This is a rebroadcast of last year's Mother's Day episode honoring and celebrating this special day for mothers. Listen to birth mothers, adoptees, and an adoptive dad share heartfelt feelings and maybe even some complicated thoughts about mothers. Join hosts, adoptive parent, Sally Ankerfelt and Adopted Person, Sharon Butler-Obazee, as they acknowledge not only Mother's Day on May 11 but also honor and celebrate Birth Mother's Day, on the Saturday before -- this year, May 10. 

As always, your hosts seek to bring a tri-spective view that encompasses the adoption experience of those who have been adopted, adoptive parents, and birth mothers. It's ADOPTION MATTERS: Real People, Real Life, Real Talk!

Welcome to ADOPTION MATTERS, a podcast with real people sharing real stories and getting real about adoption from all three perspectives of the adoption triad. Join coaches, Kim Noeth, one of your co-hosts, and a birth mother, along with Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adopted person, and Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent as they explore difficult topics and share frank conversations guided by our commitment to truth-telling and truth-seeking.

Today, we honor Marcie J. Keithley as the 2025 Shaping the Future Award recipient for her work in encouraging dialog and understanding between the members of the adoption constellation. The Shaping the Future Award acknowledges the efforts of individuals and organizations committed to encouraging dialog across the adoption constellation because we know that a fuller view of adoption complexity gives a more complete picture of the adoption experience. When we see more completely, relationships can be strengthened and people can grow in their understanding and care for another person’s experience, especially understanding the adoption person’s experience, which is front-and-center. Ms. Keithley's work surely embodies those goals and aspirations!

Marcie J. Keithley, is an author, advocate for genetic rights, speaker, master storyteller and co-founder of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP). She retired as Vice President of Retail Bank Management and Merrill Lynch after serving the financial industry for over 32 years. She and her birth daughter, Jessica, were reunited on Father's Day in 2008.

Ms. Keithley co-founded the Indiana Adoptee Network and has testified multiple times throughout the years in support of OBC access for the sister organization, H.E.A.R. (Hoosier For Equal Access to Records), where she served as Vice President. She also hosts the twice-monthly, Friday night virtual event, Adoption Happy Hour, with a global audience from across the adoption constellation. Her journey took a dramatic turn in the fall of 2023 when an intended DNA test to search for more Keithley family members resulted in a DNA surprise that would alter her world: she had no biological connections to the Keithleys. Similar to an LDA, she discovered at the age of 68 that she was raised by non-biological people.

An author, Ms. Keithley has written, The Shoebox Effect: Transforming Pain Into Fortitude and Purpose and currently is working on her next memoir, Beautifully Broken, Diary of an NPE, A DNA Surprise. Whether you are an adopted person, a birth parent or adoptive parent, or a member of the adoption constellation, we are excited to share our stories, insights and support. Thank you for joining, “ADOPTION MATTERS: Real People, Real Life, Real Talk”

Welcome to ADOPTION MATTERS, a podcast with real people sharing real stories and getting real about adoption from all three perspectives of the adoption triad. Join coaches, Kim Noeth, one of your co-hosts, and a birth mother, along with Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adopted person, and Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent as they explore difficult topics and share frank conversations guided by our commitment to truth-telling and truth-seeking.

Today's episode features April Dinwoodie: Advocate for Adoption, Foster Care, and Multiracial Families. Relinquished into foster care at birth and adopted by the age of two, Ms. Dinwoodie grew up navigating life as a Black/biracial woman in predominantly white spaces. Her personal journey—shaped by questions of identity, belonging, and family—has fueled her lifelong commitment to embracing empathy, inclusion, and understanding.

As the host of two podcasts, "Born in June, Raised in April: What Adoption Can Teach the World!" and "Calendar Conversations: A Guide for Adoptive Parents," April promotes dialogue about identity, family, and cultural differences. A former Chief Executive of the Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI), she has led national adoption reform initiatives and founded AdoptMent, a mentoring program for adopted and foster youth.

