Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

How often do you realise that you're wrong? It's incredibly freeing. It's the ultimate lubricant for life. It reduces frustration and oils relationships. But if you're like me, your beliefs can get way of humility. Listen in as Arnie dives into humility, change, making a difference and much more. Truly empowering.Arnie and his wife Donna have been foster parents for over 20 years and are the parents to three daughters and three sons, four of which are adopted into his family from the foster care system.Arnie currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA). NFPA is a non-profit organization representing thousands of foster, adoptive and kinship parents, established to provide opportunities for advocacy, networking, and education.Arnie’s role includes developing partnerships and building relationships that benefit foster parents by providing the resources, services and support they need to provide care for children in need.He serves on multiple national, state, and local government committees, and strives to provide one voice in advocating for core needs for family-based care.https://www.facebook.com/NFPAonlinehttps://www.linkedin.com/company/nfpaonline/https://nfpaonline.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.

Are we going to rise above trauma or to succumb to it? Perhaps one of the most profound questions we can ask. Listen in as foster/kinship parent Joanna's profound and powerful take on thriving.Joanna is president of the Maryland Resource Parent Association.Connect with her or them here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-a-961369176/https://mrpa.org/https://www.facebook.com/mdresourceparents/https://www.instagram.com/mrpa_md_resource_parent_assoc/ 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.

Rejection can tear us apart. How do we put ourselves back together? Where does the strength come from? Where do we find the hope before we find that strength. Listen in as Niemah shares her learning on hope, healing and more...Niemah Scherlacher was born to a 15-year-old Palestinian girl in Jerusalem at a time when formal adoption was forbidden. Her birth mother was hidden and protected from honor killing, and Niemah was placed in a Jewish Baby Home to ensure her safety and survival. She was late adopted by American Christians and raised in the United States. Decades later, Niemah discovered the identity of her birth mother and the truth of her origins, a revelation that brought both heartbreak and redemption. Through her journey, she has witnessed God’s providence an faithfulness, especially in the deeply personal work of healing after finding her birth mother only to be rejected.Find out more about her:https://www.facebook.com/niemah.scherlacherhttps://www.instagram.com/niemahanne_/ 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.

Holding on to anger holds us back. It stops us thriving. And it yet we all do it to some extent. It's part of the human condition. Listen in as Rachel shares her learnings and practice on releasing anger, forgiveness and more.Rachel is the Director of the CAFO Institute for Family-Centered Healing & Health.She has a background in physical therapy and holds a Master’s in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King’s College London, specializing in early adversity. Rachel has served on multiple boards supporting vulnerable children and helped found Tyndale Christian School in Arlington, Virginia. She advises families facing complex parenting challenges and has invested deeply in education and youth formation. Her recent book, When There Is Crisis: A Handbook for Christian Foster & Adoptive Families Facing Serious Struggle, offers biblically grounded principles and research-based, practical guidance to support families walking through seasons of crisis. Rachel and her husband, Jedd, have welcomed children through birth, adoption and foster care.https://cafo.org/family-institute/https://www.instagram.com/cafoalliance/https://www.facebook.com/CAFOalliancehttps://www.linkedin.com/company/christian-alliance-for-orphans/ 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.

Rumi once said “Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I wanted to change myself.” One of the most profound things we can see is that tough stuff helps us change. It creates space to grow. Listen in as Jenny shares her realisations on growth.Jenny grew up in a small town with her siblings and in foster care. Later, as an adult, she became a kinship home that provided permanency through adoption. These experiences have given Jenny a unique way to see solutions and connect in an understanding and compassionate way. Her role on the AFKA Caregiver Support Team is not just a job to her, it’s her passion to help those going through difficult times and who just need a friendly person with perspective to turn to.Find out more at:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-brewer-3a3778308/https://afkaonline.ca/https://www.facebook.com/Albertafosterandkinshipassociation/https://www.instagram.com/afka_caregiver_support/?hl=enhttps://www.youtube.com/@AlbertaFKA 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 is sometimes in short supply within adoptive families navigating tough stuff. Why is that? How can we overcome fear, choose hope and enjoy a brighter future? Listen is as Carly talks faith, truth and helping kids be who they want to be. Carly Souza is an adoptive mother and Fostering Hope Director at The Hub in Las Vegas.Find out more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-souza-aa9a382b/https://thehublv.com/https://www.facebook.com/thehublvhttps://www.instagram.com/thehublv/ 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.

