April 6, 2019
All Day
Venue
out of state
Indiana Adoptee Network
Organizer
New Beginnings; Discovering Your Roots
This conference is for Adopted persons, first family members, adoptive families, professionals and anyone wanting to learn more about the lifelong journey of adoption. We’ll dive into groundbreaking topics including keynotes by some of the most respected leaders in the adoption community.
In addition to Keynotes and Entertainment, Indiana Adoptee Network’s Spring 2019 Conference will feature a series of workshops to assist attendees from any state who have recently gained access to their records, those that are still denied access along with adoptees & parents at are all stages of search & reunion.
Keynotes
Reshma McClintock is an international adoptee from Calcutta, India. In 2015 she returned to the city of her birth as the Subject of the film, Calcutta is My Mother; her documentary is expected to premiere in 2019. Reshma is the founder of DearAdoption.com; a website sharing adoptees personal lived experiences. DA has proven to be an invaluable platform and resource. Reshma is an avid adoptee advocate, writer, and speaker; she has spoken at several conferences and has written multiple adoption-related articles. She enjoys life in Seattle, Washington with her husband and daughter. https://dearadoption.com
Rhonda Churchill, formerly known as, Baby Girl Gafford was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Rhonda lives outside Tulsa and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has worked with adoptees and their families for over 30 years, specializing in the treatment of adoption and attachment issues. In 1981 she began a search for her biological grandfather; a search that would span 30 years and over 4,500 miles, from Oklahoma City to London. In 2013 Rhonda penned The Fifth and Final Name: Memoir of An American Churchill, a finalist in the Oklahoma Center for The Book Awards.
Entertainment
Documentary: Calcutta is My Mother
By Reshma McClintock
My struggle, as an adoptee, has never been in feeling displaced within my own family or in finding difficulty connecting with loved ones. My struggle has been in feeling caught between two worlds. While my nationality is Indian, I am very unfamiliar with Indian culture. I have had a growing desire to nurture that undiscovered part of me and understand it better. Within my family, I know exactly who I am; I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother but beyond that, there is a large part of myself with which I am unfamiliar.
When I was approached and asked to have my first return to Calcutta documented, I knew it would be an incredible opportunity to speak on behalf of many international adoptees who also have a need to connect to their culture. I will now have the privilege to really unearth the heritage within me, so I may embrace it more fully.
Calcutta is My Mother will document my first return to the place where my life began; my first real view of what my biological mother endured and what my life could have been. It will be an examination of a culture to which I have no connection. Below is a link to the trailer for Calcutta is My Mother. I hope this is something you choose to be a part of so that, together, we can open doors for other adoptees whose feelings mirror mine.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Plainfield Indianapolis Airport
Have questions about Indiana Adoptee Network 3rd Annual Conference? Contact Indiana Adoptee Network
About the Indiana Adoptee Network
Indiana Adoptee Network, Inc. is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization committed to enhancing the lives of our Hoosier families that have been touched by Adoption with an emphasis on education and empowerment. We recognize and respect each individual, regardless of where they are in their Adoption walk and strive to provide solutions, resources, and connections for Adoptees and their families.