Erica Livingston is a postpartum-centric full-spectrum doula, maternal health strategist, and founder of Birdsong Doulas. As an adoptee and a parent, she works at the intersections of birth justice, storytelling, and liberation, supporting families and care workers across the thresholds of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond.

Website: https://www.birdsongdoulas.com

Music by Corey Quinn

Roxan Chen, is a Late Discovery Adoptee, born in Baltimore, Maryland, raised in New York, living out her creative life in New Jersey when not discovering/tour leading in various destinations throughout the world.

Music by Corey Quinn

Jaciara is a transracial/international adoptee. She was adopted from Brazil in 1985 when she was 11 months old and raised in Northern California by a Jewish single parent mother, in a small and very minimally diverse town.

Jaciara has obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She currently works as a medical social worker in a hospital and has been in this field for many years. Jaciara has also worked in the field of adoption/foster care at various capacities for 10 years, and recently has begun a new part-time role as a Court Appointed Family Engagement Specialist. She has been a panelist on numerous adult adoptee panels, has co-developed and presented training curriculum utilizing both her lived and professional experience on the multi-layered experiences and nuances in transracial placement/adoption. She has also created educational curriculum for adoptee youth teaching mindfulness practices, as well as sharing learned life lessons and hardships from her lived experience in effort to provide the support and knowledge she so greatly wished to have had when she was younger.

Jaciara has also independently provided 1:1 mentorship primarily to teenage adoptees including extending support/guidance to their adoptive parent(s). Jaciara is a member of the Board of Directors for S.P.A.C.E. (School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education) a well-known organization in her hometown that she actively participated in as a youth; she holds the position as the Chair of the board’s Cultural Education Committee. Outside of her professional work, her most cherished and beloved hobby is Samba dance; and she is a principal dancer on a award winning Samba team. For Jaciara, Samba has been her most steady connection to her Afro-Brazilian roots.

Resources/References: https://youtu.be/dmfxulaeMZI?si=exMTT3VX9SZkqXuB

http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/31/bayer-jaciara-jaciara-bayer-transracial-adoptions-and-white-privilege/

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

Music by Corey Quinn

Julian Mack is a transracial adoptee in reunion/contact with his family of origin. He is a Black American music artist living in Atlanta. Julian continues to move through questions of identity and societal issues with a thoughtful, grey-lens perspective.

Music by Corey Quinn

Sonia Morgan is a late discovery adoptee born in Pennsylvania. She searched for her biological family and is currently appreciating reunion/contact with them.

Music by Corey Quinn

Anna Bryant is a transracial adoptee from Iowa. She grew up in a multiracial household with White parents and international adoptee sisters from South Korea. She has been in reunion with her family of origin for 8 years which has brought both joys and heartbreaks. She is currently working on her memoir Cultural Fraud which explores her reunion journey and her search for Black identity. She currently resides in the Black Mecca of Atlanta with her husband and loves to travel, spend time with friends, and occasionally review new snacks.

Music by Corey Quinn

Koko is a same-race Black adoptee with 15 years of experience in community behavioral health. She holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Professional Clinical Counselor. A mother and a healer, Koko brings a trauma-informed, liberation-focused lens to her work with individuals and communities impacted by adoption. Her insights have made her a frequent guest on podcasts, and she has spoken at major gatherings, including the BIPOC Adoptee Conference.

She is the founder and CEO of BADAN, the Black African Diaspora Adoptee Network—a global community committed to connection, care, and collective truth-telling for Black adoptees across the diaspora. Through community organizing, mental health advocacy, and storytelling. She creates space for Black adoptees to name grief, reclaim identity, and move toward embodied belonging. Her work centers the lived experiences of same-race adoptees while pushing for accountability and change within adoption and mental health systems. As stated, she can be found spilling adoption truths on Instagram @theblackadoptea.  https://www.instagram.com/badancommunity/

References: https://untanglingourroots.org/schedule/

Music by Corey Quinn

Garrett Lee is a same race domestic adoptee residing in Orlando, FL. He is in reunion with DNA family members and the journey continues putting the pieces together about his relinquishment/adoption story.

Website: https://www.oldskoolcakes.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Janeen Jackson is an adoptee, children's book author, and powerful advocate for adult adoptees—especially those who discover the truth about their adoption later in life. Through her blog Mixed Up Diary and her book Hello, Sweet Baby!, Janeen creates space for honest conversations about identity, race, and healing. Her mission is to provide comfort and understanding to others facing similar revelations and to help families navigate the emotional complexities of adoption with empathy and truth.

In 2017, Janeen took a DNA test out of curiosity. What followed was a life-altering discovery: she was adopted, had been in foster care, and was biracial. She uncovered this truth in her 40s, a revelation that completely redefined her sense of self and understanding of her past. This experience launched her into a journey of emotional excavation, family redefinition, and self-empowerment. 

Janeen’s late discovery of her adoption brought with it many emotional and psychological challenges, including grief, anger, confusion, and a profound identity crisis. She wrestled with issues of trust, colorism, belonging, and depression. Learning how to set healthy boundaries, confront painful family secrets, and process her biracial identity has been central to her personal transformation.

Websites: https://mixedupdiary.com/ https://janeenjackson.com/

Music by Corey Quinn

Eric Shaw in Southern California is an educator (Elementary School PE and High School basketball coach), adopted at birth by same race and adopted siblings with Koko, @TheBlackAdoptea on IG.

Resource: https://adoptionmosaic.com/adoptee-beacon

Music by Corey Quinn