WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2023 from 5:00PM - 6:00PM(EST)

WHERE: Instagram Live

COST: FREE!

Adoptee Author Series-Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth
Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Allies

***This event will take place on Instagram Live--please follow the Center for Adoption Support and Education's IG handle @caseadopt.  Further instructions on how to view the live event will be sent via email upon registration.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Sara Easterly is an award-winning author and essayist. Her latest book,
Adoption Unfiltered (Rowman & Littlefield, Dec 2023), is a collaboration with
birth parent Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard and adoptive parent Lori Holden.
Her spiritual memoir, Searching for Mom, won a 2020 Illumination Book
Award gold medal, among many others. Sara’s adoption-focused articles and
essays have been published by Psychology Today, Dear Adoption, Feminine
Collective, Her View from Home, Red Letter Christians, and Severance
Magazine, to name a few. Sara is Founder of Adoptee Voices and previously
led one of the largest chapters of the Society of Children's Book Writers &
Illustrators (SCBWI), where she was recognized as SCBWI Member of the
Year.

Sara resides outside of Seattle with her husband, two daughters, and a
menagerie of rescued fur-babies. As an adoptee, she has a passion for
helping others understand the often-misunderstood hearts of adopted
children.

Find her online at www.saraeasterly.com

Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard is a birth mother who has spent several years
working in the adoption field—both as a paralegal on the West Coast and in
adoption agencies in the Midwest and East Coast. Kelsey is the fourth
generation in her family to relinquish a child for adoption and her whole life
has been uniquely impacted by adoption as a result. She earned her
undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University and is currently
pursuing a Master of Public Administration from the University of North
Carolina at Pembroke. Kelsey is the Director of Advocacy and Policy at Ethical
Family Building where she works on important public policy issues impacting
the adoption triad and adoption professionals. She is co-producer of an
upcoming documentary, Love, Your Birth Mom, and co-author of Adoption
Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents,
publishing in December 2023, Kelsey resides in Northern California with her
husband and daughter.

Lori Holden is recognized as an expert in the complexities of adoption. "The
Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption" is on required reading lists at adoption
agencies in the US and Canada, and her award-winning blog
LavenderLuz.com has helped countless adoptive families navigate their most
tricky situations since 2007. Lori interviews insightful guests on her podcast
Adoption: The Long View, helping adoptive parents grasp how they can
better serve the deepest needs of the adoptees they love. Lori originated the
Open Adoption Grid and collaborated on the resulting Inclusive Family
Support Model.

Lori is a re-imaginer and reformer of how to “do” adoption better for all. With
co-authors Sara Easterly, an adoptee, and Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, a
birth mom, Lori’s next adoption book arrives in late 2023. The
groundbreaking "Adoption Unfiltered" reveals the candid thoughts and
feelings of those most directly involved in adoptions: adoptees, adoptive
parents, and birth parents.

Nominated by Senator Michael Bennet, Lori was honored as an Angel in
Adoption® by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. She is a
sought-after speaker for adoption and child-welfare agencies, parent support
groups, and adoption conferences and camps. She coaches individuals and
couples around adoption-related issues.
Besides a passion for reforming adoption, Lori is also a dedicated yogini.
Yoga’s inherent “yoking” informs the framework she has developed on how
to “do” adoption well, for example by shifting from an Either/or mindset to a
BothAnd heartset. With her sister Sheri Fisher, Lori has co-authored
"Standing Room Only | How to Be THAT Yoga Teacher" from the Root To Rise
Yoga Teaching Method.

Lori and her husband raised their daughter and son in Denver and have now
launched them into young adulthood. To say they are proud of Tessa and
Reed becoming fully themselves is a big old duh.

Please see LavenderLuz.com for current information on Lori’s offerings and
how to reach her.