Dates and Times:
Day I: March 26th 2025 4:30pm-6:00pm
Location: University of Pittsburgh, William Pitt Union or Online Via Zoom
Day II. March 27th 8:30am-4:00pm
Location: University of Pittsburgh, Craig Hall (Room 342) or Online Via Zoom
Description: The Adoption Symposium will examine adoption from many sides- challenge myths and tropes, highlight conflicting narratives, examining legal aspects, and identity issues. A key focus will be amplifying the voices of adoptees, which have long been marginalized, and shedding light on their unique perspectives and lived experiences, including microaggressions. College students who are transnationally adopted often hope that college will be an opportunity to connect with peers who share their ethnic heritage however they often find it difficult to make those connections and to be accepted, as illustrated in this research article: Balancing-Two-Worlds-Supporting-Transracial-Adoptees-by-D-Suda-and-N-Hartlep-2016.pdf
Target Audience: Transnationally adopted students, international students, social workers, and student affairs professionals
Presenters: Glenn Morey, Laura Briggs, PhD, Gretchen Sission, PhD, Amy Seeks, Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW, Dr. Abigail Hasberry, Emily Kwiatkowski, MSW, Peyton Kondis, MS, NCC, Michael Van Ness, LSW
Cost: This event is free to attend and open to all.
Continuing Education: 6.5 hours
Registration: Please click here to register for the event. After your submission is received, the Zoom meeting link will be provided.
Day I: March 26, 2025
Presenters: Glenn Morey Producer/Co-Director of the Side by Side Project and Joanna Mittereder, EdD
Description: Glenn Morey, adoptee and creator of the Side by Side film project, and social worker, Joanna Mittereder, explore feelings often unexpressed and unknown to family and friends, illustrated in raw, unfiltered adoptee stories from Morey’s Side by Side film project.
Glenn Morey aims to promote a greater understanding of adoption out of South Korea, and perhaps more broadly, inter-country adoption at large—widely practiced, not only in the wake of wars and geopolitical crises that separate millions of children from their biological families, but also in the course of family disruption and poverty. From 1948–2010, more than 970,000 inter-country adoptions took place. South Korea (over 180,000) represents the longest and largest case of inter-country adoption, establishing a model for adoptions from China, Russia, India, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Vietnam, Guatemala, Ukraine, Ethiopia and others—peaking between 2000 and 2010, and creating a nearly global social experiment in human migration.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify and describe 3 specific losses inherent in the experiences of transnational and transracial adoptees.
- Participants will be able to identify and describe 7 core issues experienced by adoptees
Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm
Delivery format: In person and via Zoom
Location:
University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work,
3959 Fifth Avenue (William Pitt Union)
Pittsburgh Pa 15260
Timed Agenda:
4:30pm-5:00pm……..Introduction
5:00pm-6:30pm…Glenn Morey and Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW “Stories Adoptees Rarely Tell”
Outline:
- Overview of Side by Side—A documentary film project presenting the lived experiences of 100 former South Korean orphans and “social orphans,” born 1944–1995, adopted out to six Western countries, or aged out of Korean Orphanages.
- The Power of Adoptee Lived Experiences—in film.
- Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World—film trailer
- Qualitative Insight—An unprecedented range of ages; adoption ages and circumstances; adoptive families, upbringings, and adult dynamics; socio-economic communities; demographics; adult observations and perspectives.
- Available Resources—100 full-length interviews, 12 short films, and more available online to the public, institutionally, and upon request.
- The Application of Side by Side in Clinical Social Work—The Side by Side documentary film project explores the complex and nuanced terrain of adoptee life experiences and feelings, especially closely held and rarely revealed feelings of fear, shame, anger, alienation, and more.
- Selected film excerpts
- Brief overview of “Reflections” video series featuring Side by Side short films with commentary by 10 inter-country and transracial adoptee clinicians, at IamAdoptee.org.
- The Application of Side by Side in Education—events, conferences (including AAAS, Rudd Adoption Research, UMass/Amherst, and Alliance for the Study of Adoption & Culture), webinars, classrooms, scholarly research, papers, and dissertations.
