Loading…
The KAAN 2025 Conference will take place at The Grand Hyatt in Atlanta, GA, on June 20-22. The theme this year is Growth and Change. As always, we offer an adoptee-only track alongside our general breakout sessions, which are open to all. We also offer programs for adults and youth (ages 8-17). All are welcome, including adoptees, birth families, family members (adoptive parents, spouses/partners, siblings and children of adoptees), service providers, and Korean Americans. We look forward to seeing you there!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at tech@wearekaan.org.

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!
Venue: Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby) clear filter
Friday, June 20
 

10:30am EDT

KAAN 2025 Orientation: Adoptive Parents
Friday June 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Speakers
avatar for Kala Sharp

Kala Sharp

Kala Sharp (she/her) is a past KAAN Advisory Council member, past Finance Committee member, and a current volunteer. She and her husband, Gary, are adoptive parents. Their sons are Jae (14 years old) and Sam (12 years old). Their family lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and enjoys traveli... Read More →
JN
Friday June 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees)

12:00pm EDT

Supporting Your Adoptee’s Journey*
Friday June 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Two adult transracial and transnational adoptees who are also mothers to Korean adoptees will share adoptee-centered insights on racial and adoptee identity development, common challenges, meaningful (and harmful) support and advocacy. The experiences and perspectives of adoptees who are also parenting adoptees will illuminate the ongoing nature of the adoption journey. Participants will examine how they can create a healthy and supportive environment for an adoptee whose understanding of their identity grows and changes over time.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 2:45 - 4:00 PM.
Speakers
avatar for TK Rojales

TK Rojales

TK Rojales is a management consultant with a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A transracial adoptee from Korea, she resides in Atlanta and is the mother of a 24-year-old biological daughter and a 23-year-old son adopted from Korea... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Collmer

Sarah Collmer

Sarah Collmer is an elementary school principal in a suburb of Boston, MA. She holds Master’s Degrees in Music Education and Organizational Leadership. Sarah, her husband, and their 10-year-old son are all Korean adoptees. Racial and adoptee identity development hold significant... Read More →
Friday June 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

1:30pm EDT

Adopting Our Own Ways of Being*
Friday June 20, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Food, art, and identity, oh my! Join Chinese-Canadian adoptee, Annika Walsh for this hands-on session that explores how to transform your identity into a dish that best encapsulates you. Together, through collaging and conversation, we will dive into the fluidity of identity, culture, and food. Annika is an artist and graduate student at the University of British Columbia who presents experience based work that often relate to their experiences as an adoptee. Annika has used food to connect to all of the cultures they are genetically embedded with but also the ones they have absorbed along the way.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM.
Speakers
avatar for Annika Walsh

Annika Walsh

Annika Walsh is an emerging transdisciplinary artist and researcher who works with food, cooking, and everything in between to further the notion of connectedness and togetherness. Annika completed a BFA with a specialization in Media at the University of Ottawa in 2022. This grounds... Read More →
Friday June 20, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

7:30pm EDT

Minhwa: Korean Folk Painting
Friday June 20, 2025 7:30pm - 8:30pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Many KADs who feel disconnected to their Korean-ness due to language barrier and accessibility can connect to Korean culture through art. Art is a powerful educational and healing tool that does not require language or cultural competency. Minhwa: Korean Folk Painting session will be a fun and non-intimidating way to connect to our roots. The publisher (Seo Choi) and author (Hye-Ryung Suk) of the book, “Minhwa Workbook: Learn Korean Painting” will offer a hands-on session where participants will learn about minhwa and create a small painting of their own.
Speakers
avatar for Seo Choi

Seo Choi

Seo Choi (최서희) (@seochoi.shaman) is a Korean-American shaman, author, and the founder of Alpha Sisters Publishing. She is the creator of the Morning Calm Oracle and the author of Don’t Be a B*tch, Be an Alpha: How to Unlock Your Magic, Play Big, and Change the World. She has... Read More →
avatar for Hye Suk

Hye Suk

Hye Ryung Suk (@atlanta_minhwa) is an artist, art teacher, and the author of Minhwa Workbook: Step by Step Guide to Korean Folk Painting. She studied fine art and taught students at her art studio for many years in Korea before moving to the greater Atlanta area a few years ago. For... Read More →
Friday June 20, 2025 7:30pm - 8:30pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  Activities
 
Saturday, June 21
 

9:30am EDT

Journey to Korea: Healing Through Connection
Saturday June 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
This session explores the transformative journeys of four Korean adoptees returning to their birth country, and the unexpected benefits and bonds formed through this shared journey. Speakers will share personal stories of how connecting with Korea impacted their understanding of self and belonging. The discussion will address the evolution of identity, the effect on relationships with family and partners, and the emotional complexities involved.
Speakers
avatar for Peter Beerman

Peter Beerman

Peter Beerman grew up on Long Island, NY, and has dedicated much of his career to working in nonprofits, technology, and data analytics.  He also owns and operates a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school that  offers free women’s self-defense classes and workshops to different groups.  His... Read More →
avatar for Jennifer Simms-Coffey

