A New Beginning Adoption Staff Members

Personal Profile

When I was in junior high school I remember telling my mom that when I grew up I was going to adopt a child "from a different country." I truly believe that God made this a desire of my heart to begin preparing me for my future.

Before my husband Kevin and I were married, we decided that we would grow our family through adoption. For some reason we always felt drawn to International adoption but were not sure which country to choose. We looked into several countries and after a lot of research, decided to adopt our daughter from China.

We had an amazing experience and are the proud parents of a beautiful, hilarious, and energetic four year old. We plan to adopt again from China in the next couple of years. Our world has been completely changed with the addition of Jenna. Through her, our lives have been greatly blessed in so many ways. In my spare time I enjoy camping, scrap booking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. A highlight of my life right now is listening to the funny little things that our daughter comes up with. She keeps us laughing!

Professional Background

It is funny to look back now and see how God has directed my path. In the middle of my college education, I decided to transfer from Northwest Nazarene University to the University of Maryland to complete my music education degree.

While in Maryland, I had a summer job working at an inner-city camp for homeless children as well as Chinese children. At the end of that summer I took a two week trip to Zimbabwe and had the opportunity to visit a Mozambique refugee camp. My heart was broken as I watched children stand in line for a piece of bread with peanut butter—waiting for up to 4 hours. It was that summer that my career path took a turn to social work. I returned to Northwest Nazarene University and completed my social work degree. Since that time, I've had several social work jobs but when I learned that I could actually use my degree to do adoptions (something I've been passionate about since junior high) I was thrilled! I often say that I have the best job in the world because I truly believe that I do. There is nothing quite like seeing a family hold their baby for the first time and knowing the journey that they have had getting to that child. Adoption is truly a miracle and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help families through their adoption journey.

Personal Profile

I adopted my beautiful daughter, Lily, in 2001. She is a smart, clever, funny, sweet little girl loved immensely (and spoiled slightly) by everyone in our family. Through Lily's adoption I met another little girl in China with a heart defect. It was so difficult to leave her behind. Through much perseverance & assistance, I traveled to China a year later to assist her new family in bringing her home. It has been so amazing to be a part of her life! She has grown into such a happy & sparkling little girl! Because of my wonderful experiences with adoption I realized that my life would never be the same. I had to be directly involved in adoption in some way. The opening of A New Beginning has given me that chance! I feel extremely proud and privileged to help others discover the joys of adoption.

Personal Profile

I was born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho. While away at college I met my loving husband and later was blessed with our two wonderful sons. I became intrigued with adoption at a young age when I realized my close friend was adopted. Later in high school I had classmates choose adoption as their option to their unplanned pregnancy. It made so much sense to me, and I thought it was a wonderful way for them to make such a difference through adoption. Their decision was so heroic to me that it influenced my career path.

Professional Background

After graduating high school I attended college in North Idaho where I accomplished my core classes. I then went to the University of Idaho and enrolled in their Sociology program, not realizing what I really wanted was a social work degree. One year later I transferred to Boise State University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Social Work in 1998. I have worked in various fields before actually reaching my ultimate goal of adoption. I have worked with the homeless, domestic violence victims, and children and families. Three years ago I was invited to work for an adoption agency as their Birth Parent Program Coordinator. I immediately said yes and have been working in the adoption field since. Adoption is my passion and I can honestly say I love going to work each day!

Personal Profile

Adoption has been a huge part of my life since I was in high school, when I made the decision to place my son for adoption. I found myself pregnant at the age of 16 and going into my senior year of high school. I had huge dreams of going to college and pursuing many things that didn’t seem to be able to work if I had a child. I chose very early on in my pregnancy that I was going to place my son for adoption and that an open adoption was exactly what I wanted and needed. I knew that in order for me to know that my son was going to be ok and to move on with my life, I needed to be able to allow myself to grieve and heal through the most difficult decision I have ever had to make. This included being able to see that my son was being taken care of and that he was experiencing a life that I know I couldn’t provide for him. My son is now almost 12 years old and we have the best relationship. I have a great relationship with his parents as well and we see each other at least 1 time a year and also have phone calls throughout the year.

I came to A New Beginning around September of 2008 wanting to volunteer as a mentor for birth parents and helping them walk through their grieving process. In November of 2008 I was offered to join the team at A New Beginning. I am available for all our birth parents and am able to walk along side them from start to finish in their adoption plans. It is such a blessing to be apart of a great team of people and a total blessing from God that I am able to be a part of so many people’s lives.