I am new to the All About U family and I could not be more excited and prouder to work for an agency who believes “It’s not our job, it’s our life”. That quote is exactly what drew me to apply to become a Case Worker for AAU. I personally am a mom because four extraordinary women chose life and adoption for their babies. Our family was created through adoption. I have Bachelor’s Degrees in Elementary Education and Communication Disorders and a Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders. I worked as a Speech Language Pathologist at a hospital for over 25 years. Our youngest two boys left for college, and it was my opportunity to look into options for my next journey. I have followed Coleen as she started and grew All About U over the past 27 years. She was looking for a Case Worker at the same time I was deciding what my next path may be. Although I have not worked in the adoption field for long – I have navigated the world of adoption for twenty-seven years. I believe life experience is the best teacher. I bring to the table experience with open adoption, birth parent and birth grandparent relationships, mental health struggles, addiction, homelessness, transracial adoption, racial stereotypes, microaggressions and biases, newborn and toddler adoption and nature vs. nurture (my belief is BOTH!).
Adoption has given me my greatest blessings. No family tree for us. We have an orchard! Adoption is not just one thing but a myriad of experiences and feelings all coming together. I am unbelievably honored to support birth moms, dads and families as they navigate the grief and the joy that is adoption. I know that LOVE is the only force on Earth that could enable a mother to break her own heart and place her baby in the arms of another forever. I consider myself blessed to be brought together with birth moms to assist them in finding healing and hope in their situations. Because they matter. And I see them.
