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Associate Executive Director of Communications

claudia@affcny.org | 646.688.4321

Claudia officially joined the Coalition in June of 2016. As a birth mother who relinquished her first born son into a traditional voluntary domestic infant closed adoption situation in 1987, she has been an active player in the online adoption community for almost two decades.

As a birth parent advocate, she is known for her focus on ethics in adoption practices and expanding the public’s understanding of the birth parent experience. She has written extensively about her own experiences and feelings as well as publishing the voices of others on her website, Musings of the Lame. Her writings on adoption have been published in The New York Times, Adoption Today Magazine, Adoption Constellation Magazine and many others. She has been interviewed by Dan Rather, Montel Williams and appeared on Huffington Post and other radio and print interviews over the years.  Most recently, she spoke to  Time Magazine. She has also presented at various adoption conferences around the country including invitations to represent birth families at the White House and the State Department.

Extremely passionate about restoring the rights of adult adoptees to their original birth certificates, Claudia has worked on numerous Adoptee Rights campaigns across the nation including lobbying at the annual National State Legislator’s Summit and organizing the Adoptee Rights Coalition’s demonstrations.  Joining with the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York helped successfully change the original birth certificate laws in New York in 2019, and then both Vermont and Massachusetts in 2022.

Her personal journey into the online world of adoption list servers, forums, blogs and websites highlighted a natural aptitude for all things internet which eventually lead her to marketing. She is a former Director of Social Media and is professionally trained in search engine optimization and social networking as well as website design. As the Coalition’s Director of Outreach and Advocacy and now the Associate Executive Director of Communications, Claudia oversees all aspect of internal communications and with her marketing team, maintains the website and social media properties, promotes the Coalition’s events, trainings and services, acts as the main organizer for the annual New York State Foster Care and Adoption Conference, and cultivates the Coalition’s legislation connections and influence.

Now in a successful adoption reunion with her oldest son since 2007, Claudia lives in Kingston, New York with all four of her children and four cats, 5 chickens and too many fish. She enjoys something she refers to as “gardening” that hides her obsession with moss and rocks and frequently dreams about becoming an art therapist when she grows up. 

Connect with Claudia on any of the communities below and find her on the AFFCNY.Network!