Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Here's a bit about Fiona's Autobiography

"This is my story, a harrowing account of me as a young mixed up teenager going down many wrong paths, into the darkness of drug and alcohol addiction, prostitutution and surviving more than one life-or-death moment in the midst of the madness.  The book also details my encounter with Christ and the journey of a baby Christian trying to find their feet in a church where not many had come from my background. 

One of the main factors I believe led me to head off down the paths I did is that I am adopted. I struggled greatly with the concept as a child, not really feeling like I fitted in anywhere, always looking for something to meet the need for connection in my life. "

https://www.fionamylesauthor.com/books

https://www.facebook.com/fionamylesauthor

https://www.instagram.com/fionamylesauthor/

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.

Karen is the State Director for Pennsylvania at Children's Choice

Here's a link to podcast mentioned in this episode

https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/unpacking-our-own-baggage-as-adoptive-parents-with-hollyann-petree-mom-executive-director

Children’s Choice was founded on April 1st, 1982. By Reverend Doctor William and Doctor Carolyn Eberwein. Affectionately known as Doctor Bill and Doctor Carolyn. They had worked in a variety of Social Services fields including church ministries, juvenile justice prison systems, halfway houses, and had even done some fundraisers.

Through their experience, they began to notice that the children of their clients were entering Social Services systems, repeating the pattern of their parents. The other ones felt that if they could reach out to people at an earlier age, as children, then perhaps they might be able to affect and potentially break the dependency, suffering and failure cycles that many of the children were facing. Since 1982, Children's Choice has expanded from its original Foster Care service to other services that include: Medical Foster Care, Treatment Level Foster Care, Respite Foster Care, and types of Adoption Services, as well as Kinship Care.

https://www.facebook.com/childrens.choice.inc

https://www.childrenschoice.org/

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.

Shaun Doyle comes to Adoption STAR with 20 years of experience working for not-for-profits in the area of developmental disability. After studying at SUNY Fredonia, Shaun moved to Orlando, Florida to work for Walt Disney World. There he learned to train not only Disney Cast Members, but also to train people from other organizations on Disney’s Approach to Quality Service and Disney’s Innovation in Action. Shaun also created and led youth programs at the Disney Institute.

Prior to joining the STAR team as the Intake Manager, he was the Director of Training and Staff Development for Autism Services of WNY. In his time there, Shaun developed multiple training curricula in not only working with people on the spectrum, but in leadership, hands-free intervention and customer service.

At the start of his career, Shaun traveled to Romania to help train staff in institutions and orphanages that were about to close, to ensure effective and humane treatment for the children that would be returning to their communities. In addition to training and staff development, Shaun also worked closely with the Quality Improvement department to investigate incidents that may have occurred in the programs.

Shaun and his husband Eric adopted their son in 2015 with the help of Adoption STAR. Their second son was born in 2019 and was also adopted with the agency’s help. Adoption is part of his family’s story and he is passionate about connecting people, building relationships, and following up with other families looking to grow through adoption. He is a well skilled storyteller, a performer by nature and has an innate ability to be inclusive no matter the setting. Shaun is a volunteer Wish Granter at Make a Wish, teaches new member classes at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo and sang with the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus for over 10 years, serving as board president in 2012. Shaun is most proud of his role as daddy to his sons, Jackson and Frankie. Shaun is also so proud to come home every day, and tell his children that he spent the day working hard to help children find forever families.

Connect with Shaun at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-doyle-jr-40831147

Listen to the podcast he hosts here https://www.adoptionstar.com/resources/podcast/

Adoption STAR is a non-profit New York State Authorized, Florida and Ohio Licensed Adoption Agency, and is a compassionate and unique organization. From the onset, Adoption STAR wished to utilize the words within their name: Support, Training, Advocacy and Resources (STAR) to provide wide-ranging services to all members of the adoption community. This commitment grew into developing several programs and services.

Find out more at

https://www.facebook.com/adoptionstar

https://www.adoptionstar.com/

https://twitter.com/adoptionstar

https://www.instagram.com/adoptionstar/

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.

“Adoption is my life and passion! I was adopted at birth, domestically. I have searched and found my birth family. I am also a mother of four children. I became the Executive Director of CHI in 1994, after adopting our daughter in 1991 in Romania, on our own. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work and have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work worldwide with CHI, developing programs and giving children who really need homes, a chance at having one of their own. A permanent, loving family is what children need. I’ve personally been in the adoption journey from several angles and I enjoy assisting others in theirs. I have traveled to over 40 countries in the past 20 years, developing a greater understanding of the cultures and how much adoption- permanency- is needed in the world for children.”

https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-price-5987a222

Children’s House International provides ethical adoption services, child-focused recruitment, and family support. We support disadvantaged children with humanitarian aid worldwide.

https://www.facebook.com/CHI4Adoption

https://www.instagram.com/chi_adoptions

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC02zaJYyrk3BBCICQu1VElQ

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.

