S11, Ep. 25: Jodi

Jodi is a Baby Scoop Era adoptee, born in Los Angeles, California, in 1966. For her, adoption has never been a single event but a lifelong journey of searching, questioning, and seeking understanding. She is now in reunion with her father, and both share a deep connection as artists. Jodi lives in Los Angeles with her family. Her story reflects the complexities of identity, family, and belonging, and she continues to honor both the losses and the connections that have shaped who she is today.

To Watch Jodi on YouTube!

S11, Ep. 24: Mike

Mike Knox is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and performing artist whose work blends personal storytelling with observational humor. Originally from Pasadena, California, he was adopted at birth from White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. Mike Knox is the author of the books Vivien’s Rain, written about his daughter’s experience with epilepsy, and Straight Fish, and Isla Vista Halloween.

Watch Mike on YouTube!

S11, Ep. 23: Recinda

Recinda is an artist, writer, and TikTok creator. The chasm between Recinda now and the baby dropped off at an orphanage based in Beirut, Lebanon, is large. She was profoundly changed by her adoption from an American family stationed in Izmir, Turkey, after a seven-year span of life at the orphanage. She had to become adaptive to a new language, an American way of living, as well as the many schools and locations that are an elementary part of military life.

Survival is the key component to Recinda’s life, even after leaving her adoptive family, as she was not prepared mentally for an enlarged worldview or life. She struggled with the
echos of the mental, physical, and sexual abuse of both the orphanage and her adoptive family.

Watch Recinda on YouTube!

Stephanie was born in the Chicago suburbs in June 1983 and adopted 4 days after birth. Her birth mother was 19 years old and was an employee of an attorney associate of her adoptive father's.  Through a private adoption arranged by the attorney, Stephanie was placed into a loving adoptive family with two biological children (and later one adopted sister and one biological brother), both of whom were affected by Canavan Disease and passed away when she was still a child—an experience that shaped her deep sense of empathy but also her perspective on family, belonging, and loss.

Today, Stephanie is a mother of two girls and a family law attorney, and the founder of her own practice, where she helps individuals and families navigate the often-complicated transitions of divorce, parenting, and rebuilding. She serves as a Guardian Ad Litem advocating for children and assisting adopted children whose parents are going through the divorce process.

Stephanie is now reunited with her birth mother and her two half-brothers—an experience that has profoundly impacted her and brought her "out of the fog" while also presenting complexities in her relationship with her adoptive family.

Douglas Shaver was born at Florence Crittenton's Home for Unwed Mothers in Kansas City in 1968. He was adopted five weeks after birth. Though adopted into a loving and supportive family, he struggled with identity and with his place in the world. During middle school, his family moved to Saudi Arabia.  It was during that time in the Middle East that he developed a passion and understanding of different cultures and the communities of people within those cultures. This passion–combined with a constant evaluation of his place in the world as an adoptee– may be what inspired his eventual career in Archaeology. That said, the timeline between the Douglas of Saudi Arabia and the Archaeologist-Douglas of today is punctuated by a series of significant events familiar, but profoundly affecting to many adoptees.

Suffice to say, as an adoptee, reunion and the effects of adoption trauma have played a significant role in the success and challenges in relationships throughout his life.

Through his own work on his adoption journey, Douglas has focused his energies on understanding adoption-related trauma within the adoption triad.  And as mentioned previously, the interest spurred by always seeking to understand relationships played in part in his career in later years.  Douglas currently works as an Archaeologist, traveling extensively throughout the United States for work. Two of his three children spend half their time with him, and his oldest lives with him full time. He decides his time between his work, travels, his children, and his partner.

S11, Ep. 20: Elena

Elena S. Hall is a Russian adoptee, author, social worker, and the voice behind the Instagram page @ThroughAdoptedEyes. She is passionate about her faith, finding joy amidst grief, and loves ice cream! Adopted at a year and a half into a family that was always open about adoption, Elena brings a unique blend of personal experience and professional insight to her work. She began writing Through Adopted Eyes in 2016—a collection of memoirs from adoptees reflecting on their journeys. She later created Through Adopted Hearts to offer a fuller picture of the adoption constellation.

Elena is also the author of the children’s books Adoption Is Both and My Adoptee Voice, designed to help families talk about adoption in ways that are honest, age-appropriate, and empowering. Through storytelling, education, and advocacy, she uses her platform to challenge simplified adoption narratives and create space for real, nuanced conversations. Whether you’re an adoptee, adoptive parent, or someone eager to learn, Elena’s work invites you to see adoption through a more thoughtful, empathetic lens—one that centers lived experience.

