Summer is in full swing here at Adoption Mosaic! Looking back over the last month, I have guided important conversations in over 30 individual and family consultation sessions, expanded our Adoption Mosaic community by attending and presenting at the 2023 KAAN (Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network) conference (see pictures below), and started to plan Adoption Mosaic’s 2024 programs and services.

During the KAAN conference, I was reminded of the importance of being in community with other adoptees and how vital our work in building adoptee- centered programming is. I spoke with and heard many adoptees who have challenging relationships with their parents now that they are adults. I even met some adoptive parents who decided to attend the conference in order to be able to better understand the adult adoptee in their lives. Big kudos to those parents who are seeking out resources and education and doing “the work” with equal sincerity and dedication as the adoptees in their lives. Providing a much needed resources to adoptive parents and taking the burden of educating their adoptive parents off of the adoptee is the goal of our upcoming Seasoned Parents course.

Thank you to all of the people at the KAAN conference for attending our Adoption Mosaic sessions and striking up a conversation with me. I look forward to continuing those conversations!

As we move into July, I’m looking forward to participating in Portland’s Pride festivities. Historically, local Pride celebrations have taken place in June as part of LGBTQIA2S+ awareness month, but due to conflicts with other celebrations and holidays (Juneteenth and Father’s Day), this year’s celebrations were moved to July. This reminded me that even though we may celebrate or acknowledge marginalized communities/voices at specific times of the year, it is important to unite with each other not just over the course of one month, but celebrate and acknowledge the importance of ongoing conversations throughout the year.

Finally, I would like to welcome and introduce you all to Adoption Mosaic’s first summer intern, Emilee Brnusak. You can read more about Emilee below. Welcome, Emilee!

And, as always, a BIG thank you to all of YOU who support the Adoption Mosaic community with your time, talent, and presence.

Schedule a free meeting with Astrid

From left to right: KAAN 2023 attendees, Leadership Summit attendees, Shannon Gibney, Astrid Castro, Shelise Gieseke and Maureen McCauley, Katie Christians, Maya Castro Dabbeni, Astrid Castro, Shelise Gieseke, Maureen McCauley and Megan Hammerschmidt, Astrid Castro and Patrick Armstrong

Emilee Brnusak is the intern here at Adoption Mosaic for the summer. She is so excited to be a part of this fantastic community. A little bit about her adoption story, she was born in Visakhapatnam, India and at a few weeks old, was given up for adoption at an orphanage in Kakinada India. She lived in the orphanage until a few weeks after her first birthday.

Shortly after, she was adopted by a woman and came to Portland Oregon. She has been a Portland native ever since.

Emilee reconnected with Adoption Mosaic in the spring of 2023 after having consultations with Astrid as a young child with her mother. Emilee reached out to Astrid seeking an internship and to become a part of Adoption Mosaic and was excited to come aboard the Adoption Mosaic team.

Emilee is very passionate about creating safe spaces for the adoptee experience to be heard, felt and understood. She is focused on attachment and attachment injuries and her main goal is to bring awareness to adoptees and their families about these issues and how to handle them. Emilee also has a passion for creating spaces and resources for adoptees of color and in the LGBTQIA+ community.

You can contact Emilee at intern@adoptionmosaic.com

July 20-23, 2023 in Welches, OR

This year Adoption Mosaic has assembled an all-star team to bring adoptee-centered programming to C.O.F.F.E.E Camp.

If you are a family in the Pacific Northwest (or who wants to visit the PNW) with an adoptee from Ethiopia we hope you can join us for a long weekend of fun, learning, and community.

Click here for details

Wondering if these courses are right for you?
Wondering how to approach you parents about attending these courses?

Contact programs@adoptionmosaic.com or schedule a FREE 15 minute Zoom meeting with Adoption Mosaic founder and CEO and course facilitator, Astrid Castro. Click here to schedule.

Begins September 12

Begins October 11

Shelise was on a panel!
Click below to watch

Listen to Astrid on the
Adoptees Dish podcast

Local event on September 24!

Calling all adoptee changemakers!

Interested in individual or family consultations?
Have a question about Conscious Adoption Courses?
Want to know more about We the Experts?

SCHEDULE A FREE MEETING WITH ASTRID

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