The Empowered Adoptee Podcast

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Join us for a transformative experience as we share an adoptee virtual workshop hosted by Laurie and Claire, where they explored the power of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping and Somatic Breathwork. 

Through guided sessions, you will learn how to release emotional blocks, reduce stress, and cultivate a deeper connection with yourself. This workshop is a safe space for adoptees to explore their unique journeys and gain valuable tools for healing and self-discovery.

To our beloved KAD community, as we continue to process through our feelings and emotions about our adoption stories, we want to acknowledge that we are all in need of different healing tools. Just knowing that we are not alone in our journeys is enough for some, while others may need more connection, more discussion, and more tools to help process in healthy ways. 

We're encouraging everyone to seek out the support you need and to embrace your vulnerabilities because it's when we have the courage to go within ourselves for more awareness, more truths, and more connection, we become empowered. 

Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today before tickets sell out!


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

In this episode of the Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we sit down with the incredible Phoenix Song, a queer, nonbinary, trans Korean adoptee who has been helping people free their voices, rhythms, and body stories since 2006. Phoenix is a singer, musician, sound healer, performer, writer, facilitator, and dharma teacher whose work is rooted in empowering individuals to sing, sound, and speak their truths.

Phoenix shares their personal journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of being a transracial and transcultural adoptee, and how their experience as a trans and nonbinary person has shaped their path. From releasing trauma through sound to finding power in rhythm and voice, Phoenix guides us through how healing is possible through creative expression and embodiment.

Join us as Phoenix, Laurie, and Claire dive deep into the intersection of identity, empowerment, and the liberating force of sound. Phoenix offers wisdom and tools to help adoptees connect with their authentic selves, reclaim their voices, and find healing through creative expression.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone on the Adoptee Healing Journey, offering inspiration, vulnerability, and practical tools to help free your voice and share your story with the world.

Listen in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.

If you would like to connect with Phoenix Song:
Instagram - @phoenixsongrises 
phoenixsongmusic.com

If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA. Tickets are available now.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today before tickets sell out!


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

In this episode of the Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we take a deep dive into the Hero’s Journey and its profound connection to the orphan archetype, especially as it relates to the adoptee experience. Drawing from Joseph Campbell's famous narrative structure, we’ll explore how the themes of abandonment, separation, and identity that define the orphan archetype parallel the emotional journey of adoptees.

We’ll discuss the stages of the Hero’s Journey—from the initial "call to adventure" to crossing into the unknown, facing trials, and ultimately experiencing transformation and empowerment. Through this lens, we examine the unique challenges adoptees face, such as navigating multiple identities, reconciling cultural disconnection, and the deep desire for belonging. 

By framing the adoptee journey as a hero’s path, we offer insights into how adoptees can transform their experiences of loss into personal growth, resilience, and self-empowerment.

Whether you're an adoptee, a friend, or a supporter of the adoptee community, this episode will provide new perspectives on embracing the complexities of the adoptee experience as a heroic journey toward healing and wholeness.

Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA. Tickets are available now.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today before tickets sell out!


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Laurie, Jolie, and Claire answer all your questions about The Empowered Adoptee Retreat in this Q&A session.

A little backstory about the retreat, we intentionally curated a unique experience for Korean adoptees and our special offerings really stand out because there is nothing like it anywhere else in the community. 

We came together and ran several focus groups with KADs to gain a deep understanding of what was really needed to meet our needs and wishes for a special and truly life changing retreat experience.

The Empowered Adoptee Retreat is unique because it's for KADs, by KADS!

Some highlights of our Q&A:

Just 7 weeks to our next retreat in Shenandoah, VA and we are currently 50% sold out! 

*REFERRAL BONUS*  $100 off your ticket price if you bring a KAD friend AND they get $100 off their ticket too!

FAQ's answered in this episode:

How do I get to the retreat? 
Are flights included? Where do I fly in?
What time do I need to get there? 
Will I need to rent a car?
What do I need to bring? 
How do I bring my kimchi back if I’m flying? 
Will a container be provided?
Are meals included? 
Do you accommodate dietary restrictions?
Do I need to have experience with breathwork, tapping, etc? How do I know it’s for me? 
How big is the retreat? 
What happens at the retreat? Day in the Life 
What are some healing tools we can expect to learn? Daily practices like somatic movement - start with intentionality, get us in our bodies.
What happens after the retreat? 


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA. Tickets are available now.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today before tickets sell out!


Visit https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/

Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Sooki Jalali was part of the first wave of Korean adoptees and grew up in her orphanage as a “house mother” from age 5 until approximately 12 or 14 yrs old, when she was adopted to a single mother and her sister and grew up in Minnesota.

Join us as Sooki sits down with Laurie and Claire and intimately shares her unique experiences as an independent adoptee and how her own curiosity about self worth, happiness, and inward journey to live a life of purpose has led her down a path of self empowerment and personal development.

She is a certified life coach and also a certified yoga instructor. She continually works towards personal transformation and she is following her calling to be a facilitator of inner work.

Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA. Tickets are available now.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today before tickets sell out!


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

In this episode of the podcast, Jolie Wermter joins Laurie and Claire for a panel discussion on Intersectional Identity, which will be a topic of one of the workshops at our upcoming KAD retreat - The Empowered Adoptee Retreat.