Currently, she serves as Executive Director of Transracial Journeys, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Lead at Steven Madden, LTD, facilitates adoption affinity/support groups in schools, consults on federal child welfare grants, and serves on advisory boards within the adoption community. 

April has been sharing her experiences nationally and internationally for over 25 years as a keynote speaker and presenter, including engagements with the UPMC Hospital System and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption/Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Summit. Learn more at Aprildinwoodie.com.

Whether you are an adoptee, a birth parent or adoptive parent, or a member of the adoption constellation, we are excited to share our stories, insights and support. Thank you for joining, “ADOPTION MATTERS: Real People, Real Life, Real Talk”

Valentine's Day is upon us once again. Love is supposed to be "in the air." But what if it isn't. Today, our hosts, birth mom Kim Noeth, adoptee Sharon Obazee, and adoptive parent, Sally Ankerfelt are joined by adoptive parents, Susan David and Gayle Swift, discuss the idea that love is sometimes an obligation.  As always, their discussion is infused with a Tri-spective view that gives voice to all three members of the adoption triad.    

Real life brings challenges that include grief and loss. Of course, this is true for those in the adoption constellation. As adoption coaches, we talk a lot about grief and loss in the context of a child adoptee losing their birth mother even as the adoption brings them an adoptive mom. But what about the adult adoptee? And how might the adoptive parent feel (and deal) with their adopted child's loss of their birth mom?

Two of the three hosts of this vlog and adoption coaches at Growing Intentional Families Together, Kim Noeth, birthmother, and Sally Ankerfelt, adoptive parent, have experienced the recent loss of their beloved mother. As many condolences were received by both, it sparked some thoughts among them on how it feels to lose a mom for those of us in the adoption constellation. While Kim is not hosting today as she tends to her and family's needs, hosts Sally and Sharon share their thoughts on losing a mother.   

Join them for another insightful conversation.

It's that time of year again and the holidays are upon us! How do adoptive families handle gift giving when there may be more than one family in the holiday photo? Join hosts Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee), and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent), along with their colleagues, adoptive parents and coaches, Gayle Swift and Susan David as they discuss a few of the nuances of gift-giving in the adoptive family. As always, a Tri-spective view of adoption is presented and adoption's lasting impact on each triad member is considered in the discussion.

Happy holidays from the coaches at Growing Intentional Familes Together and your podcast hosts, Kim, Sharon, and Sally!   

November has arrived and time once more to recognize National Adoption Awareness Month. This year's theme, "Honoring Youth; Strengthening Pathways for Lasting Bonds", highlights the importance of helping youth identify and nurture support systems and social connections that help young people as they transition to adulthood and through life.

Join hosts Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee) and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent) as they discuss the lasting and often negative impact of the child welfare system with Dr. Patrice Martin, strategic leader and adoptee rights activist. As always, hosts and their special guest, offer up a tri-spective view of adoption and its lasting impact on each triad member.

Special guest, adoptee, adoptee activist, and author, Anne Heffron, joins co-hosts and adoption coaches, Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee) and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent) for an engaging discussion of the "masks" we might be wearing as members of the adoption triad and within our adoptive families. How do the masks we don protect our feelings and the feelings of those around us? If we were brave enough to let the masks down, what would we gain, how would we feel, and how would we be different? Are we even brave enough to share what is behind the mask? Drawing on a tri-spective point of view and lived experience, explore the "unmasking."

Join co-hosts and adoption coaches, Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee) and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent) for an important back-to-school discussion of adoption in the classroom. Once again, they bring to the conversatin their unique experience and world view as an adoption triad member to inform the conversation. Today, they explore with 6th grade teacher, Michelle Soggs, how she creates a learning environment that is sensitive to adoptive families, adoptees, and birth families.

Join co-hosts and adoption coaches, Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee) and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent) for another lively and upbeat discussion with Brian, an adoptive father of two, now-adult children. Learn how he navigated an open adoption with not one but two different bio families!     

Using their Tri-spective point of view,  Kim, Sharon, and Sally explore with Brian how others can create an experience that works for their families.