" Navigating the Intersections of Adoption"
2020 Annual Conference Schedule
*This page is subject to change.
Friday, April 17th
9:45am – 10:00am Welcome & Adoption Vanguard Award Presentation
10:00am – 12:00pm Keynote 2 CEUs
"NAVIGATING THE INTERSECTIONS OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION" - Torrey E. Carroll, MA, LPC & Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC
The decision to adopt across racial/cultural lines is a lifelong commitment to exploring matters of race, confronting racism in all its forms, and constantly developing new skills and aptitudes. Transracial Adoptions are increasing in the U.S. With the creative work by and for Transracial Adoptees, this phenomenon is shining a light on the unique challenges of raising children of color in homes different from their culture of origin.
This keynote will encourage participants to have sustained and healthy discussions about race and culture. Participants will also increase awareness about the difference between intent and impact, develop strategies for identifying and curbing micro-aggressions, and gain a deeper understanding of the responsibility of parenting transracially. This dialogue will not support a “color-blind,” but rather a “color-affirming” approach, and provide developmentally sensitive tools and resources to create a sense of hope and offer a deeper understanding of how families can support transracial adoptees as they grow through the development stages of racial awareness and identity.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
(On your own or on-site if meal plan purchased during registration)
1:00pm – 2:15pm Session 1 1.25 Ethics CEUs
9:45am – 10:00am Welcome & Adoption Vanguard Award Presentation
10:00am – 12:00pm Keynote 2 CEUs
"NAVIGATING THE INTERSECTIONS OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION" - Torrey E. Carroll, MA, LPC & Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC
The decision to adopt across racial/cultural lines is a lifelong commitment to exploring matters of race, confronting racism in all its forms, and constantly developing new skills and aptitudes. Transracial Adoptions are increasing in the U.S. With the creative work by and for Transracial Adoptees, this phenomenon is shining a light on the unique challenges of raising children of color in homes different from their culture of origin.
This keynote will encourage participants to have sustained and healthy discussions about race and culture. Participants will also increase awareness about the difference between intent and impact, develop strategies for identifying and curbing micro-aggressions, and gain a deeper understanding of the responsibility of parenting transracially. This dialogue will not support a “color-blind,” but rather a “color-affirming” approach, and provide developmentally sensitive tools and resources to create a sense of hope and offer a deeper understanding of how families can support transracial adoptees as they grow through the development stages of racial awareness and identity.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
(On your own or on-site if meal plan purchased during registration)
1:00pm – 2:15pm Session 1 1.25 Ethics CEUs
(A) Ethics Panel - Panelists: Patricia Martinez-Dorner, LCSW; Will Francis, LMSW & Executive Director for the National Association of Social Workers, Texas Chapter; Tyler Pennington, Attorney, Board Certified~Family Law; Joellen Peters, PhD; Renee Gelin, SOS National Director
(All Attendees)
2:15pm – 2:30pm Networking Break (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
2:30pm – 3:45pm Session 2 1.25 CEUs
(A) Saving our Sisters; A Nationwide Organization & Movement - Renee Gelin, Director
(B) Exiting the Shame Cave: Honoring Childrens’ Humanity in Conversations About Sexual Trauma - Katy Perkins, LCSW
(C) Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ Youth in Foster & Adoptive Families -Karey Scheyd, MPA
3:45pm – 4:00pm Networking Break (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
4:00pm – 5:15pm Session 3 1.25 CEUs
(A) Equal Access to Original Birth Certificates: Fighting for Our Rights in the State of Texas - Joellen Peters, PhD, Texas Adoptee Rights President
(B) Co-Regulation for Adoptive Parents, Teens and Children: A trauma informed approach - Barbara Neiman, Pediatric Occupational Therapist
(All Attendees)
2:15pm – 2:30pm Networking Break (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
2:30pm – 3:45pm Session 2 1.25 CEUs
(A) Saving our Sisters; A Nationwide Organization & Movement - Renee Gelin, Director
(B) Exiting the Shame Cave: Honoring Childrens’ Humanity in Conversations About Sexual Trauma - Katy Perkins, LCSW
(C) Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ Youth in Foster & Adoptive Families -Karey Scheyd, MPA
3:45pm – 4:00pm Networking Break (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
4:00pm – 5:15pm Session 3 1.25 CEUs
(A) Equal Access to Original Birth Certificates: Fighting for Our Rights in the State of Texas - Joellen Peters, PhD, Texas Adoptee Rights President
(B) Co-Regulation for Adoptive Parents, Teens and Children: A trauma informed approach - Barbara Neiman, Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Saturday, April 18th
9:00am – 9:30am Welcome
9:30am – 11:45am Keynote 2.25 CEUs
"NAVIGATING THE INTERSECTIONS OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION" - Torrey E. Carroll, MA, LPC & Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC
The decision to adopt across racial/cultural lines is a lifelong commitment to exploring matters of race, confronting racism in all its forms and constantly developing new skills and aptitudes. Transracial Adoptions are increasing in the U.S. With the creative work by and for Transracial Adoptees, this phenomenon is shining a light on the unique challenges of raising children of color in homes different from their culture or origin.