The Big 8 social identities are often tied to power, privilege, and oppression in our society. These include Ability, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Race/Color, and Socioeconomic Status. We explore how other identities like Immigrant status impact and shape us, while acknowledging that these identities are just a starting point.

We share our own personal experiences with these identities and how they have shaped our lives as Korean adoptees. We also discuss the unique challenges that come with being an immigrant, specifically the idea that "Immigrant" is not the narrative we're told is part of our story. Instead, many Korean adoptees have experienced "forced emigration without immigrant community."

Throughout the discussion, we emphasize the importance of recognizing and understanding the various intersections of our identities, and how this can help us to better understand ourselves and the world around us. We encourage listeners to consider how their own identities have shaped their experiences and to be mindful of the ways in which power, privilege, and oppression intersect in their own lives.

This episode provides a valuable insight into the complexities of intersectional identity and how it relates to the experiences of Korean adoptees. It is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring their own identity and understanding the experiences of others.


Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Website: https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/
Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]


If you are interested in attending The Empowered Adoptee Retreat, our upcoming retreat will be help Oct 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA. Tickets are available now.


Don't miss your chance — reserve your spot today for 15% off the full price until September 2nd!



Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

In this episode, we sit down with Ji Young, a Korean adoptee who has been living in Seoul for five years and she shares how her unique experiences has led her to incredible strength, resiliency, inner wisdom, peace, and personal growth. She is a true inspiration and a light in this community!

As someone who is differently abled with cerebral palsy, Ji Young has done extensive research on accessibility in Korea and wants to share her experiences with others who may be considering moving here. She discusses the challenges she has faced and the resources she has found to help navigate life in Korea with a disability.

Ji Young is a valuable resource for anyone who is differently abled and considering visiting or moving to Korea. She is passionate about helping others and wants to share her experiences to make life in Korea more accessible for all.

 We invite you to reach out to Ji Young at [email protected]



*Trigger warning:* This episode may contain sensitive topics related to childhood and adolescence abuse and neglect. If you feel you are not emotionally ready to listen, please take care of yourself and consider returning to this episode at a later time. 


If you are needing emotional support, please reach out to Claire and Laurie here: [email protected]


Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the.empowered.adoptee
Email: [email protected]



Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Join Laurie, Claire, and Jolie while we share exciting live updates about our upcoming Empowered Adoptee Retreat!

The Empowered Adoptee Retreat is a transformative journey for Korean Adoptees of all genders to explore identity, heal in community, and learn tools to live life more empowered.

Build Your Community - Find meaningful connections with other Korean Adoptees on a similar journey.

Explore Your Identity - Connect with your heritage through Korean cooking, music, tea ceremonies, and more.

Discover Your Power - A safe, nurturing space to help you process your emotions, build resilience, and grow.

Our second retreat will be held October 25-28 in Shenandoah Valley, VA (1 hour from Charlottesville).

Check out more information and sign up now until September 2nd with our Early Bird Discount!

https://www.theempoweredadoptee.com/

Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee 
Instagram: the_empowered_adoptee_podcast


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

DeLa Dos is a Korean adoptee from Washington, D.C. who works in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Join us as DeLa shares their story of growing up Asian in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. The unique experiences and the challenges they faced in navigating multiple identities has shaped their perspective on identity and belonging. 


By the end of the episode, listeners will have a deeper understanding of the experiences of Korean adoptees and the importance of embracing multiple identities. We hope this episode will inspire us all to take steps towards creating more inclusive spaces and fostering a sense of belonging for all individuals.

DeLa Dos currently lives in Washington, DC where they serve as the senior director, Learning + Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Association of Research Libraries—a nonprofit membership organization of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and large public institutions in Canada and the US. Prior to this role, they worked in higher education administration for over a decade serving in a number of capacities including directing multicultural affairs and social justice education departments as well as an instructor and adjunct professor. DeLa holds a PhD in counselor education and supervision with a cognate in educational leadership as well as an MS in community counseling from Mercer University. They earned their BA from Emory University with majors in dance & movement studies and religion and a minor in sociology.

If you would like to reach out to DeLa, please do so here: [email protected]


Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee Podcast
Instagram: the_empowered_adoptee_podcast


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

In this episode of the podcast, Laurie and Claire share podcast updates and exciting upcoming events. 


Claire is currently in Seoul, and the Dream Team will be livestreaming from The Empowered Adoptee Podcast Facebook page soon. We are excited to announce that we will open up registrations for our second Empowered Adoptee Retreat soon!

Throughout the episode, we offer support for anyone interested in attending a retreat or exploring their adoption journey. We also discuss the broader mission of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast and how we strive to create a supportive community for adoptees around the world.


Get ready to hear our vulnerable stories and connect. We share practical tools for empowerment and the challenges we have experienced along the way.


Join us as we share our personal experiences, vulnerabilities, and insights, offering inspiration and support for the Adoptee Healing Journey.


Tune in to the Empowered Adoptee Podcast to be inspired and empowered on your own journey of healing and transformation.


If you would like to connect with us, you can find us here:

Facebook: The Empowered Adoptee Podcast
Instagram: the_empowered_adoptee_podcast


Please reach out and ask us your questions and share your own stories! Together, we are empowering Adoptees through community.


New episodes drop every Monday, it would mean the world to us if you share it with a friend and share the love 💜