Presenter Bios
- Glenn Morey
Glenn Morey has a long career as both a commercial and documentary filmmaker. Glenn (AKA Kim Kang) is also a Transracial adoptee and was born in Seoul, South Korea. He was abandoned days after birth, taken to Seoul City Hall, then to a Holt orphanage, and adopted at the age of six months to the United States. Glenn and Julie are the creators of the Side by Side documentary film project. Side by Side includes 100 personal stories of individuals separated from their families of origin in South Korea over the last 60 years. These individuals tell their stories of having been adopted or aging out, in a powerful online video installation. Glenn and his wife Julie live in Denver, CO.
“Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World,” presenting a 65-year journey through memories and experiences of abandonment, relinquishment, orphanages, aging out, and inter-country adoption from South Korea — 100 stories, filmed in 7 countries, 6 languages, and 16 cities. Under the title, “Given Away,” Side by Side has been featured as a New York Times Op Doc and an Audible Original, available on Audible.
Side by Side was awarded Best Short Doc at the Social Justice Film Festival, and was an Official Selection of the San Diego Asian, Boston Asian American, and Dumbo film festivals. In 2019, it was adapted as a 12-screen video art installation with runs in Seoul and New York City, featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
- Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW
Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW (she, her, hers) is a care manager on the Wellness Team in student affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves on the Campus Crisis Response Team and on the Campus Event and Support Response Team. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pitt-Johnstown where she was a firstgeneration student. She is a licensed social worker who holds a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, where she also earned a Social Work in Labor and Industry certificate. Her practice settings include community mental health, Employee Assistance Programs, health and wellness, adoption, and higher education. Dr. Mittereder completed her EdD in Higher Education Management from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Utilizing her unique positionality as a social worker, student affairs professional, and adult adoptee, her dissertation research focused on supporting adopted students in the college setting. Her work bridges research from adoption practice, social work, and student affairs to celebrate and support adopted students. Her dissertation won the University of Pittsburgh School of Education’s Outstanding Alumni EdD Dissertation Award in 2024.Dr. Mittereder has been a featured presenter at the Higher Education Case Manager’s Association conference, the University of Pittsburgh’s Mentoring and Advising Summit, the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment conference, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Inclusion Network Monthly meeting. She is a member of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work Alumni Council and serves as an advisory board member for a local nonprofit that serves single, low-income mothers, Angel’s Place.
Day 2: March 27th 2025
Presenters: Dr. Abigail Hasberry, Laura Briggs, PhD, Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW, Gretchen Sission, PhD, Amy Seeks, Emily Kwiatkowski, MSW; Peyton Kondis, M.S., NCC
Description: Day two of the symposium will focus on social justice issues related to adoption and emphasizing the lived experiences of adoptees and birth mothers whose voices are often unheard in common adoption narratives. The first panel discussion will highlightsocial workers who are adoptees will discuss their efforts in shaping their practice to become more adoptee-centered and their vision for the future of adoption. The second panel discussion will be centered on the experiences of birth mothers.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify between and describe external and internal personal narratives
- Participants will be able to identify and describe 3 unacknowledged social and cultural forces that shaped transracial and transnational adoption in the United States Participants will be able to identify 3 trauma-informed strategies to support adoptees across the lifespan
- Participants will be able to describe one strategy to support adoptees and birth mothers in coping with ambiguous loss
Time: 8:30am-4:00pm
Delivery Format: In Person and Online via Zoom
Location:
University of Pittsburgh
Craig Hall
200 S. Craig Street (Craig Hall Room 342)
Pittsburgh, Pa 15260
Timed Agenda:
8:30am-9:00am…Registration/Check In
9:00am-9:30am…Opening Remarks:
9:30am-10:45am…Keynote, Dr. Abigail Hasberry: Adoption Narratives
10:45am-11:00am…Break
11:00am-12:00pm..Panel Discussion: Social Workers and Counselors Changing the Narrative
Panelist: Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW; Emily Kwiatkowski, MSW; Peyton Kondis, M.S., NCC
12:00pm-1:15pm…Lunch
1:15pm-2:15pm...Laura Briggs, PhD: Challenging narratives in the adoption experience and examining current policies that impact children.