This keynote will encourage participants to have sustained and healthy discussions about race and culture. Participants will also increase awareness about the difference between intent and impact, develop strategies for identifying and curbing micro-aggressions and gain a deeper understanding of the responsibility of parenting transracially. This dialogue will not support a “color-blind,” but rather a “color-affirming” approach, and provide developmentally sensitive tools and resources to create a sense of hope and offer a deeper understanding of how families can support transracial adoptees as they grow through the development stages of racial awareness and identity.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
(On your own or on-site if meal plan purchased during registration)
1:00pm – 2:15pm Session 1 1.25 CEUs
(A) Odd One Out: Cultivating Community, Identity, and Acceptance - Erin Smith, former Director of Adoption Svcs at AAI & Lilly Schmaltz, PhD Candidate in Cellular and Molecular Biology
(B) Waiting, Creating, and Finding Family: Past, Present, and Fiction - Suzanne Gilbert, Author
(C) Ethical and Competent Professional Adoption Services - Patricia Martinez-Dorner, MA, LPC (Ethics CEUs)
2:15pm – 2:30pm Break & Networking (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
2:30pm – 3:45pm Session 2 1.25 CEUs
(A) Male Adoptee Workshop - Rich Urlaub, M. Ed.C.
(B) Making the Invisible Visible - Arin Marx, Transracial Adoptee & Dee Gardner-Wilson, LCSW, LCDC
(C) Intersections of Unresolved Grief, Mental & Behavioral Health, and Adoption - Erin Spalding, LCSW
3:45pm – 4:00pm Break & Networking (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
4:00pm – 5:15pm Session 3 1.25 CEUs
(A) Navigating the Complexities of Adoption (Reunion) - Daryn and Christine Watson, Life Coaches
(B) Group Therapy 101: The basics followed by a support group experience- Pam Greenstone, MA, LPC
(C) The Stories that Matter: Why Our DNA Identity is Important -MelAnn Morales, Writer
* Schedule subject to change.
9:30am – 11:45am Keynote 2.25 CEUs
"NAVIGATING THE INTERSECTIONS OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION" - Torrey E. Carroll, MA, LPC & Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC
The decision to adopt across racial/cultural lines is a lifelong commitment to exploring matters of race, confronting racism in all its forms and constantly developing new skills and aptitudes. Transracial Adoptions are increasing in the U.S. With the creative work by and for Transracial Adoptees, this phenomenon is shining a light on the unique challenges of raising children of color in homes different from their culture or origin.
This keynote will encourage participants to have sustained and healthy discussions about race and culture. Participants will also increase awareness about the difference between intent and impact, develop strategies for identifying and curbing micro-aggressions and gain a deeper understanding of the responsibility of parenting transracially. This dialogue will not support a “color-blind,” but rather a “color-affirming” approach, and provide developmentally sensitive tools and resources to create a sense of hope and offer a deeper understanding of how families can support transracial adoptees as they grow through the development stages of racial awareness and identity.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch
(On your own or on-site if meal plan purchased during registration)
1:00pm – 2:15pm Session 1 1.25 CEUs
(A) Odd One Out: Cultivating Community, Identity, and Acceptance - Erin Smith, former Director of Adoption Svcs at AAI & Lilly Schmaltz, PhD Candidate in Cellular and Molecular Biology
(B) Waiting, Creating, and Finding Family: Past, Present, and Fiction - Suzanne Gilbert, Author
(C) Ethical and Competent Professional Adoption Services - Patricia Martinez-Dorner, MA, LPC (Ethics CEUs)
2:15pm – 2:30pm Break & Networking (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
2:30pm – 3:45pm Session 2 1.25 CEUs
(A) Male Adoptee Workshop - Rich Urlaub, M. Ed.C.
