Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

What if discovering and sharing our uniqueness drives our thriving? How does that help us tough times. Chris is dad to 10 including 7 through  adoption from foster care. Listen as we dive deep into our diamond nature how his beliefs power his thriving.

Chris Johnson serves as the Sr. Director of Church Partnerships & External Advocacy at Lifeline Children’s Services. With over two decades of pastoral experience and a background as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives, Chris is a seasoned leader and advocate for vulnerable children and families.

As a consultant and frequent speaker, Chris has inspired audiences at conferences, churches, and community gatherings across the nation. He passionately shares his family’s journey and challenges others to respond to the gospel call to care for the most vulnerable in society.

A native of metro Atlanta, Georgia, Chris now resides in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Alicia. Together, they have 10 children, seven of whom were adopted from foster care, and are proud grandparents, including two grandchildren adopted through foster care. Their commitment to serving children extends to fostering over 40 children throughout the years, embodying their dedication to family and community.

Chris holds a B.A. in Church Ministries from Trinity Baptist College and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Regent University. His passion for equipping churches and individuals to make a lasting impact continues to shape his ministry and advocacy efforts.

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

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.

What would it do for you to find your superpower? What if your difference IS your superpower? Listen in as adoptee Wes dives into difference, superpower and more.

Wes has more than 40 years of experience working in social care, primarily in services for children and young people as a qualified social worker. 

He has a special interest in the support of vulnerable children and families and in safeguarding which included chairing a local children’s safeguarding board and being a board member of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Service (CEOP).  

Wes chairs the Hertfordshire Adoption Panel and, having been adopted as a child, has a lifelong interest in and commitment to the role of adoption in transforming the lives of children. 

He lives with his wife in Woburn and has two grown up children and grandchildren who live in the USA. Wes is a keen long distance walker, sailor, trombone player and fly fisherman and loves to travel. 

Find out more about Wes and the charity he chairs at:

https://www.pactcharity.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pactcharity

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-cuell-547b623a/

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.

Handling tough emotions is human's biggest challenge. And it's particularly tough for adoptees and adoptive parents given the complex emotions around adoption. So what helps us do this? Listen in as we dive deep and explore powerful learnings...

Find out more about Rhiannon and her organisation at:

https://mofosteradopt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/FosterandAdopt

https://www.instagram.com/cmfcaa

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cmfcaa/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhiannon-franklin-b498ba239/

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.

Hope. The hope that the past doesn't determine the future. A positive outlook. Life as an adoptive parent and as an adoptee can be tough. What keeps us going? Love, for sure. And hope! Listen in as we dive into overcoming trauma, abuse and other tough stuff.

Robin Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions Inc., was recognized in 2012 by the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc as a person who has “Transform Lives and Impacted the Community”. Among five other recipients, Robin Sizemore, was recognized in the area of “International Awareness” for her work and advocacy of children through international adoption and aid.  Robin was also the recipient of the “Angels in Adoption” award in 2008, in recognition of her service to children since 1995.

She is an adoptive mother and has been an adoption professional since 1995. In addition to placing children in forever families, Robin has been involved in both national and international levels regarding policies and regulations impacting child welfare: she has brought educational opportunities to a variety of officials in Georgia and Armenia, spearheaded cooperative humanitarian efforts, and hosted numerous international delegations through the U.S. State Department and Ministries in other countries which are associated with institutionalized children. Robin has a warm rapport with the wide range of individuals involved with children in need, including government officials, orphanage directors and staff, hospital and humanitarian aid administrators, and adoptive families and children alike.

Robin volunteered as a Council on Accreditation Hague Accreditation evaluator and team lead from 2016- 2020 and earned a Certificate of Nonprofit Executive Director Academy Institute/ Nonprofit Executive Director Academy Institute -Center for Creative Leadership – Guilford County Nonprofit Consortium 2014 and a Certificate of Nonprofit Management Nonprofit Management – Guilford Nonprofit Consortium – High Point University 2013.

Robin and her husband James are the adoptive parents of the first internationally adopted child from Georgia and, with their second adoption, of the first direct “birthmother to adoptive mother” international placement in Georgia. In addition to their two beautiful children from Georgia. Robin and James have also been blessed with the surprise birth of their youngest and third child.

Robin’s work is well regarded and highly respected within the country programs and she is considered a valuable resource and thoughtful orphan advocate by U.S. and international officials as the result of her dedication to children and families through humanitarian assistance programs over more than a decade. Robin has developed direct programs for Hopscotch with highly experienced and reliable partners in Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, Morocco, Pakistan, Serbia, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, and appreciates the uniqueness of complex Kinship cases in need of a provider, when called upon.