S11, Ep. 19: Charlotte

Charlotte Angeles was conceived during an affair that her biological father was having with her biological mother. She was born in Pasadena, CA, in 1987, and was held in her adoptive parents’ arms that same day.  She knew from an early age that she was adopted - that her birth mother was very young and didn’t have the means to raise her alone - and her adoptive parents always offered a safe space to ask questions. But Charlotte didn’t decide to dive deeper until she gave birth to her first child in 2017. By that time, she had learned of the tragic way in which her birth mother had passed away just a few years prior.

She was, however, able to find and connect with her biological father in 2018. She has also met her biological half-sister and one half-brother. Additionally, she has connected with several of her birth mother’s siblings. Just this year, she received a very sentimental package from one of her birth mother’s sisters - an original sonogram that her birth mother had saved. Through all of these connections, many important questions have been answered, and she has gained so much insight into where a lot of her own behaviors and personality traits have come from.

Today, Charlotte works as a dental hygienist and continues to live in Los Angeles, where she was raised her whole life. One of her biggest dreams was to have her own biological children, and after multiple rounds of IVF, she and her husband have a beautiful son and daughter. She is confident in her identity now and has become more comfortable sharing her story over the past few years.

S11, Ep. 18: Kim

Award-winning author and journalist Kim Orendor was adopted at three months old. Her parents told her about the day she joined their family, along with other stories at bedtime. Kim continues to share her own story with others and has authored an adoption-themed young adult novel. She lives in Northern California.

Kim's YA fiction story "To Whom It May Concern" with an adoption theme, won the NextGen INDIE gold medal.

S11, Ep. 17: Tim

Tim Perdion was born in 1969 and relinquished for adoption at birth. Around two months later, he was adopted into a loving family in Ohio. Though surrounded by care and support, he carried a quiet ache beneath the surface—a longing to understand his identity and a sense of not fully belonging. These hidden wounds, rooted in adoption, shame, and early emotional neglect, followed him into adulthood.

At 46, Tim reunited with both of his biological parents. While the experience offered long-awaited answers, it also opened the door to secondary rejection and a deeper unraveling of his story. This turning point led to a season of intense self-reflection, healing, and transformation—moving from a life driven by performance and self-protection into one anchored in vulnerability, purpose, and connection.

Today, Tim is a senior leader in a private equity-backed professional services firm. Outside of work, he serves as a life coach, speaker, and mentor, walking alongside high-achieving men who look successful on the outside but feel lost or empty on the inside. He facilitates men’s groups focused on accountability, emotional honesty, and growth—creating spaces where men can be fully seen, supported, and known.

Tim’s journey is a story of healing, hope, and rediscovery. He’s passionate about helping others break generational cycles, find clarity in who they are, and live with greater intention, freedom, and wholeness.

S11, Ep. 16: Abby

Dr. Abigail Hasberry is an author, speaker, and educator. She is also a certified executive leadership coach, licensed clinical marriage and family therapist, and holds a school superintendent certification. With a background in education as a former teacher and founding school principal, she has experience in private, traditional public, and charter schools.

Dr. Hasberry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in African American studies and sociology, a Master of Arts in teaching, K-12, a Master of Education in counseling and development, a
Master of Science degree in industrial/organizational psychology, and a Ph.D. in curriculum & instruction.

She is the author of The R3 Framework, a workbook for healing difficult relationships, Living Life on Purpose, for a Purpose, and with a Purpose: 15 Identity Affirming Lessons, and her memoir, Adopting Privilege. She has also authored research on identity development.

Abby is currently serving as a board member for Adoption Knowledge Affiliates and as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy’s Minority Fellowship Program.

Dr. Hasberry's research and publications focus on identity development, diversity, and the experiences of black teachers in private, affluent, and predominantly white schools. As a therapist, her practice predominantly serves adoptees and birth parents. She is also actively involved in training therapists on adoption-informed practices and has been a speaker on adoption, identity development, parenting, and trauma in various keynotes, panels, podcasts, workshops, conferences, and webinars.

In addition to working as a therapist, Abby has a thriving executive leadership coaching and consulting practice. Her clients are primarily BIPOC founders and leaders of startup organizations. She pairs her experiences as a coach and a therapist when presenting on workplace wellness, founder challenges and solutions, finding and aligning to your purpose, and more.

Beyond her professional achievements, Dr. Hasberry is married and has raised three children. Her personal journey as a transracial adoptee and birth mom fuels her dedication to support adult adoptees and birth mothers in their own paths of healing and growth.

To find Dr. Hasberry: https://adoptingprivilege.com/