(B) Making the Invisible Visible - Arin Marx, Transracial Adoptee & Dee Gardner-Wilson, LCSW, LCDC
(C) Intersections of Unresolved Grief, Mental & Behavioral Health, and Adoption - Erin Spalding, LCSW
3:45pm – 4:00pm Break & Networking (visit exhibit booths and bookstore)
4:00pm – 5:15pm Session 3 1.25 CEUs
(A) Navigating the Complexities of Adoption (Reunion) - Daryn and Christine Watson, Life Coaches
(B) Group Therapy 101: The basics followed by a support group experience- Pam Greenstone, MA, LPC
(C) The Stories that Matter: Why Our DNA Identity is Important -MelAnn Morales, Writer
* Schedule subject to change.
Speakers
Torrey E. Carroll, MA, LPC believes in the redemptive power of relationships and has championed the cause for more than a decade. He has been walking alongside adults, couples, children, and families for more than 10 years. Torrey is passionate about men’s related topics (aka “guy stuff”), women’s enrichment, marriage and family enrichment, and adoption-sensitive therapy. As an adoptive parent and psychotherapist, he understands and respects both the pressures involved in building a family, coupled with the unique gifts and learning experiences that the adoption dynamic brings. Torrey is grounded within is his Christian faith and believes that vibrant, healthy relationships are essential to humanity.
Torrey is a frequent speaker at conferences and has extensive experience collaborating with agencies, faith-based organizations and community ambassadors to develop programming and ministries that revitalize and enrich individuals and family systems. He is a founding Board member of Relationships First™ and a Safe Conversations® Master Trainer. He has been featured in a number of publications and news media including Success Magazine, WFAA’s Daybreak, and CBS’s Plugged Into DFW, and co-hosted the Safe Conversations® Practice & Share DVD alongside Imago relationship therapy co-creators.
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Torrey spent twenty years as an executive in corporate America. He graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He later received a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling and a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University.
Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC believes in the redemptive power of relationships. She has championed the cause for more than a decade by walking alongside marriages and families as they heal and grow. She is passionate about helping individuals, couples, families and organizations identify ways to enact positive change. As an adoptive parent and psychotherapist, Nikki also understands and respects both the pressures involved in building a family, coupled with the unique gifts and learning experiences that the adoption dynamic brings.
Nikki has been featured in a number of publications and news media including Success Magazine, WFAA’s Daybreak, and CBS’s Plugged Into DFW – and is a contributing columnist for Fostering Families Today. She has also had the privilege of co-hosting the Safe Conversations® Practice & Share DVD alongside Imago Relationship Therapy co-creators. Prior to her professional work as a clinician, Nikki successfully managed a 20-year career within corporate America. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University, a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling and a Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University.
Nikki is a firm believer that love is in the details. She is an ‘experience’ creator at heart, loves DIY-ing and has an uncanny passion for scouting out hidden local treasures. Nikki has been happily married for nineteen years to her world-changer husband, Torrey. As a wife and mommy of two, Nikki brings extensive life experience and an empathic heart for supporting and serving others.
*For more info on our esteemed Keynotes visit their website.
Chelsy Alexander, LMSW, with background working with children, youth, and families in diverse settings. Experience includes recruiting, working with and training foster and adoptive families from diverse settings,biopsychosocial assessments in school and hospital settings, crisis intervention, case management, coordinating, and group facilitation. Currently I serve as the Program Coordinator for a new initiative to increase the number and diversity of healing families in Central Texas. The backbone support of the initiative is provided by Partnerships for Children.
