Our Board of Directors
Executive Board
April Dinwoodie (Board President) is an accomplished corporate marketing and branding professional turned nationally-recognized voice on adoption, foster care, and multiracial/multicultural families. From creating a mentoring program for youth in foster care to becoming the CEO of the Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI), April is fiercely dedicated leader helping individuals, systems, and corporations as they address the urgent and age-old questions of identity, values, and differences of race, culture, and class. Dinwoodie hosts “Born in June, Raised in April: What Adoption Can Teach the World!” a podcast to educate and inspire conversation about adoption, identity, and family diversity.
Shannon Quist, (Vice President) is a domestic adoptee from Texas whose adoption came back up during her mid-twenties as something she needed to spend time with and better understand. She studies adoption in multiple ways; she is especially interested in narrative perspectives, but also enjoys rhetorical and legal conversations. She published her debut novel in 2020, Rose’s Locket, which follows the journey of a teen adoptee trying to write her story and find meaning in her life. Shannon graduated with a Bachelor’s in English Literature from Texas Woman’s University in 2018 and a Master’s in English Rhetoric & Writing in 2022. She’s currently theorizing the structure of Ghost Kingdom narratives as an independent scholar. She’s looking forward to helping AKA grow and support all those affected by adoption as she continues on her own personal journey. It probably goes without saying that she enjoys reading, writing, and asking questions. Lots of questions. But when she’s not playing with words, she enjoys going on adventures with her daughter, scrapbooking, and sitting on patios (preferably with margaritas).
Lindsey Kohn (Treasurer) is a domestic adoptee, adopted at birth in the early '80s. She was born in NY, raised in NJ, and is now living in Florida with her husband and son. She "came out of the fog" in 2020 after unexpectedly finding her biological father's (dad) side of her family through 23andme. She started to search for advice regarding reunion and stumbled upon the fantastic and supportive adoptee community. She immediately began to immerse herself in everything adoption, and once she heard about "adoption-competent" therapy, she knew it was her calling. She is now a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in working with adult adoptees. She is an avid adoptee advocate and supporter of family preservation. She looks forward to serving the adoption community and helping adoptees find their voices and speak their truth. She also hopes to amplify adoptee voices in society and help reauthor the dominant narrative surrounding adoption.
Hannah Andrews (Secretary) was born in Chicago and was adopted as an infant during the Baby Scoop Era. She was raised on a Midwestern farm with two older adoptee brothers. In 2018, a chance meeting with an author birthmother sent Hannah in search of her own history. She found more questions than answers, but found guidance and community from fellow triad members. She joined the AKA board to provide that same support to others. Hannah is a writer, pianist & pet enthusiast . She lives in San Diego, CA with her dog Josie and three Pussycats .
Directors
Dr. Abigail Hasberry (Member-at-Large) splits residence in both San Antonio, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist associate, and holds a B.S. in African American studies and sociology, a M.A.in teaching, K-12, a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, a school superintendent certification, and a M.Ed. in counseling and development, marriage and family counseling. Abby is a former teacher and principal with experience in private, traditional public, and charter schools. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the experiences of black teachers at private, affluent, and predominantly white private schools. Her research focused on identity development, diversity, and the development of support networks. She has published on identity development and has been on several podcasts and webinars speaking on adoption, identity development, and supporting teens with anxiety. Abby is a domestic transracial adoptee in reunion, and a birth mom, also in reunion. She is publishing her memoir in 2023, Adopting Privilege.
Bruce Porth (Member-at-Large) was born in Chicago near the end of the baby scoop era and adopted at 10 days old into a family that was well-intentioned but lacked critical knowledge and insight in how to raise an adopted child. He started coming out of the fog in the late 90's and eventually reunited with his birth family in 1998 and maintains a relationship that continues to expand and grow. It was in 2020 when Bruce found the broader adoptee community and a deeper level of awareness and healing became available. He discovered how essential the support of the adoptee community is in moving through the stages of healing from adoption grief and loss and came to AKA through attendance of the Male Adoptee Group. Bruce is passionate about promoting truth and transparency in adoption and hopes to give back to the community by raising awareness within the adoption constellation of the complex challenges that come with relinquishment. Bruce has a M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and has worked in the semiconductor industry for 30 years. He is married with two daughters and lives in Vermont.
Isha Marie Rush, MPA, (Member-at-Large) is a Transracial/International Adoptee. Isha was born in India and adopted at age five. She is extremely excited to not only serve on this board, but be surrounded by so many beautiful hearts. Isha is looking forward to utilizing her skills with aims to best serve this community! She is so grateful to have found her people and ecstatic to connect with everyone through board service!
