First, a big thank to our 10 panelists for their dedication, time, and thoughtfulness as they shared their personal experiences in our February We the Experts: Adoptee and Adoptee Ally Panel Series: Amanda L. Baden, Patrick Armstrong, Yineth Sutton, Amanda McKinstry, Kayla Zheng, Maya Castro-Dabbeni, Joseph M. Pierce, Megan Hammerschimdt, Christian Harvey, and Jacqueline Fitzgerald. As always, I learned so much from the incredible wisdom of each panelist. A reminder to those of you who were not able to register or attend these panels the recordings are available for purchase here:


Second, I want to take some time to hold space as we witness the attack on Ukraine. In particular, I want to reach out to those in our Adoption Mosaic community who have birth family and roots in the Ukraine. 

When conflict of this level occurs anywhere in the world, members of our adoption community are inevitably impacted, sometimes gravely. We ask that you consider the "tips" below when engaging and reaching out to your Ukrainian adoptee community and their families. As someone who was born in Colombia, a country that struggled with being in a civil war most of my childhood, I know the feeling of both helplessness and being in the dark with current events from your birth country. I also carried a lot of shame, guilt, and embarrassment as I got older for not knowing about these current events while others around me did. I was afraid of sounding ignorant if I asked any questions. 

Some tips to consider:

  • Just because an adoptee might not have direct contact with their birth family overseas does not mean they do not worry about their well being and safety.

  • Check in by simply saying, "I am here if you want to talk and want to remind you that you are not alone".

  • When offering support do not have the expectation of receiving a response.  

  • Do not expect that just because an adoptee is from a certain country they are up to date on current events, are in any way an expert on their birth country, or are a spokesperson for all people in their birth country.

  • For adoptive parents, it is your responsibility to keep up with your child's birth country and help your child have an age appropriate understanding of major events. This knowledge will help your children navigate comments and questions from the community.

As always, to our adoptee community, please reach out to us for support. No one should have to navigate our adoptee experience in isolation.

Please continue to scroll as you will find information for our upcoming events and courses below. Thank you for your continued support of Adoption Mosaic!
Astrid Castro
Director/Founder
For adoptees, finding and reconnecting with birth/first family is a complex situation wrapped in a million emotions. Typically, the system of adoption fails to prepare birth/first families and adoptees and adoptive families for "successful" reunions. In our coming panel, four adoptees share their experiences of rejection from their birth/first families and how that has influenced and impacted their lives.
*No adoptee is turned away due to financial hardship. Contact events@adoptionmosaic.com or call 971.231.7184 for scholarship details.
  • Enjoy the convenience of automatic registration each month!

  • A great gift for anyone in the adoption constellation!
Who should take this course? 

  • Adoptive parents with children 18 yrs old and younger

  • People interested in adopting 

What is special about this course? 

  • Customized curriculum with fun hands-on activities to support tough conversations.

  • Covers topics such as: names, birthdays race and culture, adoption in the media and Mother’s and Father’s days

  • Developed and led by adult adoptees
Who should take this course?

  • Adoptive parents

  • Person(s) interested in adopting

What is special about this course?

  •  Go beyond the surface and learn to craft a rich, nuanced story about your path to adoption

  • Discuss and understand the legacy of adoption in your family

  • Build community with other adoptive families
Who should take this course? 

  • Adoptive parents with children 18 years and older 

What is special about this course? 
  • Reflect on why we chose adoption, and what we have learned over decades of raising children 

  • Dig into the challenges of talking about race, the adoption industry, gratitude, anger, adoption fog, search, and reunion 

  • Practice talking about these adoption issues with your adult children and with others, in ways that are clear, respectful, and helpful.
Adult Children of Adoptees
Conscious Adoption
Parent Education Group
  • Adoptive parent who had COMPLETED a six-session parent education course
  • Click here to join
Adoption Mosaic offers individual consultations with Astrid Castro. Consultations are not therapeutic services. One-on-one sessions with Astrid offer:

  • Empathetic, experience, and education based listening
  • Time to talk about you/your family’s challenges and successes
  • Individualized advice based on you/your family’s situation
  • One-on-one time with a caring, knowledgeable, open-minded adoption professional
ADOPTION MOSAIC