Dee Gardner-Wilson, LCSW, LCDC and CSAT is a professional speaker, educator, workshop facilitator, trauma treatment consultant, author Sex Addiction Specialist, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) therapist with over a decade of experience. Specialties include CPTSD, PTSD, trauma, abuse, chronic pain recovery, Partners of sex addicts, and other severe emotional issues with a special focus on Trauma Bonded Relationships. Her unique approaches include EMDR, Psychodrama, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and customized models to meet client specific needs. Prolonged stress, emotional or physical, and pain cause an individual to experience distress and trauma symptoms. Dee believes in an experiential treatment approach to address the ‘whole’ person, emotional and physical, in conjunction with the traditional cognitive therapy approach.
Renee Gelin, President, Saving our Sisters (SOS) After losing her son to a devastating unnecessary adoption Renee discovered her purpose – to help other mothers avoid unnecessarily separating from their newborn babies and helping them preserve their families. She began reaching out and connecting with others in the online adoption community for support. Renee started speaking to other expectant mothers and realized that many of the reasons that they were considering adoption, were similar to hers – temporary. She started to explain the lifelong trauma that maternal separation causes both the mothers and their newborns and the mothers were listening. Many in the adoption community began to see the moms with their babies and began to support her efforts of family preservation. Others online began to direct mothers considering adoption to speak with Renee and the concept of Saving Our Sisters became a reality. Renee married her son’s father and together they parent their 2 daughters in Florida.
Suzanne Gilbert, Author recently served as Keynote for both the 39th Annual Adoptive Parents Committee Conference in NYC as well as for the annual luncheon of the National Council of Jewish Women-Metrowest where she also spoke in 2015. She has led and served on workshops, speaker presentations, multiple adoption panels, and written fiction with adoption themes. Venues and recognition include: 2019 Author Roundtable at the 40th annual American Adoption Congress in Washington, D.C.; 2019 and 2018 guest speaker at Ethical Culture Society of Maplewood on Searches in Literature & Religion; 2019 workshop on making a gratitude practice at The Center for Spirituality; 2014 performance for "The Moth" storySlam; St. John's University presenter at The Adoption Initiative conference; and numerous adoption-related panels or discussions including ones hosted by her own “alma mater”, the Spence-Chapin Adoption Agency. Suzanne is taking a break from a career in cyber security to focus on writing a series of cybercrime procedurals and has a prequl, the adoption quest novel Tapioca Fire, which was selected as one of four recommended books for 2014 by Concerned People for Adoption (CPFA). Her shorter works of fiction and non-fiction have been included in anthologies and literary magazines. She curates a Facebook page with over 7,000 organic/unpaid readers as of mid 2019 that highlights both fiction and non-fiction on adoption, fostering, and other cultural topics @Suzanne Gilbert.Author. Her personal observations there are based on a love of reading and parenting a blended family with three now grown boys who are adoptees like herself
Pam Greenstone, MA, LPC Deep Roots Counseling Llc is a counselor in private practice in North Austin and has been facilitating therapy groups since 2002 and participating in therapy groups for over 18 years. She is currently in her second term on the board of the
Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS) and served as the AGPS president in 2008.
Katy Perkins, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice, providing therapy, professional training, case consultation and policy analysis in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado. Katy specializes in sexual and domestic violence, post-adoption, cultural competence, LGBT populations, and childhood trauma. Katy has provided educational and training sessions about trauma, cultural competence, adoption, end of life decision making, and more, for over fifteen years. She is committed to bridging social justice movements and advocating for traditionally marginalized populations. She was a founding board member of STAR (Support TX Adoptee Rights), now serving as a member of the Advisory Board, a member of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, the Texas Council for Family Violence, the National Association of Social Workers, and Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. Her experience includes community, state, and national level advocacy as a leader and volunteer. Katy was selected as the 2014 Black Trans Men Inc. Ally of the Year, nominated for Altrusa Richardson 2018 Healthcare Professional of the year, and selected as the NASW-North Central Texas Dallas Area 2018 Social Worker of the Year.
MelAnn Morales is a story narrative coach as well as an adoptee & a birth mother. After her own exhaustive search for her birth family, she realized she was seeking identity and belonging. Once she found her birth family, she realized how much we really have access in our own DNA; as well as the healing power of birth family stories and the important role they play when it comes to our own identity and belonging. MelAnn has written her memoir about her search as an adoptee and all that the journey revealed along the way.
