Jenna Lowe is a domestic same race adoptee, adopted through Catholic Charities in a closed adoption. Her biological half-brother was also placed into the same family when Jenna was 17 months old. She is in reunion with both her paternal and maternal birth families and finds it her personal mission to spread awareness around relinquishment trauma to other adoptees, members of the adoption constellation, and humanity at large.

Jenna is a trauma-informed holistic spiritual consultant; her approach to healing blends Ayurvedic science, astrology, and general energy work to meet the unique needs of her clients

https://www.frequencyastrology.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Bridgett McGowen-Hawkins is an award-winning international speaker, author, and publisher who energizes audiences and empowers voices. A late discovery adoptee, Bridgett found out at the age of 31 that she was adopted, an experience that reshaped her understanding of identity, family, trust, and truth. Today, she shares her story to support others with healing, speaking boldly, and reclaiming their narratives.

Bridgett is on a mission to inspire a global audience to reframe public speaking and communication not merely as a professional skill but as a fundamental human right and a lever of influence, equity, and justice. She is the founder of Press 49, a hybrid publishing company that amplifies untold stories and transformational voices.

Website: https://www.bridgettmcgowen.com/

Book recommendations: The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D., Lions Roaring Far From Home by Aselefech Evans , Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald, et al., Journey of the Adopted Self by Betty Jean Lifton.

Music by Corey Quinn

Jackson TerKeurst’s new book, The Only Way Forward is Back: A Story of War, Adoption, and Finding Your Purpose in God’s Plan, is an inspirational memoir taking the reader on a journey through war-torn Liberia to the United States, watching God do a mighty work during difficult and heart-breaking circumstances.

Jackson is an entrepreneur and leader who continues to defy the odds as a first-generation immigrant from West Africa who owns and runs a small business. The adopted son of bestselling author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst, Jackson is passionate about drawing together people from diverse backgrounds to experience authentic community. He lives with his wife and their two children outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Website: https://www.jacksonterkeurst.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: January 10, 2023

Dan Smith is an adoptee in reunion who co-facilitates a support group with Adoption Network Cleveland for all members of the constellation. It meets the last Thursday of each month online. He resides in Ohio and enjoys his retirement after a career as a firefighter.

Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: June 14, 2022

Zhen E (pronounced like Jenny) is a transnational transracial Korean Adoptee who was abducted through Holt in the 1970s to an all white family and community. She and her husband Robert (also white) are foodies and travelers and cat-parents to 4 cats and proud parents to Jordan and his wife Skyler and grandparents to granddaughter Jasmine Nari (3 years) and grandson Soren Eujin (3 weeks).

Zhen E is an adoptee advocate and has gone to Washington DC, LA, and the Iowa Legislatures to pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act.  

Zhen E has performed her pieces "Black Box: An Adoption Story Choreopoem" and other spoken word poetry about adoption at several play festivals, at KAAN and IKAA in the US and Seoul, South Korea.  

Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: May 2, 2023

Laura L. Engel likes to say she is late to the game as a budding new author. Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Laura has lived in Southern California for over 50 years. She and her husband, Gene are the proud parents of six grown children along with their significant others. They are delighted to be Grammy and PaPa to ten grandchildren. Recently retired after 30 plus years as a regional sales representative for an international title insurance company, Laura left the corporate world and plunged headlong into her second career as a writer in 2017.

Laura has had two scenes from her memoir chosen for the San Diego Memoir Showcase. Her scene, 'Secret Son' is published in the award winning anthology 'Shaking the Tree'. Her scene 'Do They Know?' was selected as one of the ten winners for the San Diego Memoir Showcase in 2018. It was published in 2019 in Amazon Best Seller and Award winning Shaking The Tree 2 and Shaking The Tree 3. She is a current member of the International Women Writers Guild and President of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association. Laura's memoir is 'You’ll Forget This Ever Happened'. Check out her website for more information regarding her memoir.

https://lauralengel.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Rosalyn “Roz" Carter is the co-host of the I Found Her podcast and Taya's birthmother. At the age of 16, Roz became pregnant and placed Deana, now Taya for adoption. 

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from University of Phoenix and is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). She was a member of Toastmistress in the early 1970’s before women could join Toastmasters. 

In 2005, she joined Toastmasters while employed at the City of Moreno Valley, and has served in many leadership positions, including District Governor in 2012-2013 and Region Advisor in 2017-2019. Roz has presented workshops and keynote speeches on corporate relations, leadership, marketing, mentorship, coaching, program quality, club growth and retention, public relations, staff development and team building for Toastmasters, Chambers of Commerce and other community organizations. 

She received Humanitarian of the Year from Moreno Valley Black Chamber of Commerce in 2011 and awards for marketing, education and training. Please contact Roz Carter to share her expertise, the benefits and value of Toastmasters, and lessons learned with your organization's employees and members.

https://ifoundherpodcast.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Taya Reed is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor with over 15 years of therapeutic experience. She established her private practice, Sound House Therapy, 5 years ago. Adopted in 1970 during the Baby Scoop Era through the LA County Adoption Agency, Taya's personal experience within a closed same-race domestic adoption has profoundly shaped her professional journey. Taya is a US Armed Forces veteran and served in the Gulf War. 

Taya presented at the Adoption Knowledge Affiliates conference and participated in an Adoption Mosaic panel discussion. She has participated in multiple writing groups such as Migrating Towards Wholeness: Rewriting Adoption Narratives in the Constellation with Dr. Liz DeBetta and Adoptee Voices Cohort 14 with Sara Easterly. Reuniting with both of her birth parents has provided first-hand experience of adoption's complexities.

ifoundherpodcast.com

https://www.soundhousetherapy.com/

Taya shares her journey openly having co-hosted the podcast "I Found Her" with her birth mother and is writing an adoptee-guided journal, also titled ‘’I Found Her,’’ planned for 2025 publication. Her mission is to provide compassionate and effective support to fellow adoptees as they navigate their adoption identity.

Music by Corey Quinn

Angie was born in Washington, DC in 1971. She spent the first couple of months at St. Ann's Maternity Home before being adopted by a somewhat older couple. She learned about her adoption as a young child after asking her mother if she had been adopted, as suggested by some classmates. Angie searched for and found her biological family in her early twenties and has been in reunion for about 30 years. 

https://www.patreon.com/c/adopteeland

Music by Corey Quinn

Danna Schmidt is an end-of-life navigator, ceremonialist, and adoptee who often writes about ritual and threshold moments at the bedside or graveside. Her writings have appeared in Adoptee Voices, Severance Magazine, Grown and Flown and in Maggie Oman Shannon’s Crafting Love: Sharing Our Hearts Through the Work of Our Hands. She has two works in progress: a hybrid guidebook, Funerals, Families & Other Exciting F Words, and her adoption memoir, What the Stork Brought, which chronicles family secrets and the prices we pay to keep them.

https://waypointceremonies.com/

Rituals of Healing from Birth to Worth - Waypoint Ceremonies

https://AltaredMoments.substack.com

Music by Corey Quinn