In this episode, I am sitting down with social worker, educator, and transracial adoptee, Tara Vanderwoude for a candid conversation around the complexities of transracial adoption.  We are discussing: 

• How being an adoptee has impacted her role as an adoptive mom
• Her passion for educating and supporting adoptive parents and adoptees
• How adoptees can overcome the feelings of shame and embrace their curiosity to discover their identity
• Why we need to allow space for adoptees to grieve and be curious
• Tips for current adoptive parents or those thinking about adopting a child of a different race

About Tara Vanderwoude:
Tara VanderWoude is a social worker, transracial adult adoptee, and adoptive mother who educates and consults on the realities and complexities of adoption, race and identity with truth, humor, and grace. Her background includes medical social work, gerontology, and child welfare, as well as working for a large child-placing agency for several years. Tara lives with her husband and children in the Midwest, and in addition to advocating for the adopted person and speaking and consulting nationwide at conferences, schools, and churches, she works as an Assistant Dean of Students at a lower school with students of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Tara is convinced that empathy, connection, and laughter are lifelong essentials, and she enjoys conversations with friends, reading with her children, traveling, and lifelong learning. Find out more at www.taravanderwoude.com. 

Connect with Tara:
Website//Facebook//Instagram

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Website// Instagram//Email
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Mentioned in this episode:
https://hamiltonmusical.com/new-york/home/
https://www.hmart.com/