02:00 PM to
09:30 PM

Ballroom Foyer

Sign in and pick up conference materials

02:00 PM to
09:30 PM

Ballroom Foyer

Come check out the work other organizations are doing and purchase items from our vendors. Interested in a table? There's a downloadable form with all the details on our main conference page.

03:00 PM to
04:15 PM

Room C

Activities TBA.

04:30 PM to
05:00 PM

Room A

Especially for first-time attendees and others wishing to make connections, this (optional) upbeat half hour will get you talking to other conference participants and  making friends in no time flat!

04:30 PM to
07:30 PM

Restaurant of your choice (for an additional charge).  

04:30 PM to
07:30 PM

Offsite

An optional adult adoptee-only dinner is planned for Friday evening. We'll post a few more details here soon.

07:30 PM to
08:00 PM

Ballroom

Start the conference off on the right foot by meeting KAAN's leaders, hearing some expectations for our time together, and more.

08:00 PM to
09:30 PM

Room B

Born in Korea and raised in the Albany, New York area, John Sanvidge wanted to search for his birth parents.  As a film producer, John decided to record his journey in film.  What he found, surprised everyone. 

08:00 PM to
09:30 PM

Room C

Activities TBA.

07:00 AM to
08:45 AM

Ballroom

Continental breakfast; please wear conference name tag.

07:30 AM to
08:00 AM

Ballroom

Meet up with other conference youth at a special table in the ballroom prior to heading out for the day's activities.

08:00 AM to
08:45 AM

Ballroom

Details in the works ... TBA soon!

08:00 AM to
05:00 PM

Offsite

Explore local haunts and spend time together with other adoptees and friends. Lunch and tickets included with admission price.

08:00 AM to
09:00 PM

Ballroom Foyer

09:15 AM to
12:15 PM

Room G

This new program is a pilot for this year and not programmed into our online registration, so contact us at info@kaanet.org for full details. Parents who enroll their child/ren in this program may drop them off for play and activity during all three time blocks but are required to volunteer during one of the slots. Adoptees who wish to volunteer are encouraged to contact KAAN as well.

09:30 AM to
10:45 AM

Room A

In this session, adult adoptees will have the opportunity to discuss with one another one of the more complicated and little-discussed issues unique to them: explaining their adoption journey to their children. In addition to having to live the "narrative burden" of being required to explain who they are to the larger world, transracial adoptees face special issues once they become parents: they have to explain to their young children topics that are complex and difficult even for adults to understand. For example, why do none of my grandparents look like me? What is a birthparent? What happened to your birthparents? And so on. In addition, they face challenges around potentially giving their children a culture they never grew up with themselves, and explaining race and ethnicity to their children in ways that most parents don't have to. What's more, having children often pushes adult adoptees forward in their own individual adoptee journeys, meaning that sometimes, such issues as travel to Korea, birth search, and other topics come up in new ways once adoptees become parents.

09:30 AM to
10:45 AM

Room B

Most members of the adoption triad will experience similar feelings and issues because of how adoption & relinquishment affected their lives. Often these issues are referred to as the core issues of adoption. This workshop will discuss the original core issues identified by Silverstein & Kaplan (loss, rejection, guilt & shame, grief, identity, intimacy, control), and additional issues (claiming, abandonment, entitlement, fitting in, loyalty) as normative feelings towards being adopted and the adoption experience. Discussion will also look at how these issues might be experienced in opening a closed adoption, open adoption relationships in addition to closed adoption relationships.

09:30 AM to
10:45 AM

Room C

Presentation and discussion about aspects of the identity development process for adolescent and young adult transracially adopted Korean-Americans.  This workshop will provide educational materials, resources, and an opportunity to ask questions and dialogue about the challenges unique to Korean adoptees during their identity development process.  The identity development process includes the formation of one's racial, ethnic and adoptive identity. This process is often complicated by experiences of racism and stigmatization.