2:15pm-2:30pm..Break
2:30pm-3:45pm…Panel Discussion: Birth Mother Experiences
Panelist: Joanna Mittereder, EdD, LSW, Gretchen Sission, PhD, Amy Seeks and her adult son
3:45-4:00pm…Wrap up/Evaluations
Presenter Bios
- Dr. Abigail Hasberry
Dr. Abigail Hasberry is an author, speaker, and educator. She is also a certified executive leadership coach, licensed marriage and family therapist associate, and holds a school superintendent certification. With a background in education as a former teacher and founding school principal, she has experience in private, traditional public, and charter schools. Dr. Hasberry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in African American studies and sociology, a Master of Arts in teaching, K-12, a Master of Education in counseling and development, a Master of Science degree in industrial/organizational psychology, and a Ph.D. in curriculum & instruction. She is the author of The R3 Framework a workbook for healing difficult relationships, Living Life on Purpose, for a Purpose, and with a Purpose: 15 Identity Affirming Lessons, and her memoir Adopting Privilege. She has also authored research on identity development. Dr. Hasberry serves as a board member for Adoption Knowledge Affiliates and as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy’s Minority Fellowship Program. Dr. Hasberry's research and publications focus on identity development, diversity, and the experiences of black teachers in private, affluent, and predominantly white schools. As a therapist, her practice predominantly serves adoptees and birth parents. She is also actively involved in training therapists on adoption informed practices and has been a speaker on adoption, identity development, parenting, and trauma in various keynotes, panels, podcasts, workshops, conferences, and webinars
- Gretchen Sisson, PhD
Gretchen Sisson, PhD, is a sociologist who studies abortion and adoption in the United States. She is a researcher at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, part of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Her studies on adoption include hundreds of in-depth interviews with women who have relinquished infants for domestic adoption over the past 60 years, with a particular focus on women who have relinquished since Roe v. Wade. Her research examining adoption decision-making after abortion denial (as part of The Turnaway Study) was cited in the Supreme Court’s dissent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health from Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor. In response to the oral arguments and decision in Dobbs, she authored pieces in the Washington Post, The Nation, and the Washington Post (again). Gretchen’s research has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Consider This, as well as in New York Magazine, VOX, and other outlets.
Gretchen’s additional research on adoption:
The Good Plantiff. Adoption & Culture, 2022.
Estimating the annual domestic adoption rate and lifetime incidence of infant relinquishment in the United States. Contraception, 2022.
Who are the women who relinquish infants for adoption? Domestic adoption and contemporary birth motherhood in the United States. Perspectives of Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2022.
Adoption decision-making among women seeking abortion. With Lauren Ralph, Heather Gould, and Diana Greene Foster. Women’s Health Issues, 2017
- Amy Seeks
Amy Seeks is the author of her memoir ,“God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother” which explores the intricate dynamics and exceptional commitment of an open-adoption relationship from the perspective of a birth mother. She will be joined on a panel by her adult son, Benjamin Coolman, who will share his perspective of growing up in an adoptive family while staying connected to his birth mother.
- Emily Kwiatkowski, MSW
Emily Kwiatkowski, MSW serves as the Education Manger at NCFA, helping with the development of content to strengthen the toolkits of adoption professionals and members of the adoption community alike. Prior to joining NCFA, Emily worked at Three Rivers Adoption Council as a social worker addressing permanency goals with children experiencing foster care. Emily brings her lived experience as a domestic adoptee to elevate the voices and best interests of children and families. Emily earned a B.S. in Social Work from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2022 and an MSW from The University of Pittsburgh in 2023. She serves as Secretary of the Emerging Leaders Council at the Center for Adoption Support and Education, where she writes, speaks, and shares her story to make a lasting impact in the world of adoption.
- Peyton Kondis, MS
Peyton Kondis, MS, NCC is a counselor at the University of Pittsburgh counseling center where she also serves as the Coordinator for Culturally Responsive Care. She is an adoptee who provides adoption informed care to the students she serves through individual counseling as well as through planning and hosting peer support spaces for adopted students.
- Michael Van Ness, LSW
Michael Van Ness, LSW is an adoption therapist currently serving as the outpatient supervisor at Three Rivers Adoption Council. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and is a domestic adoptee.