How do we enable ourselves and others to thrive? Big question! Listen in as Damon shares what helps him thrive and empower his colleagues, foster youth clients and others to do the same.One Hope United (OHU) is a nonprofit organization that has been serving children, youth, and families for 130 years. We provide early childhood education, child and family services, behavioral and mental health resources, and residential programs, reaching more than 10,000 children and families each year across Illinois and Florida. Through our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential.www.onehopeunited.orgwww.facebook.com/1hopeunitedwww.instagram.com/onehopeunitedwww.linkedin.com/company/one-hope-unitedwww.linkedin.com/in/damon-cates-53945a2bwww.x.com/1hopeunitedwww.youtube.com/@1hopeunited 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 adopted kids isn't about fixing them, it's about growing us. Doing Our Own Work is one of those themes that comes up again and again on Thriving Adoptees. Listen in as mom of 4 girls - 2 through adoption - Laura shares her learnings on empathy, shaming, relational loss and more.Laura Adams is a visionary educator, speaker, and systems-change advocate focused on strengthening how schools and communities support children in adoptive, foster, and kinship families.As the Founder and President of iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Families, Laura leads statewide and national efforts to bring practical, healing-centered tools and training to educators, mental health professionals, and child welfare leaders. Her work helps teams build emotionally safe, regulation-ready environments where all children can grow and thrive..Laura created the iCARE4 Schools Connection Kits™, bilingual, tiered tools now used in more than 1,200 Illinois schools to support identity development, emotional regulation, and school success for students with complex life stories..Her signature training series, Connected, We Thrive™, delivers engaging, evidence-informed professional development aligned with Illinois Professional Learning Standards, MTSS, and SEL frameworks. These sessions equip school teams, social workers, and caregivers with practical, healing-centered strategies and a shared language to support student well-being..Laura actively collaborates with leaders across education, mental health, and child welfare to advance responsive, family-centered practices. Her partners include: DCFS, ISBE, IAAC, IPA, IASB, IASSW, SWFCAC, West40, Let It Be Us, School of Hope, Second Nurture, NTI/C.A.S.E., ICOY, FREDLA, NCFA, ROEs, the Beacon Family Communications Workgroup, and the National Center for Post-Adoption Support.A former educator and adoptive parent, Laura brings lived experience, policy insight, and powerful storytelling to every stage and session. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and thought partner—known for inspiring connection, sparking collaboration, and offering tools that professionals can use right away.Because When We CONNECT, Children THRIVE.https://icare4aaff.org/https://www.instagram.com/iCARE4AAFFhttps://www.facebook.com/iCARE4AAFF 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.

How open are you to learning? When we know more we do better. So lifelong learning isn't something to be shunned by our impatience, but welcomed in. Listen in as Rashunda who adopted three teens from the welfare system shares her learnings on learning.Rashunda Williams joined the CHRIS 180 team in 2023 as the Director of Foster Care and Adoptions, before being promoted to the role of VP, Community Residential Services.Williams is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of our community and residential programs that serve children, young adults and families, including CHRIS 180’s adoption homes, foster homes, and Summit Trail Apartments.For more than two decades, Williams has worked in the social service sector and holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and a Master of Business Administration. She has extensive knowledge of psychiatric hospitals, community-based services, adolescent group homes, foster care, the juvenile justice system and the mental health spectrum. Additionally, she has experience in client-centered therapeutic services to children, adolescents and couples.Prior to joining the CHRIS 180 team, Williams served in several leadership roles within the social service sector in Nevada, California, and Georgia.Her professional interests are resiliency across the life span, challenges of families with limited access to mental health and healthcare services, people centric leadership, diversity and equity in the workplace, prevention services, and continued training and development of mental health professionals.Williams enjoys traveling, interior designing, reading and is an avid community volunteer.Find out more about Rashunda and her organisation here:https://chris180.org/https://www.facebook.com/CHRIS180Advocate/https://www.linkedin.com/company/chris180/https://www.instagram.com/CHRIS180_Advocate/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashunda-williams-b18437202/ 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.