Lindsay Livingston, (Member-at-Large) served as the co-chair of the Adoption Knowledge Affiliates conference in 2023. As an accomplished marketing professional with over decade of experience in brand marketing, she’s led initiatives in content, creative, community, events, and communications for billion-dollar brands. Lindsay is a passionate storyteller dedicated to leveraging her unique perspective as an adoptee with tenured corporate marketing expertise to elevate this organization's mission while providing meaningful support, and empowerment, to those touched by adoption.
Brooke Randolph, LMHC, LPC, LPCC-S, (Member-at-Large) is a therapist, author, speaker, and trainer. She is founder and Executive Director of Counseling at The Green House, a boutique group practice with therapists focused on working with the adoption constellation in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. She is a contributing author to Adoption Therapy: Perspectives from Clients and Clinicians on Processing and Healing Post-Adoption Issues (2014), and the organizing editor of It’s Not About You: Understanding Adoptee Search, Reunion, & Open Adoption (2017). She has also authored a series of children's workbooks and adoption education materials for parents and therapists. Brooke is a single adoptive mom, kinship care guardian, and loud and proud rugby mom. She works to maintain an open intercountry adoption and is a committed adoptee advocate. Brooke is passionate about promoting excellence in therapy, family preservation, and openness in adoption.
Stacey Gatlin, (Member-at-Large) a passionate servant leader, recently transitioned her corporate experience in operations, leadership, and talent management into entrepreneurship and advocacy.
Stacey was compelled to rewrite the narrative around Black adoption and fostering after adopting her son. She created Yes We Adopt to enlighten the Black community on the crucial need for Black adoptive and foster parents and to counteract negative stereotypes. Through this platform, she also created the Yes We Adopt: Black Voices Amplified Summit a powerful event uniting the community through advocacy, education, and shared experiences. Additionally, she serves as a CASA in New Jersey, advocating for children in foster care.
Beyond her advocacy work, Stacey is the founder of Victory Concierge, a lifestyle management company, providing online business management services to executives and small businesses. In her previous career, she enjoyed over 15 years with Johnson & Johnson where she leveraged her network to drive results, operational improvement, and develop talent.
Stacey holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Rutgers School of Engineering. She finds joy in quality time with her husband and son, and laughter with family and friends, all accompanied by good food, music, and vino.
Stacey was compelled to rewrite the narrative around Black adoption and fostering after adopting her son. She created Yes We Adopt to enlighten the Black community on the crucial need for Black adoptive and foster parents and to counteract negative stereotypes. Through this platform, she also created the Yes We Adopt: Black Voices Amplified Summit a powerful event uniting the community through advocacy, education, and shared experiences. Additionally, she serves as a CASA in New Jersey, advocating for children in foster care.
Beyond her advocacy work, Stacey is the founder of Victory Concierge, a lifestyle management company, providing online business management services to executives and small businesses. In her previous career, she enjoyed over 15 years with Johnson & Johnson where she leveraged her network to drive results, operational improvement, and develop talent.
Stacey holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Rutgers School of Engineering. She finds joy in quality time with her husband and son, and laughter with family and friends, all accompanied by good food, music, and vino.
Lisa McBroom-Johnson, MBA (Member-at-Large) was born and raised in North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is currently working towards her second Masters In Social Work. Lisa is employed with the Children’s Home Society in NC which provides Adoption Services, Foster Care, and Intensive Family Preservation to families. Adoption is very near and dear to Lisa’s heart as she was adopted at 2 months old and placed into a beautiful family. At a very early age, her parents shared that she was adopted. At the age of 52, Lisa was gifted an Ancestry DNA kit from her son. It was then that she learned of her biological parents. She continues to explore and navigate the relationships with both the maternal and paternal families.
Jean Widner, (Member-at-Large) is a domestic adoptee born and raised in Washington State in 1965, and currently lives in Nevada with her husband and two dogs. She only recently joined the adoption community in 2021 after searching for and finding her birth mother, which inspired her to write and research a book still in progress, https://adoptionparadox.com/. Her adoptive parents now passed, she had a mostly positive experience being raised by them, however her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol during her early formative years. Through writing she works to heal her internal wounds, but also pursues the larger stories and struggles left untold about adoption. In AKA she found support groups, safety, and a wealth of knowledge from likeminded people facing similar struggles. She has a Bachelor’s Degree and along with her husband she has built and sold two e-commerce companies. She is also the owner of a paid small-town news blog and enjoys traveling, reading and cooking. Still not acknowledged by her first mother, she wishes to serve the adoption community by lending her talents where she can to assist the AKA organization and others in their journeys.
Committee Chairs
Conference: Brooke Randolph
Education: Shannon Quist
Business Development: Lindsay Livingston
Communications: Lindsey Kohn
Peer Support Facilitator: Bruce Porth
Education: Shannon Quist
Business Development: Lindsay Livingston
Communications: Lindsey Kohn
Peer Support Facilitator: Bruce Porth
*Click here to learn more about our valued team of volunteers