Birth/First Fathers: Core Issues, Clinical Practice & Beyond
Dates: 6/10/26, 6/17/26, and 6/24/26
Time: 12-2pm EST/11am-1pm CST/9-11am PST
Faculty: Phil Weglarz, LMFT
Through in-depth, first-person accounts of birth fathers in contemporary adoptions, participants will enrich their perspective, empathy, and understanding of men’s experiences of responding to unexpected pregnancies, considering and making adoption plans, relinquishment and placement, and navigating post-placement contact and across their life span. In addition to enhancing your clinical practice with individuals and families with experiences of adoption, you will be challenged to identify steps you can take to promote men’s access and involvement in therapeutic services.
About the Faculty:
Phil Weglarz is an adoptive father, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Registered Expressive Art Therapist (REAT). Phil also serves as full-time Core Faculty and Program Chair at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in the Masters in Counseling Psychology, concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy. In 2022, Phil completed a PhD, conducting a narrative research study with men who are birth fathers or adoptive fathers in open adoptions, entitled, Kaleidoscopes of Kinship: A Narrative Inquiry of Birth Fathers’ and Adoptive Fathers’ Experiences of Open Adoptions. In 2026, Phil graduated from the 72-hour Training in Adoption Competency (TAC) through C.A.S.E.
Beyond the Textbook: Incorporating the Wisdom of Lived Experience
Dates: 9/14/26, 9/21/26, and 9/28/26
Time: 12-2pm EST/11am-1pm CST/9-11am PST
Faculty: Angela Tucker, Dr. Hollee McGinnis, and Tony Parsons
Taught entirely by professionals who are also adoptees, this course will address the accuracy of what the mental health community thinks it knows about the adoption experience. Addressing the history and ethics of involving those with lived experience, this course takes a fresh approach on assessment and how therapists can become more conscious throughout the treatment process. Lifelong factors will be
addressed, and case examples will be used for participants to work through
About the Faculty:
Taught entirely by professionals who are also adoptees, this course will address the accuracy of what the mental health community thinks it knows about the adoption experience. Addressing the history and ethics of involving those with lived experience, this course takes a fresh approach on assessment and how therapists can become more conscious throughout the treatment process. Lifelong factors will be addressed, and case examples will be used for participants to work through.
About the Faculty:
Angela Tucker is a Black transracial adoptee, is an author and internationally recognized speaker on adoption, race, identity, and inclusion. Her debut book, "You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identity and Transracial Adoption was published in April 2023 by Beacon Press. Angela's search for her biological family is featured in the documentary CLOSURE. In 2022, Angela founded the Adoptee Mentoring Society to provide virtual mentorship for adoptees world-wide. With 15 years in child welfare, she has appeared on CNN, The Red Table Talk, The New Yorker, and more, advocating for adoptee stories. She lives in Seattle with her Emmy-award-winning spouse, Bryan Tucker.
Hollee A. McGinnis, MSW, Ph.D., is a prominent scholar, policy expert, and community organizer on adoption and child welfare. Hollee held previous roles as Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Social Work and also as the policy director at the former Donaldson Adoption Institute, where she headed a national study on adoption and racial identity among adopted adults. She is a Korean transnational and transracial adoptee and in 1996 she founded Also-Known-As, Inc., a non-profit adult intercountry adoptee organization providing post-adoption services to international adoptees and adoptive families. Hollee speaks regularly at national conferences and organizations and has numerous published scholarly articles, book chapters, and essays. In 2008 she was recognized by the U.S. government with a Congressional Angel in Adoption award for her work in adoption. She is regularly sought out by the news media including interviews about her research on South Korea’s child welfare system and overseas adoptees by the New York Times Magazine, BBC News, and NPR.
Robert “Tony” Parsons is a black transracial adoptee (one of 24 children in his family, 22 of whom are adopted) and a dedicated advocate with a background in public policy, education, and child welfare. He is committed to empowering individuals, fostering collaboration, and advancing equity. With degrees from Michigan State University and Georgetown University, he has held roles at Youth Villages, the Capacity Building Center for States, and the Michigan College Access Network. Currently serving as the Director of Public Policy and Finance at Oakland Thrives, Tony works to align government institutions and actors to serve the Oakland community better. His involvement in various community initiatives and his leadership in organizations such as the Emerging Leaders Advisory Council, currently their chairman, and the National Foster Youth Institute demonstrate his commitment to social justice and his ability to drive positive change.
Two-Course Academy Bundle
This two-course bundle includes Birth/First Fathers: Core Issues, Clinical Practice & Beyond and Beyond the Textbook: Incorporating the Wisdom of Lived Experience.