Are you suffering right now? It probably - or definitely - doesn't feel like it, but finding the purpose in that pain somehow makes it more bearable. The earlier we can see that purpose the sooner the pain can ease. Join Donna and I as we dive in life changing insights and shifts in perspective. Donna is an adoptive mother, executive director of an adoption agency and podcaster.Here's a bit about Donna from her agency's website:Donna is an irreplaceable member of our adoption agency, dedicated to aiding women who are contemplating placing their child for adoption. Helping women through an unexpected pregnancy has become her life’s journey. She is seldom “off duty.” On weekends she communicates with birth mothers to aid them with their financial concerns or traveling to a hospital to ensure they are receiving the best medical possible.Her resolute dedication and heartfelt compassion make her an essential figure in supporting these women throughout their entire journey.Donna ensures that every person who works at Heart to Heart Adoptions treats birth mothers and adoptive families with respect and compassion. She insists on a non-judgmental approach to every situation. She creates a safe and nurturing space for them to share their concerns, dreams, and worries. By approaching each individual with empathy and without judgment, Donna ensures that these exceptional women have the necessary guidance and resources to make well-informed decisions.Donna’s expertise within the Utah Adoption Agency lies in her ability to find the perfect match between birth mothers and adoptive families, making her an invaluable asset to our agency.Connect with her here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-pope-41652ba/Explore her podcast here:https://www.instagram.com/voicesof_adoption/reel/DLH-sYjJPf4/?__d=1https://voicesofadoption.podup.com/https://www.instagram.com/voicesof_adoption/Find out more about her podcast here:https://hearttoheartadopt.com/https://www.facebook.com/HeartToHeartAdoptionhttps://www.instagram.com/hearttoheartadoptions/ 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.

Tough stuff feels, well, tough. But with hindsight it becomes clear that the tough stuff prompts our biggest learnings. What if we could see the gift of the tough stuff earlier? Be more grateful for it when we are in it? Listen in as adoptive mom Jacee shares her insights on grace, grief and learnings. Powerful.Here's the interview with Jacee's mother.https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/our-spirit-isnt-traumatised-with-dana-hargus 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.

If you're going through tough stuff, this one's for you. Truly inspirational. Adopted at 9 months Sharon grew up in an alternative universe. One that felt completely alien to her. Her adoptive mother kicked her out of the house when she got pregnant at 18. Life got tougher until she found herself at rock bottom and attempting suicide. How did she turn it around? Listen into profound learnings from a remarkably resilient lady.Find out more about Sharon here:https://giftfamilyservices.com/about-gift-family-services/our-coaches/sharon-butler-obazee/https://www.instagram.com/adoptionclarity/?hl=en-gbhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gift-family-services/https://www.facebook.com/sobazee03/ 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.

If you're in hell keep going. But how? Listen in as Adoption Permanency Director Alaina dives into digging deep, what empowers us to persist through the toughest of tough stuff and more...Find out more about the company Alaina works for here:https://www.enniscenter.org/www.enniscenter.org https://www.facebook.com/EnnisCenter/#Find out more about adoption support in Michigan here:www.mare.org Listen to the podcast with Jaycie on secondary trauma herehttps://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/healing-for-them-jaycie-bias 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.

