2025 Conference Schedule
*Subject to change

Friday, November 7, 2025
all times are US Central

Time	Zoom Room A	Zoom Room B
10:00 - 10:15	Welcome	-
10:15 - 12:00	Keynote with ​April Dinwoodie	-
12:15 - 1:45 Breakout Session #1	Elizabeth Barbour Navigating the Complexities of Adoption Reunion with GRACE: Establishing Solid Ground in Your Relationships	Dawn J. Post, Esq. Adoption Promises Broken: Legal and Policy Failures Impacting Abandoned Adoptees
1:45 - 2:15	Lunch Discussion	-
2:15 - 3:45 Breakout Session #2	Katherin Garland, Tarcia Smith,  ​and Kevin Hodge-Niblack Barnett Same, Same, But Different: Understanding the Black Adoptee Experience and the Need for Community	Aimee Sones & Ruby Barnett Seeing/Knowing/Experiencing Who You Really Are through Meditation
4:00 - 5:30	Special Speaker - Gretchen Sisson	-
5:30 - 6:00	AKA Members' Meeting	-

Saturday, November 8, 2025

10:00 - 10:30	Vanguard Award Presentation	-
10:45 - 12:15	Author Panel Sally Ankerfelt, Doug Henderson, Linda Sexton, and Jean Widner​	-
12:15 - 1:45 Breakout Session #3	Zoe Hansen-DiBello Parenting as an Adoptee: Navigating Identity in the Journey to Parenthood	Liz BeBetta Breaking Silences, Building Connection: A Narrative Healing Workshop for the Adoption Constellation
1:45 - 2:15	Lunch Discussion​	-
2:15 - 3:45 Breakout Session #4	Dr. Adam Anthony ​EmpowerMENt Circles: Reimagining Belonging and Healing for Black Male Adoptees	Brad Ewell Trolls and Other Internet Friends that Help You Tell Your Story
4:00 - 5:45	Keynote with ​Patrick Armstrong Beyond Belonging: How Finding My People Helped Me Find Myself	-