When the calendar turns to October, that means the conference is NEXT MONTH! Exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I cannot wait for this year’s conference, knowing it will be our best yet. At the same time, there is still so much to do that only a month away seems REALLY close!
I have a blog post from Sherrie Eldridge ready to publish, but before I do that I thought I would give everyone a little background information about why our committee chose Sherrie Eldridge for our 20th Anniversary conference keynote speaker.
Last year’s conference was really amazing. We have record attendance and everyone loved the keynote, Deborah Gray. We learned a lot from the conference and always hope that each subsequent year keeps getting better and better. Deborah Gray is a tough act to follow. Combine that with our 20th Anniversary year and we knew we needed to make a strong statement with our keynote selection. As an adoption triad group, we also have to be cognizant of sculpting a conference theme that is relevant to all triad members.
Sherrie Eldridge is an adopted person who writes books for adoptive parents. She has experienced reunion and doesn’t shy away from talking about the hard truths of adoption. Like many, Sherrie’s book “20 Things Adopted Kids Wished their Adoptive Parents Knew” was one of the first books I read on adoption that made it clear that adoption is hard. Looking back, I can acknowledge that my own misconceptions of adoption made it difficult to hear everything Sherrie was saying. However, I am now extremely grateful that Sherrie is a loud and heard voice about the impact of adoption on the adopted child. Sherrie doesn’t shy away from the fact that adoption always starts with loss. I’ve always enjoyed Sherrie’s ability to be real about adoption in a way that can help adoptive parents know better and do better.
On top of all that, we were enamored at the idea of having Sherrie Eldridge and her books about “20 Things…” be the keynote for our 20th Anniversary conference. It sounded like a perfect match.
AKA is so blessed to have so much support for our local community. In addition to Sherrie, we have a lineup of workshops that just can’t be beat. Patricia Martinez Dorner is a long time support of AKA and will be leading two workshops. Stephen Terrell is Austin’s expert on trauma and attachment. Amy Ford is a local author on transracial parenting. Janie Cravens, Denise Hyde…the list goes on and on. It is really astounding at the level of talent right in our backyard and the number of people willing to give so generously to support AKA.
Registration is up and running! CLICK HERE to go directly to the registration form and complete your online registration. We can’t wait to see you in November!
~Robyn Gobbel
2012 Adoption Knowledge Affiliates Conference Chair