WHO WE ARE

SARA EASTERLY, FOUNDER

SARA EASTERLY is an award-winning author of essays and books that include the groundbreaking Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Allies (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) and her memoir, Searching for Mom (Heart Voices, 2019). She is founder of Adoptee Voices and is a trained course facilitator with the Neufeld Institute. Her essays and articles have been published by Dear Adoption, Feminine Collective, Her View From Home, Godspace, Psychology Today, Red Letter Christians, and Severance magazine, to name a few. Additionally Sara is the co-host of the Adoption Unfiltered video podcast, an extension of her partnership with birth parent Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard and adoptive parent Lori Holden.

For Adoptee Voices, Sara leverages her experience leading one of the largest chapters of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrations (SCBWI), where she was recognized as SCBWI Member of the Year, as well as her background in author publicity supporting multiple New York Times best-selling authors and their publishers.

FACILITATORS

JENNIFER DYAN GHOSTON is an adoptee in reunion with both sides of her birth family. She has been formally connected to the adoption community for over a decade and in 2015 self-published her book, The Truth So Far… A detective’s journey to reunite with her birth family.

Her continued efforts to be open, honest, and public about her adoption experience have led to hosting the podcast Once Upon A Time…In Adopteeland.

SUSAN DEVAN HARNESS is the author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption and High Plains Book Award winner in the categories of Indigenous Writer and Creative Nonfiction, and a contributor to When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology.

A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, her interest in transracial adoption in general, and American Indian transracial adoption specifically, extends well beyond the academic. She has appeared on the TEDxMileHigh stage (Adopting a Child of a Different Race? Let’s Talk…), and in interviews with Colorado Public Radio, Le Monde, HuffPost, and KALW-San Francisco, among others. Susan’s experience as a keynote speaker, invited conference speaker, and panelist for dozens of organizations has raised awareness in the need for transracial adoption reform.

KATE MURPHY was adopted during the Baby Scoop Era. Her long search for family finally yielded results through the wonder of DNA in 2015. Now in reunion, she finds peace and acceptance through connection with other people who were adopted.

Kate is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a psychotherapy practice that specializes in helping people process the unique experience of being adopted. She became a therapist at mid-life. Prior to the career change, she worked at various organizations within positions of leadership. She thrives on helping people find their voice and realize their potential.

ALICE STEPHENS was born in Korea and among the first wave of intercountry, transracial adoptees. Her debut novel, Famous Adopted People, was published in 2018 by Unnamed Press. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, LitHub, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Margins, Banana Writers, and other publications.

Alice is the editor of Bloom and writes book reviews and a column, Alice in Wordland, for the Washington Independent Review of Books. She is also the co-founder of the Adoptee Literary Festival.