Jennifer Simms-Coffey

Jennifer Simms-Coffey, MA, LMSW (she/her) is a Korean transracial adoptee, and a licensed clinical social worker in private practice based in Michigan. She has an MA in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and an MSW from the University of Michigan School... Read More →
avatar for TK Rojales

TK Rojales

TK Rojales is a management consultant with a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A transracial adoptee from Korea, she resides in Atlanta and is the mother of a 24-year-old biological daughter and a 23-year-old son adopted from Korea... Read More →
Saturday June 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees)

11:00am EDT

Adopting Our Own Ways of Being*
Saturday June 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Food, art, and identity, oh my! Join Chinese-Canadian adoptee, Annika Walsh for this hands-on session that explores how to transform your identity into a dish that best encapsulates you. Together, through collaging and conversation, we will dive into the fluidity of identity, culture, and food. Annika is an artist and graduate student at the University of British Columbia who presents experience based work that often relate to their experiences as an adoptee. Annika has used food to connect to all of the cultures they are genetically embedded with but also the ones they have absorbed along the way.

This session will also be held on Friday at 1:45 - 3:15 PM.
Speakers
avatar for Annika Walsh

Annika Walsh

Annika Walsh is an emerging transdisciplinary artist and researcher who works with food, cooking, and everything in between to further the notion of connectedness and togetherness. Annika completed a BFA with a specialization in Media at the University of Ottawa in 2022. This grounds... Read More →
Saturday June 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

2:45pm EDT

Dealing With Aging Parents — Adopted/Birth*
Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
This session will deal with those adoptees who are dealing with aging parents -- adopted and/or birth and the limited time we have with either getting to know them or telling them information we need to tell them while they are still able to understand it or acknowledge it.

This session will also be held as a Fishbowl session on Saturday at 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM.
Speakers
avatar for Zhen E 젠이 Rammelsberg

Zhen E 젠이 Rammelsberg

Zhen E 젠이 Rammelsberg, a Korean Adoptee, was adopted in the 70s to a White Midwestern family in Iowa.  Estranged due to abuse, she was forced back into their lives once aging and health became issues.  A published playwright and member of Adoptee Voices Writers, Zhen E has advocated... Read More →
Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

4:15pm EDT

The Violence of Love: Rethinking Adoption*
Saturday June 21, 2025 4:15pm - 5:30pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
With the theme of “growth and change,” I would present on my concept of “the violence of love” in transnational adoptions (from my forthcoming book, The Violence of Love: Race, Family, and Adoption in the United States, 2025). Even though love by individuals, agencies, and the nation has fueled transnational adoptions, I will discuss the ways violence has been attached to them in complex ways. I would provide brief examples of how love and violence inform “positive adoption language,” federal adoption legislation, transnational adoption policy, and heritage summer camps for adoptees.

This session will also be held on Sunday at 9:45 - 11:00 AM.
Speakers
avatar for Kit Myers

Kit Myers

Kit Myers is an assistant professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Merced. He is the author of The Violence of Love: Race, Adoption, and Family in the United States (University of California Press, 2025), which is available... Read More →
Saturday June 21, 2025 4:15pm - 5:30pm EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session
 
Sunday, June 22
 

9:45am EDT

The Violence of Love: Rethinking Adoption*
Sunday June 22, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
With the theme of “growth and change,” I would present on my concept of “the violence of love” in transnational adoptions (from my forthcoming book, The Violence of Love: Race, Family, and Adoption in the United States, 2025). Even though love by individuals, agencies, and the nation has fueled transnational adoptions, I will discuss the ways violence has been attached to them in complex ways. I would provide brief examples of how love and violence inform “positive adoption language,” federal adoption legislation, transnational adoption policy, and heritage summer camps for adoptees.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 4:15 - 5:30 PM.
Speakers
avatar for Kit Myers

Kit Myers

Kit Myers is an assistant professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Merced. He is the author of The Violence of Love: Race, Adoption, and Family in the United States (University of California Press, 2025), which is available... Read More →
Sunday June 22, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am EDT
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
  General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session
 
Share Modal

Share this link via

Or copy link

Filter sessions
Apply filters to sessions.
Friday, June 20
Saturday, June 21
Sunday, June 22
Azalea (Lobby)
Buckhead BR 1 (Lower lobby)
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)
Cascade (Lower lobby)
Grand Ballroom A & B
Highland 1 & 2 (Lobby)
Highland 3 (Lobby)
Highland 4 &5 (Lobby)
Ivy (Lobby)
Library (Lobby)
Meet in the Lobby
TBD
  • Activities
  • Adoptee-Only Session
  • Check In
  • Fishbowl Session (Adoptee-Centered But Non-Adoptees May Attend To Listen)
  • General Session (Open To All Attendees)
  • Mainstage Event
  • Meals
  • Youth Program