KAAN 2025: Full Schedule

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!

10:30am EDT

KAAN 2025 Orientation: General Audience

Friday June 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

Friday June 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees)

12:00pm EDT

Community Conversation: Life Course of Adoption*

Friday June 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

A substantial body of research has focused on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult mental and physical health; however, little research has quantified this relationship among people who experienced adoption. Findings from the community embedded project “Mapping the Life Course of Adoption” study involving a national survey (N= 464) of U.S. adoptees (18+) will be presented illuminating the relationship between childhood adversities, trauma, adult stressors, and mental and physical health.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 9:45 - 11:00 AM.

Speakers

Hollee McGinnis

Hollee A. McGinnis, MSW, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at VCU. Dr. McGinnis has almost 30 years of community organizing, practice, policy, and research experience relating to adoption and child welfare. Her work centers the lived experiences of individuals raised in adoptive families... Read More →

Friday June 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

1:30pm EDT

Affirming Adoptee Youth Identity

Friday June 20, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

"Affirming Adoptee Youth Identity" is designed to explore and provide support to the unique experiences and challenges faced by transracial adoptees in forming their identities. The session highlights the importance of nurturing a strong sense of self among adoptee youth and offers practical strategies for families, educators, and professionals to support adoptees in understanding and celebrating their identity development, cultural heritage, honoring birth families, and personal experiences. Participants will engage in interactive discussions and learn valuable tools to create an inclusive environment where transracial adoptees feel empowered to embrace their multifaceted identities.

Speakers

Brad Belin

With nearly two decades of experience, Brad is dedicated to mentoring and empowering youth + peer educators across various school communities. As the Assistant Head of School at an independent school in MA, he brings a passion for creating inclusive and emotionally safe spaces for... Read More →

Liz Kleinrock

Liz Kleinrock is an award-winning educator and best-selling author, as well as a queer, Jewish woman. In 2018, Liz received the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2019 delivered her TED Talk, “How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics." In 2021, Liz released... Read More →

Friday June 20, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees)

9:30am EDT

Adoptees at Work: Identity and Careers

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

This session focuses on research exploring how one’s identity as an adoptee can impact their professional goals, career trajectories, and experiences at work. Session participants will learn about preliminary findings from an ongoing study involving in-depth interviews with Korean and Chinese adoptees from a range of professional backgrounds, including people working in education, mental health, law, government, marketing, and STEM. This session may be of particular interest to adoption researchers and adoptees seeking to understand how adoptive identity influences the jobs people choose and the ways they navigate work, but anyone curious about the topic is welcome to attend!

Speakers

Allison Jin Sullivan

Allison Sullivan is a Korean American adoptee and a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Emory University in Atlanta. She researches issues related to race, work, inequality, and culture, with a special interest in adoptees and Asian Americans. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she worked... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees)

11:00am EDT

Challenges & Transformation: Adoptees Living With Cancer

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

Cancer rates have been rising generally, yet navigating this life-threatening disease has been less widely discussed in the adoption community. This session will elevate the lived experiences, challenges, and opportunities of living with cancer and the adoption journey.

Speakers

Elliot Bliss

Elliot Bliss, a Korean adoptee, experienced a profound shift in his outlook and priorities following his diagnosis with a rare blood cancer in 2023. The challenges of navigating cancer treatment without access to his medical history underscored for him the unique barriers adoptees... Read More →

Hannah Gershone

Hannah Gershone is a Chinese adoptee from Zhejiang province. She received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College and, upon graduation, worked for Saguaro and Grand Canyon National Park monitoring soundscapes. She received her M.S. in Environmental Studies from... Read More →

Hollee McGinnis

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees)

2:45pm EDT

Supporting Your Adoptee’s Journey*

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (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 Friday at 12:00 - 1:30 PM.

Speakers

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 →

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 →

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session

4:15pm EDT

A4J: Citizenship 4 All, and We Mean ALL!

Saturday June 21, 2025 4:15pm - 5:30pm EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

Adoptees For Justice (A4J) includes a diverse group of adoptees, adoptive families, grassroots
organizing/advocacy groups, & allies, all of whom work together to amend a loophole in the
Child Citizenship Act of 2000 that resulted in the exclusion of thousands of intercountry
adoptees from receiving citizenship. A4J is the only adoptee-led organization advocating for an
inclusive Adoptee Citizenship Act (ACA), & leads alternative relief efforts to support adoptees
without citizenship, such as support groups, fundraising for mutual aid for legal/medical/living
expenses, Pardon Campaigns, and Prosecutorial Discretion for deported adoptees.

The session deep dives from the informational Main Stage to group and individual action steps attendees
can participate in NOW.

Speakers

Amanda Cho

Amanda Cho is a Korean Adoptee and Policy Manager for Adoptees for Justice (A4J), a project affiliate of NAKASEC which advocates for the Adoptee Citizenship Act and supports adoptees who are without citizenship. Amanda volunteers for adoptee-led organizations and is a founding member... Read More →

Daniel Yoon

Daniel Yoon (any pronouns) is a non-binary, transracial adoptee from South Korea. They are the Volunteer Attorney Coordinator for Adoptees 4 Justice and the Director of Compliance for the Metro Human Relations Commission in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with his partner and... Read More →

Rachel Koelzer

Rachel Koelzer (she/they) is an organizer, writer, activist, and advocate passionate about healing and connection. Currently, she focuses on advancing systemic and structural equity for current and future generations as the Communications Manager for the National Korean American Service... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 4:15pm - 5:30pm EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees)

9:45am EDT

Community Conversation: Life Course of Adoption*

Sunday June 22, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am EDT

Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

Speakers

Hollee McGinnis

Sunday June 22, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am EDT
Buckhead BR 2 (Lower lobby)

General Session (Open To All Attendees), Repeat Session