About Our Speakers
Keynote Speaker Dee Paddock
Dee Paddock is a psychotherapist in
private practice in Des Moines, Iowa and the mother of three young adults
who were adopted from Korea. Dee specializes in issues related to adoption
and foster care, infertility, parenting children with special needs, grief
and loss and the impact of trauma on family systems. She has master's
degrees in counseling psychology and theological studies. Dee presents
keynotes, workshops and trainings both nationally and internationally.
Ursula Angielski
Ursula Angielski is a licensed social worker.
She was previously an adoption caseworker and currently is the adoption
statewide coordinator for DCFS.
She will be presenting "Foster to Adopt through DCFS:
The Policies, Procedures and How To's."
Laura Gannarelli
Founder
of Paper Lantern in 2004, adopted at age 9
Laura grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. She was adopted with
her younger sister. She visited Korea in 2003 and 2004, and after these
visits, she started Paper Lantern to create a resource center that is
geared specifically for transracial adoptees (and families of adoptees) of
all ages.
"My belief
is that the adoptee community needs a resource center that develops and
fosters programs that relate specifically to our experiences. We need
different tools geared to our community so that we can add to our
"emotional toolbox" to help better understand and cope with our
experiences. You never stop being an adoptee, but if you have the tools
and resources to help navigate these waters, you know you are not alone in
this experience. My goal for Paper Lantern is to continue to develop and
nurture benchmark programs that continue to help us navigate the waters of
not only growing up adopted but living a full rich lives but with a set of
tools that can be referred to when needed."
Laura has also mentored teen adoptees at the Korean Identity
Development Society (K.I.D.S.) Camp in Seattle and wrote an opinion piece
published in the Chicago Tribune (“Under
Three Flags – Between Two Worlds"). Her work can also be found
in “Outsiders Within," writing on transracial adoption published by South
End Press, 2006. The book is an anthology of work from adoptees all over
the world.
Michelle Hughes
Michelle Hughes graduated from the University of
Chicago Law School. Her legal practice focuses primarily on adoption
(working with DCFS, private agency, in dependent adoption, co-parent
adoption and related adoption). She also does real estate and
corporate work.
Ms. Hughes is a member of the Chicago Bar
Association Adoption Committee and former Vice Chair of Cook County Bar
Association Adoption Committee. She is a member of the American
Academy of Adoption Attorneys and is the co-chair of the Confidential
Intermediate Advisory Committee.
She started organizing and conducting seminars on
transracial adoption in 1991. In 1994, she co-founded Bridge
Communications, Inc., specializing in diversity training, with an emphasis
on transracial, international and general adoption education.
She will be presenting two workshops, "Language,
Adoption and Race: Word Choice Matters" and "Choices, Choices,
Choices: A Basic Primer on Adoption."
Read an article by Michelle on factors to consider when
transracially adopting
here.
Charles P. Fox
Charles P. Fox has been an attorney since 1986.
For the last twelve years he has been representing families with special
needs, fighting for their rights under IDEA, 504, and ADA. He will
be presenting "Strategies for Students, Parents and Professionals to
Advocate for Better IEPs."
Dana Johnson, MD, PhD
Dr. Johnson is Professor of Pediatrics, member of
Division of Neonatology and Director of Research and Education for the
International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Dr.
Johnson's research focuses on the short- and long-term effects of early
childhood institutionalization on child health and early development.
As part of this research, he founded
the largest adoption-related medical program in the world. Over the
past twenty years, information gathered through this clinic on the medical
status of over 3,000 children adopted from dozens of countries and a wide
variety of living conditions has helped establish the field of adoption
medicine. Ongoing research projects include the use of preschool
programs (China) and group homes for adolescents (Romania) to ameliorate
the negative effects of long-term institutionalization, the effects of an
institutional vs. foster care environment on the growth and development
(Romania), the long-term outcome of international adoptees in the United
States and the phenomenon of post-arrival "catch-up" growth in stunted
post-institutionalized adoptees.
Dr. Johnson serves on the Editorial
Boards of Adoption Quarterly and Adoptive Families Magazine and is a
Senior Research Fellow in the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
He has authored more than 200 journal articles, book chapters and
abstracts.
Read an article in the New York Times about the
International Adoption Clinic and Dr. Johnson
here.
Jae Ran Kim
Jae Ran Kim, MSW, is a social worker, writer and
teacher. Jae Ran works with youth in foster care as a child specific
adoption recruiter, and is a community faculty instructor in the social
work department at Metropolitan State University. Jae Ran was
recently featured in the anthology "Outsiders
Within: Writings on Transracial Adoption" by South End
Press. She blogs at
harlow's monkey.
Jae Ran will be presenting two seminars: "Ethical
Considerations in Adoption" and "Racial Identity and Adoption."
Katharine (Kitty) B. Mann
Kitty Mann obtained her AM and Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of
Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, where she currently
teaches clinical practice. She has been in clinical practice for more
than thirty years, working in agencies and in private practice. Kitty was
chosen by the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter, as
Social Worker of the Year for 2000.
Kitty's private practice specializes in infertility and adoption,
particularly focusing on services for families after they have adopted and
for adult adoptees. She has led support groups for infertility patients
and pre-adoptive parents and was facilitator of the workshop, ABCs of
Adoption for Resolve of Illinois. She was the author of, and in 2003
the facilitator of, the parent portion of Adoptive Families Today's
Empowering the Adoptive Family: A Workshop Series for Adopted Children
Ages 8 to 10 and Their Parents. She regularly presents workshops on
infertility and adoption topics. She is both a biological and adoptive
parent of three young adult children.
Kitty will be presenting "Parenting Plus: Special
Considerations for Adoptive Parents."
Derek Strain
Derek Strain has
practiced in the field of immigration law for more than ten years. His
practice includes both family and employment based immigration, as well
removal/deportation cases. Before joining the law firm of Minsky,
McCormick and Hallagan P.C. in 2000, he served as the Director of Legal
Services of Centro Romero, and staff attorney at the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights of the Organization of American States in San Jose, Costa
Rica. Mr. Strain is a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Guatemala) and is
fluent in Spanish. He has been an active member of the American
Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) since 1997, and has served as the
chair of the local AILA Asylum Committee and on the Executive Office of
Immigration Review Liaison Committees Liaison. He has also chaired the
AILA Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) Clinic Committee. Mr. Strain
is a 1996 graduate of DePaul University College of Law, and also holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Kansas.
Gayle Swift
Gayle
Swift is a professional life coach with a focus on families-especially
adopted families. She is also an NLP Practitioner. She and her partner
presented a breakout session at the 33rd annual NACAC
Conference in Tampa in July 2007. Gayle has two adult children who were
adopted in infancy and is also a former foster parent.
Gayle will
be speaking with Joann DiStefano on "Roots and Wings--A Blueprint for
Perpetuating Adoptive Family Connections."
Ellen Zimmerman
Ellen Zimmerman is an adoptive parent, a licensed
clinical professional counselor, a nationally board certified counselor.
She has twenty years of experience in education and completed an
international adoption in 2004. Ellen will be presenting "The
Formation of a Family."
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