09:30 AM to
10:45 AM

Room D

The Winston family made extensive Korean heritage connections from the time their children were small, mostly though the efforts of David's mom Chris. In the fall of 2009, David Winston returned to live and work in Korea.  The connections from his childhood came together in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways.  In May 2011, David married a Korean girl, Nayoung Lee, whom he met when he first arrived. The vows were facilitated by Eyoungsoo Park, long-time Winston family friend.  David Winston, Nayoung Lee Winston, Eyoungsoo Park, and Chris Winston will share their perspectives on the experience.  What is it like for an adoptee to return to live and work in Korea?  What is it like for a Korea girl to marry an adoptee?  What has it been like as a Korean-American to watch an adoptee reclaim his heritage?   What is it like for a mom to share her son's journey?   Come learn and share with us.

09:30 AM to
10:45 AM

Room E

Dr. Nam Soon Huh will share about the current situation with adoption practices and laws in Korea today.  She will discuss current legislation as it impacts on adoption, and current trends for adoption in Korea.  Participants will be invited to ask questions as the group learns more about how adoption is viewed in the Korean community. 

11:00 AM to
12:15 PM

Room A

Adoption begins on a foundation of loss.  In addition, adoptive parents and their children are often faced with a lack of medical information and history. While most mental health issues in adoption are normative reactions to the losses inherent in adoption, at times there are also genetic predispositions to mental health challenges.  Four therapists representing different perspectives will discuss mental health issues and how they are impacted by adoption. Panelists include a Korean psychologist and three social workers -- an adoptive mother, an adoptee, and therapist specializing in adoption issues.   Particular focus will be paid to understanding the impact of grief and loss for teens and young adults as it impacts their emotional health.  This workshop should be helpful to parents trying to support their children whether teens or adults as they both launch into adulthood and meet their mental health needs.  The panel will also look at how these issues affect parents seeking to support their growing children and the feelings it can arouse in them as parents. 

11:00 AM to
12:15 PM

Room B

Watch two short films, the first about South Korea's successful IT industry and the second about a relatively unknown but truly unique Korean artifact: Sokkuram, a stone grotto built as a Buddhist shrine approximately 1,200 years ago.  Reenactment of Korean traditional wedding will follow.

11:00 AM to
12:15 PM

Room C

Also-Known-As, Inc., began in early 1996 out of a desire to create an organization that recognized and celebrated the community of people whose lives, through adoption, bridge nations, cultures and races. Recognizing the invaluable resource and experience of adult intercountry adoptees, in May of 1996, a small group of Korean adoptees and friends in the New York metropolitan area, began planning a mentorship program targeted to a new generation of intercountry adoptees. This session will give an overview of the Also-Known-As Teen and Youth Mentorship Programs and answer questions about the elements needed to start your own program. 

11:00 AM to
12:15 PM

Room D

Sooner or later, many adoptees might have desire to be connected with Korean culture and society. Journeys begin, but a great obstacle is the language barrier. Since there is no relationship between Korean and English language, it is very hard for adoptees to master Korean. The good news is that Korean is a phonetic language, so it is relatively easy to learn the alphabet system. The first part of the session will deal with the Korean alphabet, praised by linguists around the world as the most scientific and logical writing system. The second part will include some success stories in Korean learning from Korean adoptees of different ages. It will also suggest ways and resources to learn Korean language in the U.S. and the responsibility required from the Korean government and society. This session is inspired by some adult adoptees who went through the difficult process of learning and adoptive families passionate enough to send their kids to weekend Korean schools.

11:00 AM to
12:15 PM

Room E

While each adoptee journey remains unique, there are often common themes that many adult adoptees find challenging and even baffling to deal with. For example, how do spouses and partners fit into the adult adoptee's experience, and what does it mean to have to explain oneself in a romantic partnership? How can we grow closer, especially as our own narratives continually shift and change? Come join us for an intimate group discussion on committed relationships within the framework of the particular issues experienced by adoptees and their partners. The purpose of this session is to provide validation for all, while also encouraging and enhancing our relationships. All adoptees and their partners are invited to share stories, ideas, and constructive dialogue in a safe environment.

12:30 PM to
02:00 PM

Ballroom

Keynote TBA.

02:00 PM to
05:00 PM

Room G

This new program is a pilot for this year and not programmed into our online registration, so contact us at info@kaanet.org for full details. Parents who enroll their child/ren in this program may drop them off for play and activity during all three time blocks but are required to volunteer during one of the slots. Adoptees who wish to volunteer are encouraged to contact KAAN as well.

02:15 PM to
03:30 PM

Room A

Amanda Nestleroth will share her personal experience of adoption with a sibling into a family and the experiences which led to the acceptance of her adoption and Korean heritage as well as a desire to help others on their own journeys.