Patricia Martinez Dorner, MA, LPC, a pioneer in open adoption and post adoption services, has been a relentless proponent of adoption reform. Her adoption focused practice includes education, support and training to individuals and professionals. She is a frequent conference speaker and author of many adoption related books. The adoptive mother of 2 adult daughters, she lives adoption personally and professionally.
Arin Marx is an international adoptee from Korea with a transracial family and disrupted adoption experience. As an aspiring mental health professional, she is navigating the process of developing her own racial and cultural identity. She is learning to balance how she sees herself against others’ perceptions or expectations of her. She is finding passion in advocating for adoptees by educating/cultivating awareness and growth in the adoption community about the transracial and international adoptee experience. Arin is finally discovering empowerment beneath the pain of her transracial adoptee life experience from connections made with other international adoptees. She finds solidarity through the pain of shared life experience and the courage to address the intersection of race and adoption.
Barbara Neiman is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Mindfulness Trainer, Adoptive parent of Russian young adult adoptee, Author of The Adopted Teen Workbook and two other books. National presenter on Trauma Informed approach to Special needs/Sensory strategies in adoptive families.
Joellen Peters is a psychologist, mother of 2 teenage boys, and an adoptee rights advocate. She is past president on the Board of Directors for AKA, current president of Support Texas Adoptee Rights (STAR) and is a reunited adoptee who found her birth parents approximately 20 years ago. Dr. Peters initially began working with families affected by adoption when she went through her own adoption reunion. She now works with adult adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families in her private practice. Joellen’s initial advocacy work started in 2015 when she began talking with legislators at the Capitol in Austin. In 2017 she became more involved with both testimony and more assistance to STAR.
Lilly Schmaltz was adopted from China to the US in 1995. After realizing she is one of the older Chinese adoptees, she has dedicated much of her time to advocating for adoptees’ rights and educating the general public about the complexities of transracial adoption. In addition to advocacy on YouTube and Instagram, she is the founder and co-leader of the Adopteen Austin chapter. Outside of advocacy, she’s currently pursuing her PhD in cell and molecular biology and enjoys spending time with her dog and cat!
Karey Scheyd, MPA is a nonprofit management consultant with particular expertise in foster care, adoption, and LGBTQ services. She has been a National Advisory Council member and consultant for the Human Rights Campaign’s All Children – All Families (ACAF) program since 2007 and has served as the National Training Manager for ACAF since 2013, providing training and technical assistance on LGBTQ services to child welfare organizations across the country. In her spare time, you can find Karey traveling the world with her partner, Irfan, or spending quality time with her dog, Ruby. Karey is a proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, and is currently working on a Master of Arts in Counseling degree at St. Edward’s University.
Erin Smith was adopted from an orphanage in Kerala, India in 1987 when she was 20 months old. She is a transracial adoptee, raised by her adoptive parents in Snellville, GA. She worked as an adoption professional for 10 years before recently becoming a mom. She is now soaking in every moment of knowing a biological relative for the first time. She has submitted her DNA and has been fortunate enough to connect with distant relatives but remains hopeful that she may one day find her immediate birth family.
Erin Spalding, LCSW, is the Program Director of The Christi Center, a non-profit grief support center. She has over 11 years of clinical experience supporting grieving kids, teens, and adults, while developing programs to strengthen the community’s capacity to serve all those in grief. She is also an adjunct professor at the UT Steve Hicks School of Social Work, teaching Group Intervention, Grief Counseling and Grief & Loss Individual, Family and Cultural Perspectives.
Rich Uhrlaub, M.Ed. has been dedicated to support and effective advocacy for the interests of adults impacted by relinquishment and adoption for over 20 years and currently serves as ASRC President. He has served on the boards of Adoptees in Search - Colorado's Triad Connection, the American Adoption Congress, and the Colorado Adoption Intermediary Commission. Relinquished and adopted at three weeks old, Rich located and connected with his family of origin in 1995. In addition, Rich has testified before legislative committees and presented and facilitated at various conferences nationwide. He has been interviewed for local and national radio, television and newspaper stories. Rich is a contributing author to Finding Our Place: 100 Memorable Adoptees, Fostered Persons and Orphanage Alumni (2010), Adoption and Mothering (2012), and the Bastard Chronicles (2017). His professional background includes leading the Learning Solutions Team and Management Competencies Program for an international technology firm; telecommunications and digital marketing sales; and medical-legal claims and risk management in the private and public sectors.