Robin graduated in 1986 from Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Communication and Media Arts, with a Concentration in Public Relations and Minor in Marketing.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-ellington-sizemore-a4188a7/

https://www.instagram.com/hopscotch_adoptions/

https://www.facebook.com/HopscotchAdoptions/

https://hopscotchadoptions.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.

The Altman family was formed by a unique set of circumstances that no-one could have predicted. This episode is a little different to honour that. A profound dive into deep topics. Claire and Stan along with their daughter Stefanie share their learnings on unconditional love, growth and changing life for the better.

Find out more about them and the book they've written together at:

www:TwiceBlessed.org

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

https://www.instagram.com/stefandrepeat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-altman-145b5512/

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.

Raising kids - adopted or not - isn't a sprint. It's a journey. And the more we learn, the easier we can navigate the bumps along the way. Listen in as adoptive mother Kim shares her learnings along the way - including why she's still learning.

Kim Smith is  also the Founder and Executive Director of Cradled In Grace, find out more here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-smith-3912b5164/

https://cradledingrace.com/

https://www.facebook.com/cradledingrace.adoptionconsultants/

https://www.instagram.com/cradledingrace/

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.

Is love with rules really love? Probably not. And yet so many of us have only felt conditional love. Having her first daughter taught adoptee Jenn love without rules. Unconditional love as a felt experience. Not an idea. Listen in as we go deep on feeling loved and whole...

Jenn works in adoption. Here's a bit about her from her agency's website:

Jenn has been working with children and their families for almost thirty years, with eighteen of those years spent focusing on the needs of children in the foster care system and on providing adoption-related services. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Jenn spent several years as a foster parent and worked in a residential program for adolescent girls. Jenn then returned to school, earned a Master’s degree in Counseling, and spent fourteen years working for Deschutes County Behavioral Health as a therapist on the school-based health clinics team. A few months ago, Jenn transitioned to a school counselor position so she can spend summers working at her favorite camp. As an adult adoptee herself, Jenn believes that every child deserves a loving, stable, forever home and she works diligently to ensure that the families who adopt through Choice Adoptions understand this responsibility. Her superpower is the “ability to micro-edit written work,” and she uses this skill to ensure that the home studies, post-placement reports, and adoption profile books that represent Choice families are of the highest quality possible. She loves meeting new families when she writes their home studies and visiting them once their adopted child arrives home. When she is not working, Jenn enjoys caring for indoor and outdoor plants, hiking, searching for waterfalls, playing tennis, riding her bike, listening to Sea Shanties, browsing antique stores, and spending time with her husband and five (mostly grown) children.

https://www.choiceadoptions.org/

https://www.facebook.com/choiceadoptions/

https://www.instagram.com/choiceadoptions/

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.

What matters more than loving ourselves? And yet...so many of us believe that voice in our heads that doesn't love us. Listen in as Melissa shares her learnings on self love , helping others love themselves and more...

Find out more about Melissa and the agency she works for at:

https://www.forever-families.org/

https://www.instagram.com/foreverfamiliesmi/

https://www.facebook.com/ForeverFamiliesLivonia/

https://www.facebook.com/melissa.butkovich

https://www.instagram.com/melbutkcarr/

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.

When we know better, we do better. Experienced adoption professional got a second chance at parenting after adopting her grandson when she was 55. Listen in as she shares what she's learned about going beyond basic needs to helping her son thrive despite trauma. Big insights on integrity, moral standards and expectations.

Gladys is Senior Director of Foster Care and Adoption at The Children's Shelter, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Find out more about her and the Shelter  here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gladys-foster-blackwell-155194b4/

https://www.facebook.com/TheChildrensShelter

https://www.instagram.com/thechildrensshelter

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-children%27s-shelter/

https://childrensshelter.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.

What if we could have a fabulous life, whatever our story? Thriving doesn't look like an option for some. But what if it is? Listen in as adoptee, adoptive parent and adoption professional Anna dives into doing the work, empowerment and much more.

Here's a bit about Anna from her website:

"I’m an adoptee, raised in a loving family, and I grew up knowing there was more beneath the surface of my story than anyone talked about.

Like many adoptees, I learned how to be grateful, how to be “fine,” and how to keep the harder questions quiet. It took years to understand how much adoption shapes a person’s sense of identity, safety, and belonging. Not just in childhood, but across a lifetime.

Today, my husband and I are parenting four children, all adopted through foster care. Our family story includes joy and deep connection, but it also includes trauma, mental illness, grief, and seasons that look nothing like what we imagined when we said yes to adoption.

Parenting children with complex needs has changed me. It has humbled me, stretched me, and forced me to let go of easy answers in favor of deeper understanding."

https://annabernacki.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557459094817

https://www.instagram.com/anna.bernacki/

https://www.parentingdifferent.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-bernacki-048a50387/

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.