02:15 PM to
03:30 PM

Room B

This session will give concrete ideas and encouragement to adoptive parents and adoptees about how to integrate Korean culture and language into their lives in a deeper and more personal level that is also manageable.  We will present research findings and testimonies of adult adoptees expressing need for  greater connection to their birth heritage and talk about how that shapes our parenting choices.  Our group will also give examples from our families of how we each got started.  We will also offer advice and resources such as documentaries, blogs, and websites that have been helpful in our learning process as adoptive parents.  Our goal is to help inspire adoptees and adoptive parents to reach beyond a museum level appreciation of Korean culture and then draw a roadmap for them on how to get started. 

02:15 PM to
03:30 PM

Room C

The adoptive family is comprised of multiple intersecting relationships that function continuously, occasionally, or purely in imagination. These include: adoptive parent/child, birthparent/child, adoptive parent/birthparent, etc. In this session we will focus on the relationships of (and between) adoptive co-parents and how these can divide and overlap along differing roles and genders. How are the practical and emotional tasks of parenting shared or divided? How are relationships with the extended family impacted? How are outside relationships brokered and nurtured, e.g., with the Korean and Korean adoptee community, or with the broader adoption community? This discussion will be led by two pairs of adoptive parents and a young adult Korean adoptee. We will explore congruence and conflict in co-parenting transracially adopted children. Through an exchange of ideas and experiences with session participants, we aim to learn from (maybe even laugh about) our missteps, and also to reinforce and celebrate diverse aspects of collaborative parenting.

02:15 PM to
03:30 PM

Room D

Workshop will address the nuts and bolts of starting a support group and fundamentals of support group structure and organization. Topics discussed will be how to use email, the Internet, marketing the support group and defining roles for group leaders. The benefits of membership, incorporation and the need for insurance will also be reviewed.

02:15 PM to
03:30 PM

Room E

Long before birthfamily search becomes a topic of serious discussion, adoptive parents and adoptees must come to terms with the information or lack of information about the adoptee's history.  Adoptive parents may actively seek more information than was offered by their adoption agency, for a variety of reasons: to ensure their child has access to all the information that exists about him or her; to help meet their child's desire to know more; or to satisfy their own curiosity. Is it appropriate for adoptive parents to gather information on behalf of a young child? If so, what boundaries and responsibilities should they respect? If not, what can they do to protect the information that exists and ensure their children have access to it when they reach adulthood? This session will consider these questions from the perspectives of an adoptee and an adoptive parent whose different experiences provide different insights into this complex topic.

03:45 PM to
05:00 PM

Room A

Watch several animated Korean folktales highlighting traditional values that the Koreans considered important, such as filial devotion, loyalty, respect and benevolence. In addition, young children can try on traditional Korean clothes (hanbok) and learn how to do sebae, which is a New Year's bow and greeting to the parents and the elders. 

03:45 PM to
05:00 PM

Room B

This is a guided discussion about race, racism, white privilege, and white culture led by a multiracial panel.  Some of the topics we will explore we will relate personally from our own lives and experiences.  No quick fixes or to-do lists here.  For those of us brave enough to 'go there,' conversations of race among multiracial groups often get complicated and sometimes even heated.  This session endeavors to provide a safe space for a short time in our lives to share and explore journeys within families comprised of white adults who choose to adopt kids of color. Anti-racist ally-ship, education, diversifying our personal lives and sincere reflection will be explored and encouraged.

03:45 PM to
05:00 PM

Room C

The groundwork is laid for healthy attachments in children during their first year of life.  Children who form a healthy attachment during this time typically fare better.  A healthy attachment can be transferred, but a child whose needs are not consistently met during this first year will likely struggle with issues of trust.  This workshop will review what parents can do to promote healthy attachments even when a strong attachment was not made during that first year. Parents often will notice the unhealthy attachment when their child is engaging with strangers or superficial people in their life but is rejecting or aloof with his or her parents. This workshop will help participants identify when there may be attachment problems and when this is not the issue.  Once an attachment problems is identified,   understanding the core hurt of the child allows parents to respond in a different way, focusing on the relational experience rather than just the behavior.   This can provide a corrective emotional experience for the child, even a teen or young adult, so that child can enjoy the connection of a reciprocal relationship with their parent.  