Christine Watson is a life coach certified through The Life Coach School. She is trained in using and teaching The Model, a powerful coaching tool used to help bring awareness and healing to her clients. She has experienced tremendous transformation using The Model and wants to share her knowledge and experience with others so they can have the same results.
Daryn Watson is a life coach for adoptees and holds a degree in social psychology. He is a reunited adoptee with both his maternal and paternal families. He is a contributing author to The Adoptee Survival Guide, Flip the Script: Adult Adoptee Anthology, and has been published in Adoption Today Magazine.
Torrey is a frequent speaker at conferences and has extensive experience collaborating with agencies, faith-based organizations and community ambassadors to develop programming and ministries that revitalize and enrich individuals and family systems. He is a founding Board member of Relationships First™ and a Safe Conversations® Master Trainer. He has been featured in a number of publications and news media including Success Magazine, WFAA’s Daybreak, and CBS’s Plugged Into DFW, and co-hosted the Safe Conversations® Practice & Share DVD alongside Imago relationship therapy co-creators.
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Torrey spent twenty years as an executive in corporate America. He graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He later received a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling and a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University.
Nikki M. Carroll, MA, LPC believes in the redemptive power of relationships. She has championed the cause for more than a decade by walking alongside marriages and families as they heal and grow. She is passionate about helping individuals, couples, families and organizations identify ways to enact positive change. As an adoptive parent and psychotherapist, Nikki also understands and respects both the pressures involved in building a family, coupled with the unique gifts and learning experiences that the adoption dynamic brings.
Nikki has been featured in a number of publications and news media including Success Magazine, WFAA’s Daybreak, and CBS’s Plugged Into DFW – and is a contributing columnist for Fostering Families Today. She has also had the privilege of co-hosting the Safe Conversations® Practice & Share DVD alongside Imago Relationship Therapy co-creators. Prior to her professional work as a clinician, Nikki successfully managed a 20-year career within corporate America. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University, a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling and a Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University.
Nikki is a firm believer that love is in the details. She is an ‘experience’ creator at heart, loves DIY-ing and has an uncanny passion for scouting out hidden local treasures. Nikki has been happily married for nineteen years to her world-changer husband, Torrey. As a wife and mommy of two, Nikki brings extensive life experience and an empathic heart for supporting and serving others.
*For more info on our esteemed Keynotes visit their website.
Chelsy Alexander, LMSW, with background working with children, youth, and families in diverse settings. Experience includes recruiting, working with and training foster and adoptive families from diverse settings,biopsychosocial assessments in school and hospital settings, crisis intervention, case management, coordinating, and group facilitation. Currently I serve as the Program Coordinator for a new initiative to increase the number and diversity of healing families in Central Texas. The backbone support of the initiative is provided by Partnerships for Children.
Dee Gardner-Wilson, LCSW, LCDC and CSAT is a professional speaker, educator, workshop facilitator, trauma treatment consultant, author Sex Addiction Specialist, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) therapist with over a decade of experience. Specialties include CPTSD, PTSD, trauma, abuse, chronic pain recovery, Partners of sex addicts, and other severe emotional issues with a special focus on Trauma Bonded Relationships. Her unique approaches include EMDR, Psychodrama, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and customized models to meet client specific needs. Prolonged stress, emotional or physical, and pain cause an individual to experience distress and trauma symptoms. Dee believes in an experiential treatment approach to address the ‘whole’ person, emotional and physical, in conjunction with the traditional cognitive therapy approach.