Vince's mission is to add value to everyone he meets. Listen in and let him add value to you with his insights, learnings and wisdom. Vince and his wife have six kids, three of whom are adopted. He's also Executive Director at Keystone Family Alliance.Keystone Family Alliance is comprised of representatives from different churches around the state of Pennsylvania. We aim to educate, motivate, and equip every Christian in the state of Pennsylvania on the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, both locally and globally.  Everybody can do something to positively impact these children, and the Alliance wants to help you find YOUR something. We bridge the gap between the desperate need of the child welfare system and PA churches. Agencies and caseworkers struggle to find new foster and adoptive families to meet the current, overwhelming need. Keystone Family Alliance mobilizes Christians from around Pennsylvania. For some, it is registering to meet tangible needs of foster, adoptive, and biological families through our online portal, Gateway. For others, it is serving on an engineered Care Community to support a local family for a year. For churches, Keystone Family Alliance provides the framework and support to help churches successfully recruit families to care for children in their communities to become these much-needed placement homes. There are so many ways to do something.https://www.linkedin.com/in/vince-smith-0214808a/https://www.keyfam.org/https://www.instagram.com/keystonefamilyalliance/https://www.facebook.com/keystonefamilyalliance  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.

If things are looking tough right now, here's some hope for you...According to one of my mentors - Richard Wilkins "The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence" The past may explain the present but it needn't dictate the future. Join Erin and Megan as we explore hope, healing and more as we look forward to a brighter future.Erin Argue is Heart Galleries of Texas Post-Permanency DirectorErin Argue first came to TACFS as an intern in 2022 during an MSW program at Texas State and returned as the Heart Galleries of Texas Associate Director in 2023. Before the Alliance, Erin spent her career supporting youth in foster care at member organizations, Partnerships for Children and Settlement Home for Children. There, she managed major programs, services, and projects.Originally from the Great Lakes State, Erin graduated from Michigan State University and earned two B.S. degrees in Psychology and Environmental Geosciences.Now, Erin lives in Austin. As a people person with a love for connection, she spends lots of time outside, with friends, and with her dog, Charlie the Bandit.Megan Ransom is Chief Executive Officer The Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS).Megan joined TACFS as the Director of Community Engagement in 2019, moved into the role of Chief of Staff in 2021, and became the CEO in 2025. She came to TACFS from Partnerships for Children, an Austin-based nonprofit, where she served as the Director of Foster and Adoption Services. Megan worked closely with DFPS and many Central Texas child placing agencies and nonprofits on community education/outreach initiatives built around children in the foster care system who are waiting for adoption. She also worked at Texas CASA in the Quality Assurance Department.She has a passion for building strategic collaborations that produce results and continuously work towards improvement of practices and partnerships to lift up the children and families involved in the child welfare system.An Indiana native, Megan earned a BA in Sociology & Psychology from Indiana University and a Master’s of Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She is also Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner through the Karyn Purvis institute of Child Development.Megan and her husband are parents to two boys, both adopted through the Texas foster care system.https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganshawrhoades/https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-argue-2055646/https://tacfs.org/https://www.instagram.com/txalliancecfs/https://www.facebook.com/texasalliance/ 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.

Secondary trauma can build up within us without us noticing. Even veteran therapist Bessel van der Kolk who's the author of the bestselling book The Body Keeps The Score wasn't aware of his secondary trauma until very  recently. And secondary trauma is common amongst adoptive parents. Do you want to heal for your kids? Be triggered less often? At peace more? Listen in as adoptive mother Jaycie and Executive Director shares her learnings on healing secondary trauma, choosing love over grief and much more.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayciebias/https://www.facebook.com/WVFosterParents/https://wvfosterparents.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.

Are you advocating for your child or change? As every parent knows systems can be very tricky to navigate and change. The better we can understand them, the better we can relate with the people we deal with and more likely we are to get what we want. Listen in asDirector of Foster Care and Permanency Michelle shares her inside knowledge on systems, change and more.Here is a bit about Michelle from her website:"I'm often asked what brought me to this work; child protection, public service, and anti-oppression efforts. The answer is the same for all: my community's needs, desires, and experiences gave my career direction. Describing myself as a mixed kid from the projects doesn't always get a favorable reaction, but it's the truth and holds no shame for me. Neither do any of the other identities that make me the person I am today.I hold a Master's degree in public administration from Metropolitan State University and an undergraduate in psychology and women studies. My public services career started with my first professional job out of college as an alternative response case manager on the east side of Saint Paul. That position was my introduction to child protection; quickly discovering the disparities, I realized the change needed would have to come from within the system causing these poor outcomes. Finding my way to spaces and fighting for a seat at the table among decision-makers was not the solution I thought it would be.As a child protection worker, I found that policies, practices, and statutes interfered with my ability to make decisions in the best interest of families. As a supervisor, I found some of the same challenges, and the team I supported described transgressions in moral code during supervision. As a manager, I started to draw the connection between staff retention and outcomes for families. It became clear that staff supported in making decisions that align with their values remain in high-stakes decision-making positions. The unnamed emotions and blame the system placed on professionals led me to the term Moral Injury. Once I found the name of my experience, I felt empowered, becoming driven to inform the workforce and hold systems responsible."Here are some links for more infohttps://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/program-overviews/child-protection-foster-care-adoption/african-american-child-well-being/https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-d-seymore-42b0983b/https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260.692#:~:text=The%20African%20American%20Child%20and,in%20the%20child%20welfare%20system;https://www.michelledseymore.com/ 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.

