor her motherland of Korea. She offers private Reiki sessions and leads Reiki circles and workshops focused on mindfulness, unconditional self-love and transformation.

Aside from her teaching and healing work, Heather serves on the Advisory Committee of Also-Known-As. She also continues to facilitate virtual writing and meditation workshops for AKA.

Heather lives in Queens, NY with her husband. She loves to explore different countries, hike, and connect to her inner child through coloring books.

Here is a list of Heather’s personal essays, podcast episode, blog post and video interview about her adoptee journey and Reiki company:

October and December 2014

• NBCNews.com: A Korean Adoptee Starts the Search for Her Birth Family (personal essay)
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/korean-adoptee-starts-search-her-birth-family-n209891
• NBCNews.com: The Search for a Birth Family Leads to Seoul and Back Again (personal essay)
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/search-birth-family-leads-seoul-back-again-n258911

December 2020

• Adapted Podcast (Season 4, Episode 8: Heather Schultz): Interview with Kaomi Lee (Host of Adapted) about Heather's adoption journey and mission to help others survive and move past pain and trauma (podcast episode)
• https://adaptedpodcast.com/2020/12/01/season-4-episode-8-heather-schultz/

June 2021

• The Korea Daily: Looking For Mom Series -- Video Interview with Brian Choi (Business Desk Staff Editor) (video interview)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO5Hh-Y525s&t=1420s

April 2022

IAMAdoptee: Reiki Master Heather Schultz Gittens and Her Journey to Healing (blog post)

• https://iamadoptee.org/reiki-master-heather-schultz-and-her-journey-to-healing/

Music by Corey Quinn and Invitational by MDT.