03:45 PM to
05:00 PM

Room E

Founded in 1986, Camp MuJiGae has built a strong program and following that has survived changes in leadership and actively incorporates adoptees, adoptive parents, and other Korean-Americans in its programming. Over the last quarter century, camper numbers have grown from 25 to 300, with programs for infants through teens. Come learn about this program and gets ideas for your own organization.

03:45 PM to
05:00 PM

Room E

This session will provide a safe, nonjudgmental forum for adult adoptees to share experiences with their peers including, but not limited to, adjustment and identity issues, feelings of depression or anxiety, and other mental health issues. We will discuss personal experiences with various treatments and explore avenues to obtain the help that may be needed outside of the conference.

06:00 PM to
08:15 PM

Ballroom

Enjoy a nice dinner and conversation with your tablemates before we begin our evening program and festivities. Program will be announced soon.

Saturday Gala Dinner Guests are welcome to arrive anytime after 5:30PM and stay through the evening's activities.

07:30 PM to
08:45 PM

Hotel Pool

Registered youth may join chaperones for a swim in the hotel pool while the gala dinner festivities continue.

08:30 PM to
09:30 PM

Room B

A quiet place to decompress and process feelings from the day. No formal session ... just a safe place to talk.

08:30 PM to
09:30 PM

Room D

A quiet place to decompress and process feelings from the day. No formal session ... just a safe place to talk.

08:30 PM to
09:30 PM

Room E

A quiet place to decompress and process feelings from the day. No formal session ... just a safe place to talk.

08:30 PM to
09:30 PM

Room E

A quiet place to decompress and process feelings from the day. No formal session ... just a safe place to talk.

08:30 PM to
09:30 PM

Room F

A quiet place to decompress and process feelings from the day. No formal session ... just a safe place to talk.

07:45 AM to
08:15 AM

Room G

Visit this quiet place for prayer, meditation, or reflection. Come and go as you want during this time ... candles and soft music will be available, but there will be no specific service or structured gathering.

07:45 AM to
08:45 AM

Ballroom

Continental Breakfast ... please wear your name tag.

08:00 AM to
12:00 PM

Ballroom Foyer

08:30 AM to
11:30 AM

Room G

This new program is a pilot for this year and not programmed into our online registration, so contact us at info@kaanet.org for full details. Parents who enroll their child/ren in this program may drop them off for play and activity during all three time blocks but are required to volunteer during one of the slots. Adoptees who wish to volunteer are encouraged to contact KAAN as well.

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room A

In this session, adult adoptees will find a safe, welcoming forum in which to discuss one of the "taboo" issues facing transracial adoptees throughout their lifetimes: the psychological problems associated with facial and body image dysphoria/dissatisfaction. Most transracial adoptees grow up feeling "not right" about their faces and bodies, comparing them to the majority-white norm and feeling socially marginalized because of hurtful comments and taunting. As adults, they find lingering issues around self-acceptance of their own faces and bodies. What's more, adult adoptees often feel reluctant to discuss these issues with their own families, partners, and friends, sensing that they won't truly understand. Adoptees will be able to share their stories and to support each other on the journey to wholeness and integration in this crucial area.

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room B

This workshop will explore recent recommendations by leading child welfare advocates to revise federal laws dealing with transracial adoption.  With concerns that the needs of black children are not met by a "colorblind" approach to placement, adoption advocates are recommending that race should be considered in selecting adoptive families and that race-oriented pre-adoption training be a necessity in transracial adoption.  This workshop will focus on assessing family's needs when adopting transracially and methods to assist in developing cultural competence and awareness of "color consciousness" in raising their child.  Implementing a Cultural Continuity Plan should be the responsibility of every organization involved in domestic and international transracial and transcultural adoptions.  This workshop will help you to develop plans for children and their families that illustrate that every child has a right to build racial pride within his or her home and community.

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room C

We will look at the definition of mother, all the different types of mothers, and how the expectations between mothers and kids are different in adoptive families. What are the responsibilities and roles of an adoptive mother? How is she alike and different from a birth mother? What about: Mother guilt? The 'perfect adoptive mother syndrome'? Adoptees as mothers? (Grand)mothers of adoptees? Do adoptive moms make their adopted kids crazy with perfection expectations? What's a mom to do when the dream child meets the real child? We're going to explore these topics empathetically, honoring the journey.

