Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland

265. Roxan Chen: "Been Around The World Physically, Mentally and Emotionally"

Roxan Chen, is a Late Discovery Adoptee, born in Baltimore, Maryland, raised in New York, living out her creative life in New Jersey when not discovering/tour leading in various destinations throughout the world.Music by Corey Quinn

264. Jaciara Bayer: "A Transracial/International Adoptee Reclaims Her Cultural Traditions"

Jaciara is a transracial/international adoptee. She was adopted from Brazil in 1985 when she was 11 months old and raised in Northern California by a Jewish single parent mother, in a small and very minimally diverse town. Jaciara has obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She currently works as a medical social worker in a hospital and has been in this field for many years. Jaciara has also worked in the field of adoption/foster care at various capacities for 10 years, and recently has begun a new part-time role as a Court Appointed Family Engagement Specialist. She has been a panelist on numerous adult adoptee panels, has co-developed and presented training curriculum utilizing both her lived and professional experience on the multi-layered experiences and nuances in transracial placement/adoption. She has also created educational curriculum for adoptee youth teaching mindfulness practices, as well as sharing learned life lessons and hardships from her lived experience in effort to provide the support and knowledge she so greatly wished to have had when she was younger. Jaciara has also independently provided 1:1 mentorship primarily to teenage adoptees including extending support/guidance to their adoptive parent(s). Jaciara is a member of the Board of Directors for S.P.A.C.E. (School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education) a well-known organization in her hometown that she actively participated in as a youth; she holds the position as the Chair of the board’s Cultural Education Committee. Outside of her professional work, her most cherished and beloved hobby is Samba dance; and she is a principal dancer on a award winning Samba team. For Jaciara, Samba has been her most steady connection to her Afro-Brazilian roots.Resources/References: https://youtu.be/dmfxulaeMZI?si=exMTT3VX9SZkqXuB http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/03/31/bayer-jaciara-jaciara-bayer-transracial-adoptions-and-white-privilege/ https://www.patreon.com/c/adopteelandMusic by Corey Quinn

263. Julian Mack: "Search and Connection With More Family"

Julian Mack is a transracial adoptee in reunion/contact with his family of origin. He is a Black American music artist living in Atlanta. Julian continues to move through questions of identity and societal issues with a thoughtful, grey-lens perspective.Music by Corey Quinn

262. Sonia Morgan: "Choosing Opportunities to Heal"

Sonia Morgan is a late discovery adoptee born in Pennsylvania. She searched for her biological family and is currently appreciating reunion/contact with them.Music by Corey Quinn

261. Anna Bryant: "A Search For Identity"

Anna Bryant is a transracial adoptee from Iowa. She grew up in a multiracial household with White parents and international adoptee sisters from South Korea. She has been in reunion with her family of origin for 8 years which has brought both joys and heartbreaks. She is currently working on her memoir Cultural Fraud which explores her reunion journey and her search for Black identity. She currently resides in the Black Mecca of Atlanta with her husband and loves to travel, spend time with friends, and occasionally review new snacks.Music by Corey Quinn