- Laura Briggs, PhD
Laura Briggs, PhD is an expert on the history of reproductive politics and the U.S. in the wider world. She received her A.B. from Mount Holyoke College, her M.T.S. from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. in American Studies from Brown University. Her research studies the relationship between reproductive politics, neoliberalism, and the longue durée of U.S. empire and imperialism. Briggs has also been at the forefront of rethinking the field and frameworks of transnational feminisms. Briggs' book Taking Children: A History of American Terror (University of California Press, 2020), examines the 400-year-old history of the United States’ use of taking children from marginalized communities—from the taking of Black and Native children during America’s founding to the Donald Trump’s policy of family separation for Central American migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S./Mexico border—as violent tool for political ends. Briggs also co-edited a special issue of Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism on “Radical Transnationalisms: Reimagining Solidarities, Violence, Empires” that brings transnational feminism studies into new light by developing new and alternative analytical frameworks and exploring alternative or forgotten genealogies of the field. Briggs’s new book project, entitled The Future is Born in Small Places: The Gendered (Bio)Politics of Freedom, Debt Imperialism, and Unnatural Disaster in the Caribbean, focuses on historical and contemporary uses of debt in the United States and the Caribbean as a political tool of disenfranchisement, expropriation, and necropolitics. In particular, she takes a critical eye to the reproductive and gendered consequences of the Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico. Briggs' other books include How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics: From Welfare Reform to Foreclosure to Trump (University of California Press, 2016); Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transnational and Transracial Adoption (Duke University Press, 2012), winner of the James A. Rawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians); Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico (University of California Press, 2002); and International Adoption: Global Inequalities and the Circulation of Children (New York University Press, 2009), co-edited with Diana Marre. Her writing and research have also appeared in Adoption and Culture, American Quarterly, Feminist Studies, Scholar and the Feminist Online, Radical History Review, and American Indian Quarterly. Briggs is also a public intellectual whose work has been featured in court cases, podcasts, and journalism, including on National Public Radio, Slate, PBS, New Republic, Indian Country Today, and Ms. magazine. She began her intellectual career as a journalist for Gay Community News. She regularly teaches seminars on transnational feminisms, reproductive politics, and contemporary feminist theory. She has been part of the organizing collectives of the Tepoztlán Institute for Transnational History and the Thinking Transnational Feminisms Summer Institute. She is also an editor for the American Crossroads series and a member of the advisory board for the Reproductive Justice: A New Vision for the Twenty-First Century series at the University of California Press. Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transnational and Transracial Adoption (Durham: Duke University Press, 2012). Diana Marre and Laura Briggs, eds. International Adoption: Global Inequalities and the Circulation of Children (New York: NYU Press, 2009). Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico (University of California Press, American Crossroads Series, December 2002). "Making Race, Making Sex: Theorizing Torture,” International Feminist Journal of Politics 16:1 (2014): 1-20. “Wither Women’s Studies in the Current Crisis in Higher Education?” Feminist Studies 39:2 (2013): 1-5. With Faye Ginsburg, Elena Gutiérrez, Rosalind Petchesky, Rayna Rapp, Andrea Smith, and Chikako Takeshita “Roundtable: Reproductive Technologies and Reproductive Justice,” Frontiers 34:3 (December 2013): 102-25. "Biopolitics of Adoption,” Scholar and the Feminist Online (Fall 2013). http://sfonline.barnard.edu/life-un-ltd-feminism-bioscience-race/biopoli... “Notes from Antigua Naval Base,” American Quarterly 65:2 (June 2013): 303-08. Briggs and Karen Dubinsky ”The Politics of History and the History of Politics,” American Indian Quarterly Special issue: Native Adoption in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia 37: 2 (Spring 2013): 129-35. "La economía política de la adopción: La neoliberalización del bienestar infantil,” Scripta Nova special issue: El prinicipio del ‘interés superior’ de niñez: Adopción, politicas de acogimiento y otras intervenciones. Perspectivas espaciales y disciplinares comparativas. 16 (Spring 2012). “Feminism and Transnational Adoption: Politics, Precarity, and the Politics of Raising (Other People’s?) Children.” Feminist Theory 13.1 (April 2012): 81-100