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: Young Adult Adoptees Ages 18-25 (Adoptees Only)

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Friday June 20, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session

12:00pm EDT

Language (Re)Learning: Conversations About Identity*

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Language and identity are inextricably linked. However, language learning experiences for international adoptees might be complicated—how do our language experiences contribute to our sense of identity? When we use our languages do we feel closer to our heritage, or do we feel more distant from our cultures? This two-part session involves hearing about recent research relating to language and identity with international adoptees in Canada, then engaging in discussion about different kinds of language learning experiences, and how they have contributed to our sense of identity. No language learning experience necessary, all adoptees are welcome to share their thoughts.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 4:15 - 5:30 PM.

Speakers

Kiana Kishiyama

Kiana Kishiyama is a transracial Chinese adoptee from British Columbia, Canada. She is an aspiring researcher whose research interests include language, race, identity, and international adoption. Her current research focuses on international adoptees' experiences with (re)learning... Read More →

Friday June 20, 2025 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session, Repeat Session

1:30pm EDT

Digging Deeper: Identity and Community Building*

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Childhood, dating, marriage, parenthood, and the death of adoptive parents are lifecycle milestones. Participants will explore their evolving relationship to adoption as they moved through each of these stages in life. A.D and Phil will share their personal experiences and utilize creative media prompts for each discussion. We all have voices and experiences worth sharing. This session is for adoptees looking to connect with others on a deeper level around their experiences with the goal of learning from one another. This is a community knowledge building exercise.

This session will also be held on Saturday at 4:15 PM - 5:30 PM.

Speakers

A.D. Herzel

A.D. Herzel is a Korean adoptee, artist and educator for over 20 years. She is a mother of bi-racial teenagers, married for 27 years and both her adoptive parents have passed. She served on the Board of Adoptee Hub and shared her community art project Seeds From The East, at IKAA... Read More →

Phil Pellouchoud

My name is Phil Pellouchoud, and I embraced my Korean adoption identity pretty late in life. Living in San Diego with my wife, two kids, and our dog Casper, I’ve been navigating a birth family search with my family’s support. Along the way, I’ve discovered the profound depth... Read More →

Friday June 20, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session, Repeat Session

9:30am EDT

Reimagining Intimacy in Adoptee-Centered Relationships

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Relationships play a major role in shaping our realities and sense of self throughout life. For adoptees who were relinquished, attachment-related trauma can influence many adult relationships. When we layer on options for non-monogamous relationships with friends, family, and partners, it can raise conflicts in self worth, identity values, and question how we embody belonging. Intersectionality provides a framework to better understand our needs as adoptees when navigating all types of relationships. Adoptee led, speakers will share personal experiences in non-monogamous relationships and invite attendees to engage with their own reflections on relationship identity.

Speakers

Mikaela Smith

Mikaela Li Smith (they/them) is a transnational Chinese American Adoptee who grew up in the midwest. After moving across the country and graduating twice in a pandemic, Mikaela has used past challenges and individual experiences to navigate adoption topics through one-on-one conversations... Read More →

Laura X. Williams

Laura X. Williams (she/her+) is a transracial Chinese American Adoptee who is local to Verona, NJ and currently resides in Denver, CO with a nesting partner and two sweet cats! Relationship counseling, sex therapy, addiction counseling, and folklore/cultural sustainability are Laura’s... Read More →

Maze Felix

Maze Felix (they/them) is a kitchen table solo polyamorous, neuroqueer trans non-binary Chinese transracial Adoptee. Maze grew up in midwest Ohio, but in 2022 moved across the country to the west coast and is now a Los Angeles based working actor, model, and American Sign Language... Read More →

Sanjay Pulver

Sanjay is a transnational, transracial, and transgender adoptee. He was born near Hyderabad India, and was brought to the US at 13 months old. Sanjay is an only child to his adopters but has 4 older sisters, one older brother, and a fraternal twin brother biologically. He came out... Read More →

