| P R E S E N T E R S |
|
Joyce Maguire Pavao, Ed.D., LCSW, LMFT,
has over 30 years of experience in the adoption field, is an
adopted person herself, and is an internationally renowned
speaker and training facilitator. Her book, The Family of
Adoption (Beacon Press, 1998 and 2005), has received
high acclaim. Dr. Pavao is also an adjunct faculty member in
psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. |
|
Patricia Axsom-O’Brien, LMSW-ACP, M.Div.,
maintains a private practice in Austin, specializing in pre- and post-adoption
counseling for all members of the adoption triad, their partners and their
families. |
|
Patricia Martinez Dorner, MA, LPC, LMFT,
is the author of Talking to Your Child About Adoption and How to Open an
Adoption, and co-author of Children of Open Adoption. Ms. Dorner,
who has 26 years of experience in the adoption field, is also an adoptive parent
residing in San Antonio. |
|
Leceta Chisholm Guibault,
mother of two children adopted from Latin America, is a board member of the
Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) and Fédération des Parents
Adoptants du Québec (FPAQ). Her advocacy in post-adoption support,
particularly in opening international adoptions, has inspired international
birth mothers, foster families, adopted people, and birth siblings. |
|
Kahleah Maria de Lourdes Guibault is a
fourteen-year-old Mexican-Guatemalan adopted by her family in
Québec, Canada. Kahleah is an insightful young woman who has given a
voice to young adopted people about the importance of maintaining connections
to their pasts and is a strong advocate for the right to a permanent family for
all children. |
|
Janie Cravens, LMSW-ACP,
has more than 22 years of experience in adoption, infertility, and birth parent
concerns. She is a pioneer of open adoption who resides in Austin, where she owns
a consulting company, Adoption Development Resources. |
|
James Ochoa, LPC, is the owner and
director of The Life Empowerment Center. As a Licensed Professional Counselor
since 1987, Mr. Ochoa has worked with clients in residential treatment centers,
psychiatric hospitals, prisons, a pediatric practice, school systems, and currently
is in private practice in Austin. His passion for helping children with
learning differences is centered in utilizing a neurodevelopmental approach
developed by Dr. Mel Levine at the All Kinds of Minds Institute. |
|
Stephen J. Terrell, PsyD, LPC, RPT,
a foster and adoptive parent, is an Attachment and Trauma Therapist practicing
in Austin who works extensively with foster and adoptive children and their
families. The combination of therapist and parent creates an unusual
dialogue of “real world” experiences combined with training and
expertise in the field of attachment and trauma. Dr. Terrell brings to his
audience the humor and joy of being a single adoptive parent. |
|
Kathryn Shelley, an artist and adopted
person, was one of the co-founders of AKA. When Kathryn’s adoptive
father had a debilitating stroke, she realized that adoption provides a transferable
skill set to life’s biggest challenges. |
|
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
NORRIS CONFERENCE CENTER |
|
A G E N D A |
| 8:00-9:00 a.m. |
Registration (beverages and pastries) |
| 9:00-9:10 a.m. |
Welcome and Introduction
Patricia Axsom-O’Brien |
| 9:10-10:15 a.m. |
“Ethics in Adoption: Where We Were”
Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| 10:15-11:15 a.m. |
“Ethics in Adoption: How We Moved Forward and Where
We Are Now” Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| 11:15-12:15 p.m. |
“Ethics in Adoption: Best Practices That We Can Bring
into the Future and to Post Adoption Services”
Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| 12:15-1:15 p.m. |
Lunch (on your own) |
| 1:15-2:45 p.m. |
“The Bias That We Bring to Our Work: Seeking to Heal
Rather Than Hurt” Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| 2:45-3:00 p.m. |
Break (beverage bar in lobby) |
| 3:00-5:00 p.m. |
“Post Adoption Services” Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
 |
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
NORRIS CONFERENCE CENTER |
| 8:00-9:00 a.m. |
Registration (beverages) |
| 9:15-11:30 a.m. |
Keynote address: “The Many Faces of Adoption”
Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| 11:30-12:30 p.m. |
Lunch (Included, barbecue plate/vegetarian entrée) |
| 12:30-2:00 p.m. |
SESSION I WORKSHOPS (Choose one of the following): |
| |
A. “Creating Significant Relationships:
Life After Relinquishment” Patricia Martinez Dorner |
| |
B. “Adoption Loss: When Fantasy Does Not Match Reality
After Triad Members Connect” (Part I: The Perspective of
the Adopted Person) Dr Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| |
C. “Loving Links: Lifelong Connections to First Families in
International Adoption”
Leceta Guibault & Kahleah Marie de Lourdes Guibault |
| |
D. “Exploring the Complexities and Commitment in
Transracial Adoptions: A Panel” Janie Cravens, facilitator |
| 2:00-2:15 p.m. |
Break (beverage bar in exhibit hall) |
| 2:15-3:45 p.m. |
SESSION II WORKSHOPS (Choose one of the following): |
| |
A. “Strategies for Helping Adopted Children Who Have
Learning Differences” James Ochoa |
| |
B. “Adoption Loss: When Fantasy Does Not Match Reality
After Triad Members Connect” (Part II: A Strength-Based,
Healing Perspective for the Birth Family, Adoptive Family
and Adopted Person) Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao |
| |
C. “Psychological Realities of Adopted Foster Children”
Dr. Stephen J. Terrell |
| |
D. “Hearing from the Voices of International Adoption: A
Panel” Patricia Martinez Dorner, facilitator |
| |
E. “The Unexpected Blessings of Being Odd: How AKA
Helped an Adopted Person Discover Her Adoptive Father”
Kathryn Shelley |
| 4:00-4:45 p.m. |
“Many Faces, Many Thoughts: Conference Closing Session”
Patricia Axsom-O’Brien |
|
