KAAN 2024 Conference: Full Schedule

Join KAAN from June 21 – 23 for three days of keynotes, films, presentations, roundtables, performers, exhibits, support forums, and life-changing community. KAAN offers an Adoptee-Only track, as well as sessions for a general audience that are open to all. There are programs for adults aged 18+ and youth aged 8-17. Everyone is welcome, including adoptees, birth families, family members (adoptive parents, spouses/partners, siblings, and children of adoptees), service providers, and Korean Americans. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at tech@wearekaan.org.

Register now at tfec.org/kaan2024

Donate to KAAN
KAAN is a Project of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, fiscal sponsor. This permits KAAN to operate as a nonprofit under TFEC’s 501(c)(3) designation. The official registration and financial information of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, at 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. The Foundation for Enhancing Communities is registered in each state requiring such registration for charitable solicitation. Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. Thank you!

8:30am CDT

Leadership Summit (Invite-Only)

This is a invite-only pre-KAAN session. You must receive an invitation to attend. Reach out to tech@wearekaan.org if you have any questions.

Speakers

Dr. Katie Bozek

Executive Director, KAAN

Katie Bozek, PhD is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has worked in the mental health field for the past 20 years providing services that are aimed at helping people be able to be and show their authentic selves. She currently serves as the Executive Director of KAAN... Read More →

Amanda Cho

Amanda (Assalone) Cho, PhD, is a Korean American transracial and transnational adoptee in Atlanta who is actively involved in civil rights and advocacy organizations that support communities of color, particularly Asian Americans and Asian American adoptees. She is the Policy Manager... Read More →

Hollee McGinnis

Hollee A. McGinnis, MSW, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. In addition to being adopted from South Korea, she has almost 30 years of community organizing, practice, policy, and research experience on adoption, child welfare, and systems of alternative care (adoption, foster care, orphanages) in the U.S. and South Korea. Prior to her doctorate... Read More →

Nathan Nowack

Co-Host, The Janchi Show

I am a transnational, transracial Korean Adoptee living in Denver, Colorado. I am a dad of 3, avid lego collector, golfer, and co-host on a podcast called The Janchi Show. I am in reunion with my 6 biological siblings. I serve on the KAAN advisory council as well as the engagement... Read More →

Friday June 21, 2024 8:30am - 12:00pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Leadership

12:45pm CDT

Welcome: First-Timer Attendees: Ages 26-39 (Adoptee-Only Session)

This session is geared for adoptees aged 26-39. If you are an adoptee under 26, please see Debrief: First-Timer Attendees Welcome: Young Adult Adoptees Ages 18-25 (Adoptee-Only). If you are an adoptee 40+, please see Debrief: First-Timer Attendees: Ages 40+ (Adoptee-Only).

Whether you're new to the KAAN Conference or just want a refresher on the details of this year's gathering, please join us for an informational session about navigating the conference and experiencing any “firsts." There will also be time for Q&A.

Speakers

Mimi Short

KAAN Tech

I’m relatively new to the KAAN community, but over the past few years I have learned that this was the community that I craved all my life, even though I hadn’t known that til I found it. I went back to Korea in 2017 and apparently took a while to process the whole trip/experience... Read More →

Michael Thielmann

Adoptee-Only Dinner Lead

Michael Thielmann is a Korean American Canadian currently residing in Toronto, Canada, and living in a multi-generational Korean home with his spouse and her family. With a B.S. in Christian Counseling and Masters in Human Services, he has been focusing his efforts on behaviour change... Read More →

Friday June 21, 2024 12:45pm - 2:00pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

2:30pm CDT

Elephant in the Room: Mental Health

Mental health struggles are often the invisible elephant in the adoption community. Nicole and Stephen, both Korean adoptees, will facilitate an open, honest discussion about the emotional vulnerabilities of adoptees throughout our various life stages. Specifically, we will speak to the issues of anxiety, depression, grief/loss, and suicidality; and why adoptees are at higher risk and what we can do to help ourselves and each other.