Kurt RuKim

Kurt RuKim He/Him, an educator, dancer, artist, and sex educator, brings his experience as a Korean adoptee and Network of Politicized Adoptees (NPA) steering committee member to co-create inclusive learning environments. Passionate about eradicating shame and ensuring access to accurate... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session

11:00am EDT

Comfort Food: Nourishing Ourselves Inside & Out

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

Ivy (Lobby)

The mindful act of cooking and preparing food can be a powerful tool to work through intense grief and a beautiful way to connect to one's culture and country of origin. Through this interactive discussion, the Emilys will share how food has helped them in their own paths to healing, as well as hold space for those wishing to use food as medicine in their own journeys. We will nourish ourselves with snacks from around the world and discuss the importance of somatic practices involving food. A short clip from the upcoming documentary, Tasting Heritage, will also be shown.

Speakers

Emily Flynn

Emily Flynn (AKA 양선미, she/her/hers), textile designer and Also-Known-As board member, resides in Brooklyn, NY with her partner, 2 kids and husky, Alkong. She has shared some of her story on a couple of podcasts (including This American Life), and is featured in 2 documentaries... Read More →

Emily Brillon

Emily Brillon (she/her/they) is a transracial and transnational adoptee born in Manila and raised in Massachusetts. Half-Chinese and half-Filipina, she has had a long relationship exploring sustainable food systems and methods. Most recently, she has earned a Community Composting... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session

2:45pm EDT

NaviGAYting Queer Adoptee Experiences*

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

Ivy (Lobby)

This session will give attendees an opportunity to meet other LGBTQ+ adoptees and provide a space to talk about navigating the adoptee experience. Once out of the fog, how do we come out as adoptees? How do we manage the co-existence of multiple chosen families? How do we work through internalized racism, and how does that impact our dating preferences? How does our queer identity impact the relationship with our birth countries? How can we challenge heteronormativity and contribute toward building a more inclusive adoptee community? Let’s learn from each other and strengthen our collective voice.

This session will also be held on Friday at 12:00 - 1:30 PM.

Speakers

Jimmy Byrne

Jimmy Byrne (he/him) is a Korean adoptee who grew up in Central New York and currently lives in Chicago. He has served on the boards of KAtCH (Korean Adoptees of Chicago) and Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, and he is currently the Director of Development at a Korean-led immigrant justice... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session, Repeat Session

4:15pm EDT

The Adoptee Consciousness Memoir Writing Workshop*

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Writing can be an important tool to process the impact of adoption. The Adoptee Consciousness model, developed by Susan Branco, JaeRan Kim, Grace Newton, Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter, and Paula O’Loughlin in 2022, gave adoptees a language and framework to understand the five stages of adoptee awareness: status quo, rupture, dissonance, expansiveness, and forgiveness and activism. Using those “five touchstones within the spiral” as writing prompts, the workshop facilitators will guide participants to write a memoir in poetry and prose of their own adoptee journey of growth and change.

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

Speakers

Alice Stephens

Born in Korea, Alice Stephens was among the first wave of intercountry, transracial adoptees. Author of the novel, Famous Adopted People (Unnamed Press, 2018), she is also a book reviewer, essayist, short story writer, facilitator of the Adoptee Voices Writing Group, member of the... Read More →

Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello is the author of Hour of the Ox (University of Pittsburgh Press), winner of the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry. She and E.J. Koh co-translated Yi Won’s The World’s Lightest Motorcycle (Zephyr Press), which received the Grand Prize from the Literature... Read More →

Saturday June 21, 2025 4:15pm - 5:30pm EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session, Repeat Session

9:45am EDT

The Adoptee Consciousness Memoir Writing Workshop*

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

Ivy (Lobby)

Speakers

Alice Stephens

Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Sunday June 22, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am EDT
Ivy (Lobby)

Adoptee-Only Session, Repeat Session