Renee Gelin, President, Saving our Sisters (SOS) After losing her son to a devastating unnecessary adoption Renee discovered her purpose – to help other mothers avoid unnecessarily separating from their newborn babies and helping them preserve their families. She began reaching out and connecting with others in the online adoption community for support. Renee started speaking to other expectant mothers and realized that many of the reasons that they were considering adoption, were similar to hers – temporary. She started to explain the lifelong trauma that maternal separation causes both the mothers and their newborns and the mothers were listening. Many in the adoption community began to see the moms with their babies and began to support her efforts of family preservation. Others online began to direct mothers considering adoption to speak with Renee and the concept of Saving Our Sisters became a reality. Renee married her son’s father and together they parent their 2 daughters in Florida.
Suzanne Gilbert, Author recently served as Keynote for both the 39th Annual Adoptive Parents Committee Conference in NYC as well as for the annual luncheon of the National Council of Jewish Women-Metrowest where she also spoke in 2015. She has led and served on workshops, speaker presentations, multiple adoption panels, and written fiction with adoption themes. Venues and recognition include: 2019 Author Roundtable at the 40th annual American Adoption Congress in Washington, D.C.; 2019 and 2018 guest speaker at Ethical Culture Society of Maplewood on Searches in Literature & Religion; 2019 workshop on making a gratitude practice at The Center for Spirituality; 2014 performance for "The Moth" storySlam; St. John's University presenter at The Adoption Initiative conference; and numerous adoption-related panels or discussions including ones hosted by her own “alma mater”, the Spence-Chapin Adoption Agency. Suzanne is taking a break from a career in cyber security to focus on writing a series of cybercrime procedurals and has a prequl, the adoption quest novel Tapioca Fire, which was selected as one of four recommended books for 2014 by Concerned People for Adoption (CPFA). Her shorter works of fiction and non-fiction have been included in anthologies and literary magazines. She curates a Facebook page with over 7,000 organic/unpaid readers as of mid 2019 that highlights both fiction and non-fiction on adoption, fostering, and other cultural topics @Suzanne Gilbert.Author. Her personal observations there are based on a love of reading and parenting a blended family with three now grown boys who are adoptees like herself
Pam Greenstone, MA, LPC Deep Roots Counseling Llc is a counselor in private practice in North Austin and has been facilitating therapy groups since 2002 and participating in therapy groups for over 18 years. She is currently in her second term on the board of the
Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS) and served as the AGPS president in 2008.
Katy Perkins, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice, providing therapy, professional training, case consultation and policy analysis in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado. Katy specializes in sexual and domestic violence, post-adoption, cultural competence, LGBT populations, and childhood trauma. Katy has provided educational and training sessions about trauma, cultural competence, adoption, end of life decision making, and more, for over fifteen years. She is committed to bridging social justice movements and advocating for traditionally marginalized populations. She was a founding board member of STAR (Support TX Adoptee Rights), now serving as a member of the Advisory Board, a member of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, the Texas Council for Family Violence, the National Association of Social Workers, and Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. Her experience includes community, state, and national level advocacy as a leader and volunteer. Katy was selected as the 2014 Black Trans Men Inc. Ally of the Year, nominated for Altrusa Richardson 2018 Healthcare Professional of the year, and selected as the NASW-North Central Texas Dallas Area 2018 Social Worker of the Year.
MelAnn Morales is a story narrative coach as well as an adoptee & a birth mother. After her own exhaustive search for her birth family, she realized she was seeking identity and belonging. Once she found her birth family, she realized how much we really have access in our own DNA; as well as the healing power of birth family stories and the important role they play when it comes to our own identity and belonging. MelAnn has written her memoir about her search as an adoptee and all that the journey revealed along the way.
Patricia Martinez Dorner, MA, LPC, a pioneer in open adoption and post adoption services, has been a relentless proponent of adoption reform. Her adoption focused practice includes education, support and training to individuals and professionals. She is a frequent conference speaker and author of many adoption related books. The adoptive mother of 2 adult daughters, she lives adoption personally and professionally.
Arin Marx is an international adoptee from Korea with a transracial family and disrupted adoption experience. As an aspiring mental health professional, she is navigating the process of developing her own racial and cultural identity. She is learning to balance how she sees herself against others’ perceptions or expectations of her. She is finding passion in advocating for adoptees by educating/cultivating awareness and growth in the adoption community about the transracial and international adoptee experience. Arin is finally discovering empowerment beneath the pain of her transracial adoptee life experience from connections made with other international adoptees. She finds solidarity through the pain of shared life experience and the courage to address the intersection of race and adoption.