Emily is a Care Leaver Mentor for Empower Change. Since graduating high school in 2016, Emily has completed her certificate four in community services. In 2015 she had her son, who has just started kindergarten. In 2016 pursued photography as a formal trade and experienced some of the most special moments between married couples and families but it still wasn't fulfilling her.

After her care experiences from the age of nine, a foster family friend mentioned for a job as a residential staff worker for Youth in Out Of Home Care.

Since then she has made a profession from her experiences. Fresh out of high school and only recently 18 she started to see from a staff members point of view what her childhood might have looked like to them. Her experiences quickly turned into an aggressive passion. She enrolled into her Certificate, and made a conscious effort to start making changes in her local area.

She started networking with CREATE Foundations as a Residential Staff Member, bringing Young People to their events in her region. Within months she was doing Speak Up training and attending FACS facilitations. It didn't stop exceeding her expectations. She started making some life long friends in Advocacy. Attended Advocate for Children and Young People conferences, and assisted CREATE on a number of occasions and events as a Young Consultant.

She now recognises her work as A National Advocate and Consultant for Children in Out of Home Care.

Approached by Adopt Change in 2019, meeting them in 2020 and appearing in their National Conference held online. From there I was asked by their CEO to become a Brand Ambassador and appeared in their TV Commercial late last year.

Also a Kindred Warrior for The Warrior Woman Foundation and have been short listed for The Advocate for Children and Young People 3 years running.

Emily is assured that this is her life work. She is content in working with the Community Services Sector for years to come as a voice and representation for Youth in similar situations.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-hikaiti-1494011ba/

https://www.facebook.com/Emilyannelorrainepaul

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

Adopt Change believe that every child has the right to grow up in a safe, nurturing and permanent family home, and that all families need the appropriate supports for children to thrive.

Adopt Change work towards every child and young person having access to a safe, nurturing and stable family upbringing. They recognise the impact of childhood trauma, and provide a number of services and education so that children and families can be supported and thrive. They also work with government, sector and community to seek changes to legislation and policies to better provide for children and families.

Find out more at:

https://www.adoptchange.org.au/

https://www.facebook.com/AdoptChangeAU

https://www.instagram.com/adoptchangeau/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHbUn6jHDfCS3sHWhvJfsmw

https://twitter.com/AdoptChangeAU

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.

Michele Fried is the founder of Adoption STAR. Though the “title” most special to her is “mom” ~ it was a long time ago, but the experiences of becoming an adoptive mother led Michele to enter the adoption field. Michele’s background as an educator complimented this path. Michele served as the agency’s chief executive officer for over 20 years and grew the staff from a tiny office with one person (just her!) to three states, more than 50 professionals including full time, part time and per diem assessors and conducted over 1,000 adoptions. Today, Michele holds an advisory role with the organization and continues to be a passionate advocate for children in need of permanency planning

Connect with Michele at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adoptionstar/

Listen to the interview with MIchele's son here https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/with-zack-fried-adoptee-associate-director

Adoption STAR is a non-profit New York State Authorized, Florida and Ohio Licensed Adoption Agency, and is a compassionate and unique organization. From the onset, Adoption STAR wished to utilize the words within their name: Support, Training, Advocacy and Resources (STAR) to provide wide-ranging services to all members of the adoption community. This commitment grew into developing several programs and services.

Find out more at

https://www.adoptionstar.com/

https://twitter.com/adoptionstar

https://www.instagram.com/adoptionstar/

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.

Skip joined the Lifeline team in August of 2018 and serves in the Birmingham office as the Assistant to the Executive Director. Skip comes from a family with 7 adopted siblings. She also lived in Zambia, Africa for 2 years working with and counseling vulnerable children. She’s originally from Montgomery, AL and attended Covenant College where she studied Sociology: Social Work and Family Studies.

Connect with her here:

https://www.facebook.com/skportis

Here's a summary from Lifeline's website 

"With a mission to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children, we know we cannot do this without one another. Whether through adoption, foster care, orphan care, or education and counseling, the mission is accomplished when churches live out James 1:27 in their communities and to the ends of the earth. Lifeline’s four decades of experience serves to assist families with international adoption in all 50 states, each of the U.S. territories and with U.S. citizens living abroad. Lifeline also serves women in unexpected pregnancies and families through domestic adoption."