Speakers

Nicole Sheppard

Nicole Sheppard, MA, LPCC, is a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor based in Minneapolis, MN. She works at Mental Health Systems (MHS), specializing in mindfulness and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). With the Korean Adoptees Ministry (KAM) Center she was a project manager... Read More →

Stephen Johnson

Stephen Johnson is a reunited Korean adoptee and former member of the KAAN Advisory Council. He studied social work at Baylor University and international development at Eastern University's School of Leadership and Development. He and his partner currently live in Austin, Texas... Read More →

Friday June 21, 2024 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

7:30pm CDT

Lost Lit Adoptee Writing Workshop

The very act of creative writing writes us into existence. By following the Amherst Writers & Artists method, we adoptees will untangle issues of abandonment, rejection, home, belonging, grief and loss of identity, family, culture and race —that are trapped inside our bodies. In the Lost Lit Adoptee Writing Workshop, a prompt will be given. We’ll write, then voluntarily read our story aloud (or skip). All feedback is positive, craft-oriented and treats the writing like fiction. This process allows our voices to be heard, our trauma to be released, and our authentic selves to be fully seen and acknowledged.

Speakers

Lynne Connor

Owner/ Writer, Lost Lit

As a lost Korean adoptee, Lynne Connor writes on themes of identity, grief, race, home, and belonging in an effort to be found. She received her M.F.A. in Creative Non-Fiction from Mills College and has been published in the Artist Book ROOTS: Korean Diaspora, Adoptee Voices Zine... Read More →

Friday June 21, 2024 7:30pm - 9:00pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

9:00am CDT

Marrying Into the Motherland: Culture Clash?

At adoption, we were separated from our country of birth and its culture. What happens when you marry back into it? A panel of adoptees share their experience of marrying someone from their motherland – and the questions, answers, and in-laws that come with that. Is it healing and affirming to be with a spouse and family directly tied to your personal origin, or does it raise problems related to identity and expectations? Does it provide a shared culture or an imposed one that might clash? Explore these issues with us, and bring your own stories!

Speakers

Michael Mullen

Michael Mullen was orphaned at 2 years old and adopted at 2.5 from Korea, after which he did not meet another Asian person for 14 years. Seeing Koreans in college led him to drop out and become one of the first adoptees to return to and live in Korea. Michael later was president of... Read More →

A.J. Bryant

A.J., is a transracial adoptee from Kerala, India, and the eldest of three adopted Indian children. Raised in Wisconsin and New Jersey, he has called Washington, D.C. home since 2005. AJ is an adoption writer and speaker, bringing a unique perspective on identity, culture, and family... Read More →

Melissa Guida Richards

Melissa Guida-Richards, is a international and transracial adoptee, an adoption educator, and the author of "What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption." She founded the Adoptee Thoughts Instagram and Podcast to help elevate adoptee voices and educate adoptive parents... Read More →

Amanda Cho

Saturday June 22, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

10:30am CDT

Embrace Intersectional Adversity: Own Your Story

We all have experienced adoption adversity but do you have other adversities that are part of your identity? Learn from two adoptees with disabilities how to let your intersectional identity become an asset to your self image. Adverse experiences are often challenging and isolating. Change the script, learn how to own your stories and turn them into powerful self advocacy tools. Come build community through writing, and discussion, as you share your stories with peers.

Speakers

Maddy Ullman

Adopted from Hong Kong to America, Maddy is a writer, photographer, and storyteller based in Dallas TX. Her experience as a Chinese adoptee with cerebral palsy propels her storytelling working in Hollywood. With her deep love of story and collaborative spirit, Maddy is dedicated to... Read More →

Ava Busto Schiff

Ava is a 28 year old, Chinese adoptee with cerebral palsy living independently working full time. She is an ambulatory wheelchair user and service dog handler. Ava grew up in NYC surrounded by other Chinese adoptees, exploring her birth culture through language and culture classes... Read More →

Saturday June 22, 2024 10:30am - 11:45am CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

2:00pm CDT

No One Who Looks Like Me

Adoptees who are childfree and have no connection to our original families will never know anyone who looks like us. What does it mean to never have a biological connection and how do adopted people thrive without this? Is it a loss we grieve or are there other means to resolve this both individually and collectively? Speakers will share about their personal journeys in being childfree, followed by time for dialogue. This adoptee only roundtable discussion will center childfree adoptees who have no connection to their biological families to build community and empowerment.