Barbara Neiman is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Mindfulness Trainer, Adoptive parent of Russian young adult adoptee, Author of The Adopted Teen Workbook and two other books. National presenter on Trauma Informed approach to Special needs/Sensory strategies in adoptive families.
Joellen Peters is a psychologist, mother of 2 teenage boys, and an adoptee rights advocate. She is past president on the Board of Directors for AKA, current president of Support Texas Adoptee Rights (STAR) and is a reunited adoptee who found her birth parents approximately 20 years ago. Dr. Peters initially began working with families affected by adoption when she went through her own adoption reunion. She now works with adult adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families in her private practice. Joellen’s initial advocacy work started in 2015 when she began talking with legislators at the Capitol in Austin. In 2017 she became more involved with both testimony and more assistance to STAR.
Lilly Schmaltz was adopted from China to the US in 1995. After realizing she is one of the older Chinese adoptees, she has dedicated much of her time to advocating for adoptees’ rights and educating the general public about the complexities of transracial adoption. In addition to advocacy on YouTube and Instagram, she is the founder and co-leader of the Adopteen Austin chapter. Outside of advocacy, she’s currently pursuing her PhD in cell and molecular biology and enjoys spending time with her dog and cat!
Karey Scheyd, MPA is a nonprofit management consultant with particular expertise in foster care, adoption, and LGBTQ services. She has been a National Advisory Council member and consultant for the Human Rights Campaign’s All Children – All Families (ACAF) program since 2007 and has served as the National Training Manager for ACAF since 2013, providing training and technical assistance on LGBTQ services to child welfare organizations across the country. In her spare time, you can find Karey traveling the world with her partner, Irfan, or spending quality time with her dog, Ruby. Karey is a proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, and is currently working on a Master of Arts in Counseling degree at St. Edward’s University.
Erin Smith was adopted from an orphanage in Kerala, India in 1987 when she was 20 months old. She is a transracial adoptee, raised by her adoptive parents in Snellville, GA. She worked as an adoption professional for 10 years before recently becoming a mom. She is now soaking in every moment of knowing a biological relative for the first time. She has submitted her DNA and has been fortunate enough to connect with distant relatives but remains hopeful that she may one day find her immediate birth family.
Erin Spalding, LCSW, is the Program Director of The Christi Center, a non-profit grief support center. She has over 11 years of clinical experience supporting grieving kids, teens, and adults, while developing programs to strengthen the community’s capacity to serve all those in grief. She is also an adjunct professor at the UT Steve Hicks School of Social Work, teaching Group Intervention, Grief Counseling and Grief & Loss Individual, Family and Cultural Perspectives.
Rich Uhrlaub, M.Ed. has been dedicated to support and effective advocacy for the interests of adults impacted by relinquishment and adoption for over 20 years and currently serves as ASRC President. He has served on the boards of Adoptees in Search - Colorado's Triad Connection, the American Adoption Congress, and the Colorado Adoption Intermediary Commission. Relinquished and adopted at three weeks old, Rich located and connected with his family of origin in 1995. In addition, Rich has testified before legislative committees and presented and facilitated at various conferences nationwide. He has been interviewed for local and national radio, television and newspaper stories. Rich is a contributing author to Finding Our Place: 100 Memorable Adoptees, Fostered Persons and Orphanage Alumni (2010), Adoption and Mothering (2012), and the Bastard Chronicles (2017). His professional background includes leading the Learning Solutions Team and Management Competencies Program for an international technology firm; telecommunications and digital marketing sales; and medical-legal claims and risk management in the private and public sectors.
Christine Watson is a life coach certified through The Life Coach School. She is trained in using and teaching The Model, a powerful coaching tool used to help bring awareness and healing to her clients. She has experienced tremendous transformation using The Model and wants to share her knowledge and experience with others so they can have the same results.
Daryn Watson is a life coach for adoptees and holds a degree in social psychology. He is a reunited adoptee with both his maternal and paternal families. He is a contributing author to The Adoptee Survival Guide, Flip the Script: Adult Adoptee Anthology, and has been published in Adoption Today Magazine.