More at:

https://www.facebook.com/lifelinechild

https://lifelinechild.org/

https://www.instagram.com/lifelinechild/

https://twitter.com/lifelinechild

https://vimeo.com/lifelinechild

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.

Connect with Kristine at

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

here's a bit about Bellis  from their website:

Our mission is to serve as an empowering voice for adoption that connects, inspires, and transforms.

Our reach extends to all people with any adoption experience who seek peer-based support for ambiguous grief related to adoption. Often, participants work together to advocate for greater awareness and understanding of adoption in schools and communities.

Our work is neutral – it is not affiliated with any political or religious agencies. Bellis does not receive funding from any entity involved in the child-placement process or the process leading to or including the termination of parental rights.

While benefiting from the expertise of many throughout the adoption, foster care and social service sector, Bellis works independently as a provider of peer-based support and advocacy.

While fully appreciating and acknowledging the trauma associated with the termination of parental rights, and many injustices within that process, our focus lies entirely on the phase of life following the termination, specifically on the long-ignored grief and loss needs of the mother.

Bellis strives to refrain from judgment, understanding that each adoption is unique. As such, terms used to universally describe the impact of adoption, including “primal wound,” are not part of our organizational culture or language.

We believe the stigma, stereotypes, shame, and myths attached to adoption over decades exasperate challenges related to the lived experience of adoption.

https://www.mybellis.org/

https://www.facebook.com/MyBellisCommunity/

https://twitter.com/my_bellis

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.

Maris H. Blechner, M.Ed., LCSW is a well-known and well-respected educator, consultant, and motivational speaker. An adoptive parent, she spent many years in the child welfare field as Executive Director of an adoption agency, and is a wide-ranging speaker and trainer. She is now doing independent work, and has a great deal to offer. Whether teaching at a social work school, training foster and adoptive parents, helping agency staff navigate difficult cases, providing advanced training, or doing a lunch or dinner speech at a wide variety of venues, Maris is helping caregivers of all types learn to take care of themselves. Maris is ready to work.

Connect with her

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maris-h-blechner-8975503/

https://www.marisblechner.com/

Here's a little about the agency she founded from their website:

Since its inception as an accredited non-profit agency in 1987, Family Focus has added its own unique voice to the adoption community with its pioneering philosophies, training and adoption practices. Family Focus's board and staff, many of whom are adoptive parents, share a belief that adoption transforms the lives of children and the families that adopt them.

Our Training and Meeting Centers are located in Castleton (near Albany) and Little Neck, Queens - also the location of our Administrative Office. Our mailing address is in Melville, Long Island. We license families from the Capital District through Metropolitan New York City and Long Island to be able to adopt from the foster care system, and we place children from all over the United States. Our agency is also approved in New Jersey and Connecticut.

More at:

https://www.familyfocusadoption.org/

https://www.facebook.com/FamilyFocusAdoption/

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.

Lori is the founder, CEO and President of FosterAdopt Connect. Lori and her husband Randy have been foster/adoptive parents since 1985. Together they have cared for more than 400 foster children and adopted 23 children, in addition to their five biological children. Lori and Randy are currently also the proud grandparents of 17 children so far. Lori holds a degree in psychology which she completed Summa Cum Laude as an adult learner, and has completed thousands of hours of additional training in issues related to the special needs of abused and neglected children. Lori began her professional child welfare career working with the Missouri Children’s Division, and the Kansas Department for Children and Families as a teaching foster parent over 30 years ago. She worked with other families to help found FosterAdopt Connect in 1998 initially as a support group, and in 2000 as a nonprofit agency, and has served as the organization’s President and CEO since that time. Lori also worked with the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) as a consultant in their Community Champions Network, providing child welfare services in the states of Texas, Colorado and Ohio. Her reputation within the child welfare community is an invaluable asset to the organization, and has contributed to FosterAdopt Connect’s effective advocacy work on behalf of kids and families in Missouri, Kansas and nationally. Throughout her career, Lori has served on a variety of boards and task forces related to foster care and adoption, including serving as the chair of the Missouri Task Force on Children’s Justice for several years. She is currently the board chair for Voice for Adoption, a DC based national child welfare advocacy organization.

FosterAdopt Connect’s mission is to provide foster and adoptive children a stable, loving and nurturing family environment by support and advocacy for abused and neglected children and the families caring for them.

Find out more at:

https://www.fosteradopt.org/

https://www.facebook.com/fosteradoptconnect/

https://twitter.com/fosteradopt_org/

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.