|
Pact is a multicultural adoption organization dedicated to addressing essential issues affecting adopted children of color. 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.
In our dedication to serving adopted children of color, we advocate honesty and authenticity in matters of race and adoption. We strongly believe that adopted children's and adults' connections to birth family and birth heritage should be respected and maintained. We also strive to identify and counteract "adoptism," an unfortunately common social prejudice that challenges the legitimacy of the choice to place a child for adoption or to build a family by adoption. Finally, as an organization committed to children of color, we feel it is essential to educate ourselves and others about the pervasive power of race and racism as they affect our children, our families, ourselves and our society.
 Beth Hall
Founder and Director
beth@pactadopt.org
The author of numerous articles, she lectures across the country and is committed to serving children first. Her book (co-authored with Gail Steinberg), Inside Transracial Adoption, is filled with personal stories, practical suggestions and theory combined in an encouraging and supportive style that reinforces the message that race matters, racism is alive, and families built transracially can develop strong and binding ties. Filled with warmth and humor, this book has already been hailed as a classic! Beth is the white adoptive mom of two teenage children: Sofia, Latina, and James, African American. Beth grew up a member of an adoptive family; her sister, Barbara, adopted by (and Beth having been born to) their parents. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and children (when they aren't away in college).
 Lisa Marie Rollins
Adoption Education Specialist
Teen Club Coordinator
lisamarie@pactadopt.org
Lisa Marie Rollins is a multidisciplinary performance artist, writer and Ph.D. Candidate in African Diaspora Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, where she is researching child trafficking, transracial adoption and the development of diasporic identities. She is the Founder and Director of AFAAD: Adopted and Fostered Adults of the African Diaspora and author of the weblog A Birth Project. As Pacts Adoption Education Specialist, she works intimate level with pre and post adoptive parents and develops and teaches workshops on race, adoption and parenting. As Pact's Teen Club Coordinator, Lisa Marie is committed to providing space for youth transracial adoptees to create community and develop a positive racial identity. Lisa Marie is a transracial adoptee, more information about her story can be found here.
 Malaika Parker
Family of Color Specialist
malaika@pactadopt.org
Malaika Parker works with Pact adoptive parents of color (and their partners to design resources and opportunities that provide the space needed by same race adoptive families. As an African American adoptive parent, she understands the struggle and importance of finding resources that apply to her own family dynamics as opposed to those that apply to transracial families, grappling with the issues of adopting across color lines or white families, for whom race is often an invisible factor.
 Susan Ito
Pact Family Camp Coordinator
susanito@pactadopt.org
Susan Ito is a biracial Asian adoptee, teacher and writer. She has been coordinating Pact Camp since 2004. 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, where she is a columnist and creative nonfiction editor. She lives in Oakland with her husband, two daughters and mother.
 Martha Rynberg
LGBTQ Family Support
Pact Family Camp Children's Program Development
martha@pactadopt.org
With a background in education and child development Martha has worked with youth and adults as an artist, teacher and social justice activist. As a queer, white, transracial adoptive parent, Martha is drawn to explore the intersection of identity on individual, family and community levels. Currently at Pact, Martha is working with adult transracial adoptees to offer a support group for LGBTQ parents adopting across color lines. As a member of the Pact Camp 2008 team, she's coordinating children's programming.
 Connie Galambos-Malloy
Pact Family Camp Children's Program Director
connie@pactadopt.org
Connie Galambos Malloy serves as Pact Camp Children's Program Director, ensuring that all counselors embody Pact's commitment to recognize, respect, and celebrate the complex heritage of the families it serves. Connie is an Afro-Caribbean adoptee from San Andres Island, Colombia, who grew up with a Caucasian family in the United States from the late 1970s onward. She is on the Development Board of AFAAD: Adopted & Fostered Adults of the African Diaspora and directs the Bay Area Social Equity Caucus at Urban Habitat.
 Julie Randolph
Adoption Educator
julie@pactadopt.org
Julie works on a part time basis as a parent educator for Pact. As an African American woman who has over 25 years of experience as a social worker and attorney, Julie's credentials are unquestioned. But her training as an adoptive mother to two boys in open adoption may be her strongest credential in terms of the passion and vision she brings to her work with Pact.
 Deborah Fuqua
Administrative Manager
info@pactadopt.org
Deborah's calmness and willingness to do whatever is required to ensure the smooth running of our infrastructure make her a welcome voice at the other end of the phone. She will help you with whatever is needed any time and way. A single parent of five (and a grandparent too!), she brings extra sensitivity to issues of motherhood and family.
 Julie Valentine
Webmaster
julie@adopting.com
Julie is the founder and director of Adopting.com, one of the first adoption web sites. She specializes in web development for adoption agencies, families seeking to adopt and non-profit organizations. Once a professional performer, Julie continues to teach voice and acting in a private studio. Julie is a single mom to three children whom she adopted from Ethiopia and Haiti.
|
