Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Thriving starts with us. If we want our kids to thrive, we need to be thriving. And that all starts with self awareness. Listen in as Annette shares insights into self awareness and how it helps us tackle the tough stuff and thrive.

Annette Williams, PhD, M.Ed., LPC, RPT, CAS is a Professional Member of the Association of Play Therapy and is a National Certified Counselor through the NBCC.

Find out more about her here:

https://www.williamscounselingplaytherapy.com/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How fast are you living your life? Today's frantic pace of life means opportunities to learn, grow and connect with the people we love the most pass us by. Listen in as David shares his learnings on slowing down, becoming a better parent and much more.

Rev. David Melber is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH) effective January 1, 2025. David is responsible for casting the overall vision for the nonprofit as well as overseeing all aspects of its many ministries throughout NC, SC and internationally. His desire is to ensure the needs of those BCH serves are compassionately met and the hope of Jesus Christ is shared.

David Melber is a Kentucky native who has dedicated his career and calling to non-profit ministry within Southern Baptist life. He has served in executive positions with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and Send Relief, a collaboration between NAMB and the International Mission Board (IMB). After surrendering to a call to ministry, he attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY where he received his Master of Divinity.

Melber has been married to his wife, Tera, since 1991. The couple, who are now empty-nesters, have three biological children and three adopted children.

https://www.bchfamily.org/

https://www.facebook.com/BCHFamily/

https://www.instagram.com/bchfamily

https://x.com/bchfamily

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-melber-78890b10/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Trauma can be so painful that we back off it. We numb it. We suppress it. And so it lingers. What if we did the opposite? We embrace it. When do so, miracles and magic can happen. Listen in as Stacey and I dive deep into pain and cures.

Darren and Stacey Gagnon are passionate advocates for children in the areas of special needs, adoption, and foster care. They both have degrees in education and have a combined 25 years in the classroom. Stacey is also a licensed RN and has mostly worked in public health and pediatric mental health. They have committed their lives to bringing an informed voice to raise awareness, training, and support for children in crisis and to those charged with their care.

Stacey Gagnon is the creator and Director of Trauma Lens Care where she provides training on trauma, substance abuse, and ACEs in schools, jails, and public forums. Embodying their beliefs, Darren and Stacey are the parents of 7 children, 5 of which are adopted. They have also fostered for over 12 years. Their critical work has resulted in the co-founding of Lost Sparrows, Inc., a 501(c)(3) with the goal of ending the flow of children into orphanages in Eastern Europe. Lost Sparrows provides education and training to social service officials, government administration, and caregivers working with children in orphanages and foster care.

https://www.facebook.com/staceyjackson.gagnon/

https://www.lostsparrows.org/

https://www.facebook.com/LostSparrows.org

https://www.instagram.com/lostsparrows

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

If we are ok with not feeling ok, we are always ok. One of my favourite sayings. Listen in as Adrian shares his learnings on navigating life with more ease. We go deep because that's where all the treasure is. You're going to love this.

Check out Adrian's film https://seedandspark.com/fund/finding-home-a-journey-to-biological-roots

https://www.adrianburksartist.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianburks1/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. They become a lot easier with a North Star to follow. Podcaster Niall has interviewed an incredible array of talent in the worlds of healing, consciousness and psychology including my favourite author Rupert Spira. Listen in as we riff on intention, course correction and more.

Here's the link to the interview with Jill Bolte Taylor:

https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/with-jill-bolte-taylor

And the interview with Kathy Mackechney:

https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/deeper-healing-with-kathy-mackechney-leden48a

Niall McKeever is an entrepreneur and psychology student from Northern Ireland, who is passionate about making great ideas more accessible.

He is the Founder of The Weekend University - an alternative education project which aims to make the most important ideas in psychology more accessible.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-weekend-university/id1233173966

https://theweekenduniversity.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theweekenduniversity

https://www.instagram.com/theweekenduniversity/?hl=en

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you want change for the better? There's a part of us that always thinks it is right. And it feels good to be right. But it gets in the way of the change we want. Of being better. Of connecting better. Listen in as Kristin shares profound lessons on humility, insight and change.

