Join co-hosts, adoption coaches, and triad members Kim Noeth, a birth mom, Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent, and Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adoptee as they continue to revisit some special guests over the last year. In each episode, your hosts are committed to looking at the adoption system from the perspective of the triad: from the adoptee, who is the center of the triad, from the birth parent, and from the adoptive parent.

Learn more about your ADOPTION MATTERS' hosts and their ICF-approved course Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification Program at www.giftfamilyservices.com.

Let's meet our featured special guests for this episode: Jean Kelly Widner: Jean's newest book, The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption Into Perspective, has won widespread acclaim. It gives voice to those often left out of the adoption conversation—birth parents, adoptees, and families shaped by the system. The Adoption Paradox is the result of years of personal interviews, research, and emotional courage. Jean is also the 2026 recipient of the Growing Intentional Families Together Shaping the Future Award. Learn more about Jean and her work here: https://adoptionparadox.com/

Isaac Etter: Isaac uses his story and deep passion for adoption and foster care education to bring relevant, quality, and diverse resources to the adoption community. He draws on his story of being adopted and growing up in a white world to curate deep conversations about race, identity, and adoption in America. With his unique insight, Isaac curates impactful discussions about race in America where everyone learns to value each other and their experiences. Isaac believes these conversations are crucial for child welfare professionals and adoptive and foster parents to nurture mutual understanding and grow happier, healthier families. Isaac is also the first recipient of the Growing Intentional Families Together Shaping the Future Award. Learn more about Isaac and his work here: https://isaacetter.com/

Marcie Keithley: Marcie is an author, advocate for genetic rights, speaker, master storyteller and co-founder of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP). She retired as Vice President of Retail Bank Management and Merrill Lynch after serving the financial industry for over 32 years. She and her birth daughter, Jessica, were reunited on Father's Day in 2008. Marcie has written, The Shoebox Effect and Transforming Pain Into Fortitude and Purpose and currently is working on her next memoir, Beautifully Broken, Diary of an NPE, A DNA Surprise. Marcie is also the 2025 recipient of the Growing Intentional Families Together Shaping the Future Award. Learn more about Marcie and her work here: https://naapunited.org/about

Anne Heffron: As an author, Anne is fearless, candid, and wildly authentic. In her nationally acclaimed memoir, You Don't Look Adopted, she reflects on her lived experiences as an adoptee. She connects with others through her own imperfections, and, through doing so, instills an empowering sense of community, possibility, and freedom in her readers. As an advocate – for members of the adoptee community and anyone seeking a sense of safety and self-esteem – Anne believes in caring, collaboration, and real conversations. She leads by example and seeks to inspire others to live a life that feels healthy, productive, generous, and true. Learn more about Anne and her work here: https://letsbreakthru.com/leaders/anne-heffron/

Dr. Patrice Martin: Dr. Martin is a same race adoptee. In her profession she works in grants management in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She has always known she was adopted and grew up with a loving family. Yet as life would have it, some twists and turns were embedded in her story as she learned that quite possibly she would never be able to find her biological family having been abandoned in a trash bin at birth. She now lives her full story with both sides of her family and is inspired to help others. She is does not shy away from the issues that adoption raises in adoptees' lives and works to help children and adults see their fullest potential despite challenges a non-ideal situation presents. Learn more about Patrice and her work here: https://adoptionunfiltered.com/podcast/dr-patrice-martin/

Celebrating Author and Adopted Person, Jean Kelly Widner! Join your co-hosts and other members of the Growing Intentional Families Together coaching team as we honor Jean Kelly Widner as the recipient of the Growing Intentional Families Together 2026 Shaping the Future Award. We are thrilled to acknowledge Ms. Widner's work to expand communication, nurture understanding, and advance Adoption Attuned practices, policies, and education within adoptive families and the broader adoption community. She has made significant contributions to helping others understand how adoption impacts adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, and the entire adoption constellation. Her efforts bridge often siloed perspectives and helps constellation members better understand themselves and the needs of adopted persons. We also recognize and appreciate Jean's ongoing work with Adoption Knowledge Affiliates.

Jean's newest book, The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption Into Perspective, has won widespread acclaim. It gives voice to those often left out of the adoption conversation—birth parents, adoptees, and families shaped by the system. The Adoption Paradox is the result of years of personal interviews, research, and emotional courage.

Learn more about Jean and her work here: https://adoptionparadox.com/about-h/about-jean-kelly-widner/ From Jean's website: Jean Kelly Widner is the author of The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption into Perspective, a powerful exploration of the complex realities of adoption. Born in 1965 and adopted from birth in Washington State, Jean lives the paradox she writes about-experiencing both love and loss, belonging and separation. In her book, she shares stories from all sides of the adoption triad: adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families, alongside insights from mental health experts.

Jean brings clarity and compassion to a subject often wrapped in silence and misconception. With a background as a marketing consultant and joint venture affiliate marketing expert, she and her husband have built and sold two successful e-commerce companies. She also owns a local news and storytelling blog in Boulder City, Nevada, where her love of writing continues to grow.

Jean lives in Southern Nevada with her husband and two dogs, and often escapes the desert heat in their camper van, where they work remotely and explore new places. Through her writing, she invites readers to see adoption not as a simple narrative of rescue or loss-but as a layered, human experience that deserves honesty, empathy, and ethical reflection.

Jean Kelly Widner PO Box 61072 Boulder City, NV 89006 facebook@AdoptionParadox medium.com/@jean_36017

Learn more about Growing Intentional Families Together and its adoption coaches: www.giftfamilyservices.com

Join co-hosts, adoption coaches, and triad members Kim Noeth, a birth mom, Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent, and Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adoptee as they revisit informative interviews with a few very special guests over the last year. Asw always, your hosts are committed to looking at the adoption system from the perspective of the triad: from the adoptee, who is the center of the triad, from the birth parent, and from the adoptive parent. Learn more about your ADOPTION MATTERS' hosts and their ICF-approved course Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification Program at www.giftfamilyservices.com.

Let's meet our featured special guests for this episode:

Adopted person and author, Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, a warm, delightful guest with great insight into adoption from her own personal experience as well as many years of professional practice. Dr. Pavao shares today a little of her personal story, one that pushed her forward into advocacy for ethical adoption practices and better training for professionals to become adoption competent. *Learn more about Dr. Maguire Pavao: https://www.pavaoconsulting.com/about *Listen to her podcast: https://familytwistpodcast.com/joyce-maguire-pavao/

April Dinwoodie, advocate for adoption, foster care, and multiracial Families. Relinquished into foster care at birth and adopted by the age of two, Ms. Dinwoodie grew up navigating life as a Black/biracial woman in predominantly white spaces. Her personal journey—shaped by questions of identity, belonging, and family—has fueled her lifelong commitment to embracing empathy, inclusion, and understanding. *Learn more about April at Aprildinwoodie.com

Sharon McNamara, adoptee and developmental psychologist, shares a bit of her own personal story that demonstrates that adoption may very well be the factor in an adoptee's emotional response to a given situation. For adoptive parents, Sharon's philosophy is one that promotes a practice of "unconditional positive regard" as an adoptee works through trauma, grief, loss, rejection, identity, and other issues. Learn more about Sharon McNamara and her work here: www.sharonsteinmcnamara.com

*Learn more about your hosts, Adoption Coaches, Kim, Sally, and Sharon as well as other Growing team members at www.giftfamilyservices.com