Presenters

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	KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: CORINNE AND DAMON FRAZIER Corinne and Damon Frazier recently celebrated their five year marriage anniversary. They have two children, Livi - in heaven, and Grayson - with curly hair, and two puppies. Through their five years together, they have traveled a difficult journey to become parents. They hope that in sharing their story, others will be uplifted and find hope and encouragement as they journey toward their own miracle.
	KEYNOTE PERFORMANCE: JAIME THIETTEN Singer/Songwriter With over ten years of traveling the around the world, her music on countless radio stations and numerous music industry awards, Jaime Thietten's heart shines best when singing and expressing her passion for Loving each other and spreading Hope. Originally hailing from Twin Falls, Idaho and now residing in the suburbs of Salt Lake City with her husband, Jaime is excited to be here today to share her music. She and her husband are currently looking into adoption, or as she puts it "adding options" to her family. We strongly encourage you to visit with her during the day. Copies of her music will be available at the Applied Behavioral Science Club booth to share with your own community of family and friends. Proceeds will go toward student club activities.
	CHRISTY CARTER Christy Carter has been practicing in the mediation field for over 12 years in numerous areas of application. Christy is highly recognized by those who work with her, for the her transformative, insightful, and successful work with complex family dynamics and related areas.
	RENAE CLAAR, CSW Renae Claar, CSW, has worked in the adoption and child welfare fields since her graduation from Boise State University in 2006. She received her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of North Dakota in 2010. Currently, Renae is working for A Act Of Love Adoptions as a birthmother counselor. Renae has enjoys her work with both birthparents and adoptive families.
	JACOB GIBSON, PhD, LMFT Jacob is a therapist at West Ridge Academy, a therapeutic boarding school for teenage boys and girls. He works with the girls’ adoption support group in an effort to help the students address the different issues that they face, whether leading to significant mental health problems or not. He and his wife Heather are also parents of 7 children, four of which were adopted through fostercare.
	ANNETTE GOODRICH Annette Goodrich is a sophomore at UVU and is majoring in Music Education. She placed a beautiful baby boy Christmas of 2009 for adoption and has a wonderful open relationship with his family. Whenever describing her experience at placement she says, "It was like my world corrected itself. Everything that I had done wrong was righted in that moment." She is proud to be a birthmother and share her experience with you.
	ANDREA HARDEMAN Andrea Hardeman is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Master of Science in Sociology. Her emphasis was on the impact of transracial adoption on the nonadopted white siblings. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Texas A & M University. Her research interests include transracial adoption, Post-Adoption Depression Syndrome (PADS), international adoption, race, ethnicity, family, and the LDS community. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Sociology Department at Brigham Young University and is the program director for Domino Foundation, a nonprofit organization that offers training and support for transracial families. She is also working with colleagues at BYU to research and write a book on PADS.
	EDWIN KEHL From being adopted at twelve, to playing in the NFL, to having an amazing family with adopted children of his own - Edwin Kehl has experienced his own lifetime full of adoption miracles. He enjoys sharing his story with others in hope that it will uplift and inspire.
	MARCIE KRUTSCH Marcie Krutsch knows the meaning of 'busy'. Not only is she the mother of 11, she also runs two businesses. She and her husband Louie have been married over 30 years and have adopted seven times (so far). Marcie is also a breast cancer survivor and values each and every day she has with her family – even those that are hectic and crazy!
	JULIE MATHEWSON, LCSW Julie graduated from Central Connecticut State College with a bachelor's degree in Social Work. She continued her education at the University of Utah and received a master's degree in Social Work. She worked with adolescence for ten years in a variety of settings. During that time she enjoyed her work with the judicial system, drug and alcohol programs, group homes, and secured facilities. Julie did some volunteer work with Valley Mental Health creating policies and procedures for their women and children's program. For the past five years she has continued to work with women and children in the field of adoption. She has a great deal of passion for preparing and supporting both the birth families and the prospective adoptive families through education and counseling.
	MICHAEL PETERY Michael Petery was born and raised in Rochester, New York, where he met his future wife Rachel in high school during his sophomore year. After serving a two-year LDS mission in Portugal, Michael came home and married his high school sweetheart. Michael is a student here at UVU and is majoring in Community Health. He works with a local adoption group, traveling to high schools speaking about his adoption story. He currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
	DONNA POPE, MHE Donna is the Executive Director and Founder of Heart to Heart Adoptions and mother of 3 adopted boys Josh, 12, Jake, 9 and Eli, 7. Donna started the agency in 1998 while working on her doctorate in Physiology and Policies and Planning of Higher Education in addition to doing medical research at LDS Hospital and the University of Utah. In 2002, after her second son was born and the agency had grown, she began to focus her full energy on adoption and parenting. Donna also worked as a teacher in the public schools and as an adjunct professor at Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. Though she spent 20 years in the medical and academic fields Donna loves the unique challenges of supporting birth mothers and adoptive families as well as the complexities of the legal and business aspects of adoption.
	LANCE D. RICH, JD Lance D. Rich, JD, is an attorney at the law firm of Wood Jenkins LLC in Salt Lake City, Utah and handles mainly adoption cases for adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoption agencies. Having adopted three children of his own, Lance has a personal as well as a professional perspective on the adoption process. Lance graduated from the University of Michigan Law School where he was a Bergstrom Fellow and executive editor of the Michigan Journal of Law Reform. After graduating, he served as co-chair of the Needs of Children Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar for two years. Lance has been actively involved with the Utah Adoption Council and has served as president of that organization. He is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.
	MAGGIE STRINGHAM Maggie Stringham is a birthmother in an open adoption and an avid advocate for post-placement support for birthmothers. She co-founded The Enclave, (a post-placement support group for birthmoms), with Catharine Parke Murray and writes a blog at: http://www.premieradoption.org/premier-blog/.
	JOHN THILL John Thill has been a recruiter for the Utah Foster Care Foundation for the past three years. He loves the opportunity to talk to families about the difference they can make in the lives of children. John has a diverse educational background that includes a degree in Culinary Arts , a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters of Public Administration Degree, which he earned in 2008. John Thill and his wife Cayce have been married for 19+ years and currently reside in Orem, Utah. They have been foster and adoptive parents for the state of Utah since 2004 and have adopted 11 children from foster care. In addition to those children the Thill's have two children that were adopted through LDS Family Services and two biological children. Their family is represented by five different sibling groups and together they love to camp, swim, watch movies and eat pizza and garden.
	ISAAC THOMAS Isaac Thomas serves as the Director of Quality Resources for the Utah State Hospital. Because of his love for adoption and families, he also works as the Director for Social Services for a private adoption agency in Salt Lake City. Isaac and his wife, Claudia, have seven children (four of which are adopted). He has two Masters Degrees, One in Educational Psychology, and One in Social Work from Brigham Young University; and is a trained adoption workshop educator by the National Council For Adoption. Isaac has assisted in finding families for children for over 10 years, and has presented at numerous workshops addressing the subject of Trans-racial Adoption and Family Transition.
	TRACIE TICE Tracie Tice was touched by the miracle of adoption 16 years ago and again, 11 years ago. She is the Outreach Coordinator for Premier Adoption. Very passionate about educating people about the truth of adoption, Tracie spends a lot of time speaking and sharing her personal experiences as an adoptive parent. Tracie has spent time serving on the board of Parallel and as a grief and loss Peer Counselor with her husband. She also worked as the Director of a crisis pregnancy care center for 3 years.

Adoption Conference 2010 : harristo@uvu.edu | 801-863-6816 | Toni Harris

Last Updated 1/24/12