Does fear hold you back? Fear of the unknown? Fear of things not working out? Sometimes life requires us to make a leap of faith. Listen in as Terri talks about leaps of faith, unconditional love and more...Listen to her first interview here https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/helping-kids-feel-loveable-lovedAs an adoptive mom, Terri knows how fortunate she is to have her daughter, and also how very rare her story is. Not quite ten years into raising her daughter, she did some research and found that less than one percent of girls facing unplanned pregnancy choose adoption for their babies. Digging into the reasons why that is so, Terri conducted several focus groups in her home and discovered that most women facing unplanned pregnancy simply don’t realize that adoption is an option. They believe they must choose between parenting and terminating their pregnancy.As a seasoned marketing executive, Terri has deep and broad experience in communicating a precise, value-based message to affect change. For over two decades, she has consulted to Silicon Valley companies and led their strategic marketing and communications efforts. (See MarketSavvy Inc.)She founded Unplanned Good to promote adoption as a viable option for women facing unplanned pregnancy. This is in response to contemporary beliefs in our society that young women have only two choices; abortion or parenting.All too often, young women face unplanned pregnancies. When they do, they typically see only two choices: to become parents, often in their teens, or to terminate their pregnancies. It’s rare that they consider the alternative path – seeing the pregnancy through to delivery and placing the baby for adoption.The mission of our organization is to promote adoption as a viable, reasonable option for those dealing with unplanned pregnancies, such that the result is good for all involved.https://www.unplannedgood.org/https://twitter.com/Unplanned_Goodhttps://www.facebook.com/UnplannedGood/ 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.

Can you open your heart more fully? Shamele has opened her heart to 4 kids through adoption, another through a special guardianship and over 300 more through fostering them. Listen in as we dive into helping our kids have fun, feel listened to and loved.Find out more about Shamele:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamele-jenkins-bb9ab712/https://www.facebook.com/shamele.jenkins/https://www.mdcfapa.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.

Change is hard. Until an insight happens. Whether that's about how we feel, what causes those feelings, our behaviour or anything else. So changing is a seeing thing. Listen in as Steve shares some of the insights that have done the heavy lifting. We hope this interview catalyses some changes for you.Steve joins the team at Hand in Hand with a background in non-profit organizations, the healthcare industry and higher education.  He holds a B.A. in Public Relations, a Master of Divinity, and an M.A. in Psychology, all of which have allowed him to do what he is most passionate about: making a positive difference in the lives of others.  Steve heads up operations for Hand In Hand and his outgoing personality makes him a fantastic spokesperson for introducing Hand In Hand to new families and organizations that we partner with. Steve and his spouse have five adopted children. Steve is always excited to share his family’s experience with others to show them the incredible ways that adoption can transform lives.  He is an avid sports fan, enjoys going to games and can normally be found adventuring with his kiddos throughout California. Steve is not afraid to go outside of his comfort zone and has even run a marathon in Italy to raise funds for charity! He loves being a father, first and foremost, and enjoys being able to give that experience to other families through his work with Hand in Hand.Find out more at:https://www.hihiadopt.org/https://www.instagram.com/hand_in_hand_intl_adoptions/?hl=enhttps://www.facebook.com/HandInHandInternationalAdoptions/ 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.