Speakers

Julayne Lee

Poet

Julayne Lee is an overseas adopted Korean (OAK) and has facilitated discussions on being childfree by choice or by circumstance since 2019, focusing on adoptees/adopted people and women of color. She believes legacy is more than biology and through ongoing dialogue both private and... Read More →

Kerry Bondy

Kerry was born in South Korea and adopted to a Midwestern suburb in the US. Her involvement in the Korean adoptee community began in 2002 after her first trip back to Korea on a Motherland tour. In addition to volunteering and co-facilitating sessions at KAAN and IKAA, she has participated... Read More →

Saturday June 22, 2024 2:00pm - 3:15pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

3:45pm CDT

Complexities in Post-Reunion Relationships

To search or not to search is one of the biggest questions adoptees contemplate. Once the decision is made to proceed with a birth family search, the outcomes vary with only a minority of adoptees reuniting with birth families. But what comes after the reunion is just as varied from “the fairy tale ending” to the decision to cease contact, or something in between. Three Korean adoptees will share their post-reunion experiences and provide perspectives on how they have navigated the challenges of building relationships with their birth families beyond the initial reunion.

Speakers

Nicole Sheppard

Chris Shepard

Hey there, I’m Chris. I’m a Korean adoptee, entrepreneur, and web designer from Cambridge, MA. My first KAAN was back in 2017 (Pittsburgh) and was a life-changing experience for me. Since then, I’ve discovered more about my Korean roots, reconnected with my birth family, and... Read More →

Colleen Ziph

Colleen Ziph is a Korean American adoptee, mother and wife, and calls Kansas City home. She was reunited with her first mother in Korea in October 2022 and had the opportunity to meet again in July 2023. She attended her first KAAN Conference in 2022 and is excited to be attending... Read More →

Saturday June 22, 2024 3:45pm - 5:00pm CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

8:45am CDT

Adoptee-Only Debrief

Sunday June 23, 2024 8:45am - 9:15am CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

8:45am CDT

Debrief: First-Timer Attendees: Ages 26-39 (Adoptee-Only Session)

This session is geared for adoptees aged 26-39. If you are an adoptee under 26, please see Debrief: First-Timer Attendees: Young Adult Adoptees Ages 18-25 (Adoptee-Only). If you are an adoptee 40+, please see Debrief: First-Timer Attendees: Ages 40+ (Adoptee-Only Session).

Reconnect with the cohort from your first-timers session and discuss KAAN next steps.

Speakers

Mimi Short

KAAN Tech

Michael Thielmann

Adoptee-Only Dinner Lead

Sunday June 23, 2024 8:45am - 9:15am CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session

9:30am CDT

Let Me See the Little Potsticker

Confronting Race in Asian Adoptee Stories: In this hands-on writing workshop, we will examine our experiences as Korean adoptees operating in a world of whiteness. How did the recent rise in anti-Asian hate affect your understanding of being Asian in America? In what ways do you mask your racial identity? What has mainstream media missed in telling transnational adoptee stories? We will study adoptee portrayals in media and discuss their authenticity. By investigating our complicated feelings about race in community with other adoptees, we harness the power of storytelling to make visible our central role in the adoption dialogue.

Speakers

Amy Lee Scott

Amy Lee Scott is an award-winning essayist who has an MFA from the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program. Her work can be found in a variety of literary magazines, and illustrated essays are forthcoming in The Iowa Review and Fourth Genre. Past work received notable mentions... Read More →

Sunday June 23, 2024 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Rosemont 2: 3rd Floor

Adoptee-Only Session