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room D

Our session will be a panel discussion on each of our individual journeys towards wholeness.   Adoption is a unique experience and a life-long process.   Each adult adoptee will share his/her personal story followed by a question and answer session.   Stories shared will describe our personal and unique experiences as adult adoptees and our own journeys: physically, psychologically, and spiritually.   Our stories shared will describe how unique each of our journeys have been with the hope the audience will realize how special each adoptee's journey towards wholeness really is.  Emphasis will also be placed on the involvement of each panel member with the Korean/Asian community.

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room E

While all parents should be encouraged to explore the myriad of means available to address the adoption and ethnic issues of children who join their families by birth or adoption, there is no manual.  Two parents of adopted adults and two adoptees who are now parents will share their stories and thoughts on what makes a "good enough" parent.  Perhaps it is not so much about the outcome but the effort.  Serious issues and challenges will be discussed, along with resolutions of challenges.  Relationships continue to evolve through our lives.  What can we do to make them the best that they can be?  How can we accept our limits and those of our parents or grown children?

08:45 AM to
10:00 AM

Room G

Youth Program TBA.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room A

We live in a social world. Self-image and self-esteem are interactive as well as intrinsic. Appearance-based comments, queries, glances, or stares leveled at the adoptee and adoptive family can range from positive, quasi-positive, to explicitly hostile or racist - but frequently reflect the perception of difference, of deviation from the expectable, the norm. Relatively benign responses may indicate the viewer's cognitive need to categorize - to make sense of - the adoptee and adoptive family. In this session, the breadth of the topic is well-matched by the diversity of our panel. One is a clinical psychologist and white adoptive parent of school-age Korean children. Two panelists are adult Korean adoptees who came to the U.S. in the first wave of transracial, international adoptees and whose life experiences have been shaped by growing up with white parents in the dominant white culture. The third panelist is a younger Korean adoptee who has presented at KAAN numerous times about her experiences of self-discovery in both the U.S. and Korea. Our fifth panelist offers a unique perspective: growing up "hapa" (i.e., mixed race Korean); she will discuss the ways her experience both mirrors and differs from that of the transracial adoptee. In providing a forum to discuss perceptions of appearance in the context of transracial adoption, we will illuminate how identity is (also) a socio-cultural construct - one that can be especially complex for the adoptee and adoptive family.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room B

Many adoptees were never given the respect of their losses. Learning how to give ourselves that respect now will help us to grieve, heal, and be able to demand respect from others. Come discuss ways we can give ourselves this gift of the respect that we deserve.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room C

An adoptee social worker, an American educator, and a non-adoptee Korean American student will share their experiences of a trip to Korea with adoptive families. The documentary and the discussion will show the direct benefit of the diversity within the traveling group to bring back a raised awareness and cultural understanding of one another.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room D

Join several adult adoptees to talk about being adopted, being Korean, and whatever else you want.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room E

This session introduces the importance of developing a comfort level with "talking about adoption" with your significant other, with family members, friends and most importantly, with the child you adopt.  It also identifies when and how to communicate with your adopted child based on their age and developmental level.  Sometimes adoption stories may include background issues such as incarceration, drug abuse, violence, abandonment, etc.  How and when do these issues get discussed with our children?  Adoption adds complexity to parenting adolescents.  Teenagers may need extra support in dealing with certain issues.  This workshop will provide very specific examples to answering difficult questions from our teens.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room F

For every adoptive parent, there is a precious story of how a child entered his or her life. There is joy, celebration, responsibility, curiosity, and amazement. But we must remember, for every adopted child there is also a story that is often untold. There is loss, memories, history, questions, and people -- missing people. As adoptees, we need to know that the story of our heart matters. We must reclaim what was lost. Join Carissa Woodwyk, a Korean-born adoptee, author and licensed counselor and marriage and family therapist as she shares the brokenness and hope from her own relinquishment story.

10:15 AM to
11:30 AM

Room G

Program TBA soon.

11:45 AM to
12:30 PM

Ballroom

We'll gather one last time in the ballroom for closing announcements and a keynote to send us one or way. Arrangements will be posted as soon as they are final.