Our Board

We are proud that Pact's staff and Board reflect the world's racial diversity and include members of all elements of the adoption triad (adopted people, adoptive parents and birth parents) and their families. We asked them to share a few thoughts about why they are committed to Pact.

Ojas Rege (Board President) and his wife Jill (an interracial couple—he is East Indian-Canadian and she is white) have adopted two African American children, who are brothers by birth and adoption, and also have an older son born to them. Formerly at Yahoo, he is now Vice President of Products at MobileIron, a high-tech startup. "Pact is unique; no one else offers the mix of pragmatism and passion that Beth and the team bring to the complicated world of adoption."

Annette Carnegie (Board Vice-President) is an African American single parent to two African American boys adopted through Pact, and was herself adopted by relatives as a child. She is currently Senior Counsel for the Kaiser Health Foundation and was formerly a partner at the law firm Morrison & Foerster, which has donated legal services to Pact for many years. "As a Pact client I have experienced firsthand the tremendous expertise and thoughtfulness Pact brings to the adoption experience."

Winslow Holmes (Board Secretary, Fundraising Chair) is part of an interracial couple (he is British of African descent, his partner is white) who have a son adopted through Pact. He is a software engineer and technology manager. "It is directly attributable to Beth and Pact that our family has been able to articulate our individual and collective feelings about being an adoption family."

Francois Choquette (Treasurer) is a white transracial parent of two African American boys (one adopted through Pact) and one daughter born to him and his partner, Marie-Claude. He is the Senior Vice President of Aon Consulting and a Fellow of the US and Canadian Institute of Actuaries. "Pact has changed my life. It made me realize that I need to do more than just 'love' my two black boys. Pact has been instrumental in helping us as a family to understand the challenges they have to go through every single day of their life."

Alan Gellman (Marketing & Strategic Planning Chair) and his wife Arlene are parents to two children, their son who is born to them, and their biracial daughter whom they adopted across racial lines. Alan is Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing at Wells Fargo Bank and brings his vision and experience in business management, branding and marketing to help Pact expand its reach and impact. "Beth and Pact have opened our eyes to what it means to be a transracial family, even when that fact isn't always obvious to others. Their commitment to the kids first is evident in everything they do, including how they educate all members of the adoption community."

Jovita Thomas-Williams (Nomination and Governance Chair) is an African American single parent of a teenage son, Alan, born to her. A global human resources executive, Jovita is President and Founder of JTW Affiliates, LLC, an HR consulting/management services firm for evolving businesses. Jovita and Alan spend the school year at their home in Birmingham, MI (a Detroit suburb), and the rest of the year hanging out at their home in Las Vegas. "As a passionate advocate for children, I am honored to be a part of the Pact team because it embodies my strong belief that only by truly embracing differences can we change the world, one child at a time."

Marcia Bedford and her husband Ron are an African American couple who adopted their son through foster care. Marcia has worked in private schools for many years and most recently is the Assistant Head and Director of Admissions at Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland, CA. She brings her passion for children and her understanding of their needs to her work for Pact. "The Pact programs have been so important to my family and there is no other institution like it anywhere. I want to be part of ensuring that Pact exists to inform, support and advocate for adoptive families now and in the future."

LisaGay Hamilton is an actor and teacher, and she and her husband (both African American) adopted their second son through Pact. "I feel passionately about the work that Pact does and Beth's commitment to a just, anti-racist process. I've learned quite a bit on this journey and I've been shocked by the level of unethical, ill-informed, and racially insensitive practices in the adoption world—public and private. Pact was a breath of fresh air, both for its guidance on these sensitive issues and for its unwavering commitment to open adoption."

Susan Ito is a biracial Asian adoptee, physical therapist, performer and writer. From 2004 through 2010, she served as the Director of Pact Family Camp. She is also the co-editor of the anthology "A Ghost At Heart's Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption" (North Atlantic Books). Her work has appeared in many publications, including Growing Up Asian American, CHOICE, Making More Waves, Hip Mama and Literary Mama. She has developed The Ice Cream Gene as a solo performance piece and memoir in progress. She works as a home health physical therapist and as a writer at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. She lives in Oakland with her husband, two daughters and mother.

Jeff Wilk is the Creative Director and a principal at Tencue Productions, a live communications agency. His family: business and life partner, Kristin, and their two children, the youngest of whom joined the family through foster-adoption, believe in giving back to the community in significant ways. They have been no different with Pact. “For six years my family has been embraced by the Pact community. We have grown with the sometimes gentle, sometimes forceful hand of Pact’s crew of advisors. The voice of Pact should expand. There are so many kids. So many families."

Advisory Board

Dave Bieselin is a white transracial adoptive father of two African American teens, both adopted through Pact. He is the Director of Acrobat ConnectPro at Adobe Systems, and previously worked at Cisco. "I believe Pact does a great service to the community in placing children such as mine, and I want to make sure that continues."

Elayne Chou is a Chinese-American adoptive parent to a daughter adopted from Taiwan. A psychologist and diversity trainer with an emphasis on schools, she has donated consulting services for Pact trainings. "Pact is such a great, unique, and important organization."

Daniel Edmonds-Waters is Vice President for Business Performance Management and Sales Operations at Kaiser Health Foundation. Himself an adoptee who grew up in an interracial/transracial home, he is now the gay parent of two children of color who were adopted through Pact. "As an adoptee in an interracial/transracial home, and as a gay parent of two adopted children of color, I am vested in Pact's success. The world needs Pact."

Aida LaChaux Wadley is an African American parent who adopted her second son through Pact, and her first son through foster care. She has been involved with Pact since its very early years, along with her husband Richard, and formerly served as President of the Pact Board. Aida has made it her personal passion to recruit African American families to adopt. She is Senior Human Resources and Diversity Manager at Yahoo.

Mary Anne Rodgers and her husband John are adoptive parents to Matt and Emily (adopted transracially). Mary Anne currently works as General Counsel for the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. "I met Beth and Gail [Pact's co-founder] when they were first launching Pact, while we worked together on a board. I believe in their integrity to the point where we consulted them for own family's formation. I continue to support their work for children and family."

James Rucker and his wife (they are an interracial couple; he is African American) adopted through Pact, as have several of their friends. James himself is an adoptee who has reunited with his birth family. James is interested in helping Pact scale up their services on a national basis in order to provide its ethical and honest adoption services to more families. He is a co-founder of colorofchange.org, an online activist organization that aims to strengthen the voice of African Americans. He served as Director of Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn Political and Civic Action from 2003 to 2005, and currently serves on the board of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Tanveer Alibhai and her husband Zahoor became parents for the first time in 2011 when she gave birth to their daughter. They have had a long term interest in adoption beginning from Tanveer spending time volunteering in an Indian orphanage. She is excited to bring her own background in childhood development and education to the task of serving children of color in the context of adoption. "Pact is a unique organization that offers multiple support to families and children of color. The work that Pact does is groundbreaking, real and so important in the lives of children! It is an honor/privilege to be involved with such a unique organization."

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