Listen to Kristin's previous interview here:

https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/a-guide-to-family-wellbeing-with-kristin-orphan-foster-adoptive-parent-founder-executive-director

Connect with Kristin here

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-orphan-5b2a8113a/

Finally Home is a non-profit whose mission since 2008 is to equip foster, adoptive and kinship families to build healthy homes where kids can heal. Over the years all kinds of families have benefited from Finally Home's programs and products which are designed to give parents the tools they need to help their kids and families thrive. Whether through an encouraging children’s story book, a therapeutic toolkit, or an educational training, Finally Home’s resources reinforce time tested skills and characteristics found in healthy families.

https://www.finallyhome.net/

https://www.facebook.com/FinallyHome.net

https://www.instagram.com/teamfinallyhome/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Who doesn't want more ease? More peace? How? That's the question. Listen in as Jean shares her insights on how insights help us to more ease. With ourselves. With others. As she says so wisely "Compassion is free". That compassion oils our relationships.

Jean Kelly Widner is the author of The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption into Perspective, a powerful exploration of the complex realities of adoption. Born in 1965 and adopted from birth in Washington State, Jean lives the paradox she writes about—experiencing both love and loss, belonging and separation. In her book, she shares stories from all sides of the adoption triad: adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families, alongside insights from mental health experts.

Find out more here:

https://adoptionparadox.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Adoption-Paradox-Putting-Perspective-ebook/dp/B0F6X136JN

https://www.facebook.com/people/Jean-Kelly-Widner/100080741770981/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you want to take your advocacy to the next level? When we know more, we achieve more. When we focus more, we achieve more. Listen as adoptive mother and advocate Marcy shares learnings about learnings, focus, experimentation and much more.

Here's the link to Marcy's previous interview:

https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/reasons-for-hope-with-marcy-bursac

Marcy and her husband adopted a biological sibling pair.

While remote schooling my children during the pandemic, she began to see a gap between adults with a desire to adopt and the 115,000 adoptable children within the United States. 

Marcy is the author: "Are You a Forever Family?" & "The Forgotten Adoption Option"

Host: The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast

Facebook Community / Instagram / LinkedIn

www.forgottenadoptionoption.com

Meet waiting children and get tools to pursue foster care adoption.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you feel comfortable in your own skin? Being adopted can feel distinctly uncomfortable. Whether that's due to others or ourselves. Listen in as Rabail shares what she learned coming through tricky teenage years and out of the other side.

Find out more about Rabail here:

https://www.adoptionmatters.org/podcasts/exploring-transracial-adoption/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabail-ahmed-0b3038336/?originalSubdomain=uk

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How do we bounce back? Keep going when all seems lost? Listen in as adoptive mother Besty and I explore answers to these big questions and more...

Betsy Armstrong grew up on a farm in Minnesota, but Chicago captured her country-mouse heart thirty-plus years ago, so she stayed. Betsy is a writer, mom, athlete, and philanthropist who wants to change the world. She has had careers in sales, counseling, and the non-profit space. Still, her true passion is running, which led her to become the Executive Director of Girls on the Run - Chicago and the Chicago Area Runners Association. Her writing has been published in the Brevity Blog, The Pinch Journal, and WOW-Women on Writing, and she has been recognized by essay contests in Writer’s Digest and WOW-Women on Writing. Besides writing, she bakes apple pies exactly how her great grandma taught her and listens to NPR while simultaneously recording too many reality TV shows. She and her husband, kids, and pets divide their time between the mountains of Nevada and the lakes of the Midwest.

More at:

https://www.facebook.com/betsy.andersonarmstrong

https://www.instagram.com/wordsbybetsy/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647428939

https://www.betsyarmstrong.com/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.