Adoptee Voyages

Join me this season as transracial adoptees share their experiences and story regarding different ways their family unit has impacted their identity. Along with hearing those stories, I have the privilege to go deeper into topics like our foundational concept of family, relationships we hold close to our hearts, and navigating our chosen family with my new friend- Amber Davies-Sloan. Her voice and perspective as not only a Korean transracial adoptee but also as an educator who has studied how the adoptee identity effects interpersonal relationships is so vital to these conversations this season. I look forward to sharing new episodes with you each Wednesday from April 5th till June 28th as the adoptee voyage continues.

For this week, join myself and Amanda (Mandy) Dortschy. She is a transracial adoptee from Lima, Peru, grew up in Charlotte, NC and now is located in San Diego, CA. Mandy's adopted mom is from the States and her adopted father is from Germany, giving her citizenship in all 3 countries.  Mandy is thankful to have an opportunity to share her adoption story and how it has made her the person she is today. It's taught her to always stay curious with an open mind, to planning an upcoming trip back to Peru (for the first time) to meet her biological family. We discuss how these different cultures shaped her, some experiences she had in Charlotte, and this new curiosity to understand her adoption story has made her who she is today.

In this episode, Kate McCann, a Korean adoptee speaks about her experience interacting with her first culture. Being adopted and growing up in Minnesota gave her feelings of wanting to just belong and fit in with the other white kids in her community. While seeing many other Korean adoptees, she feels like it wasn't until 2020 that she starting recognizing her Korean culture. Listen in as she speaks about the journey of getting to know herself better as she processes this piece of her identity.

This week’s guest is Kecia Weltz, an adoptee from India who was raised in Mount Vernon, WA. Her mom, who recently passed, raised her and her sister who is also adopted from India. Kecia’s story includes some work experience supporting families in the adoption and foster community. Tune in as we discuss her childhood, work experience, and current interactions with her first culture.

Adrian is a Peruvian adoptee who grew up in Canada. He has been on a journey to reconnect with his roots and has made some great memories from it. Listen in as he explains his love for Peru, his culture, and his experience.

On this episode, join Jennifer Lee, a Korean adoptee who was raised in the Greater Seattle area. She discusses her story, the difficulties on navigating her ethnic identity, and how she is passing the gift of being Korean onto her daughter. Jennifer is a single umma (mother in Korean)  and has been estranged from her adoptive parents by choice for 5 years. For the past 20 years she has worked in the immigration law sector. Her work to reclaim her lost identity and culture inspired her to found a run a Families of Color group at her child's school,  serve on Racial Equity and Educational Justice school committees, and form connections with her adoptee community. She's an avid runner and podcast listener, and hopes to find her lost biological family one day.

Sarah Guimond is a Peruvian adoptee who was raised in the Boston, MA area. She grew up with her sister who is also a Peruvian adoptee. When in college, she studied abroad in Peru and once she received her degree a year and a half later, she decided to move back to Peru permanently. Now, she supports the adoptee community through Peru Datos, which helps Peruvian adoptees locate their birth families or obtain dual citizenship; and Rewriting Adoption, which is a place where her sister, her, and other adoptees try to raise up adoptee voices and show more adoptee centered narrative. Find out more about her journey as you listen to today’s episode!