TITLE: Adoptees & Aging

DESCRIPTION

Aging is an inevitable process that affects each of us differently. As adoptees there are stages of our lives that have significant impacts in relation to aging: coming out of the fog, parenting as an adoptee, the loss of an adoptive/birth parent, and the journey of processing our own definition of legacy when we may not have access to our own family history and/or culture. In this panel we might discuss:

Significant milestones in your life as an adoptee
Contemplating about aging
Losing or caring for an adoptive parent, guardian, or birth parent. What is unique to the experience of loss as an adoptee?
Creating your own legacy as a person/family

PANELISTS

Glenn Morey (he/him/his) is a Korean adoptee (1960) and co-creator of the documentary film project, Side by Side, presenting the stories of 100 Korean adoptees, filmed in 7 countries and 16 cities—Best Short Documentary at the Social Justice Film Festival, and selected by the San Diego Asian, Boston Asian American, and Dumbo film festivals. Side by Side is adapted as a New York Times Op Doc, Given Away, as well as a 12-screen video art installation with exhibitions in Seoul and NYC, and an Audible Original titled, Given Away. Now in his 63rd year, and after a lifetime of shame and denial, Glenn can share how community and Side by Side transformed the last 10 years into his happiest on the planet.

Susan Devan Harness (she/her) is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, a cultural anthropologist, and the multiple award-winning author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption. Her experience as an American Indian transracial adoptee has helped to inform the child placement community and beyond of the very real issues of transracial adoption. She has conducted public radio interviews, appeared on numerous podcasts, as well as on the TEDxMileHigh Stage. Ms. Harness holds MAs in Cultural Anthropology and Creative Nonfiction, both from Colorado State University, where she is an affiliate of the Department of Anthropology and Geography. Susan Devan Harness believes that the many events of life adoptees experience as they age have the power to change their original ideas and beliefs about their personal adoption story. The generation that led the way on critical adoption research is also the generation that can truly tell a life story.

Susan Harris O’Connor, MSW, LICSW is a tri-racial, transracial adoptee who was raised in Massachusetts. She is a national speaker and solo performance artist of her book, The Harris Narratives: An Introspective Study of a Transracial Adoptee. Susan has been the recipient of numerous awards such as Worcester State University’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement, Boston University’s Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Social Work Award and NASW-MA Greatest Contributions to the Field of Social Work Award. Susan is extremely excited to be on a panel to discuss the topic of the aging adoptee as this is the phase of life she’s currently in.

Robert O’Connor (he/him) is an adult transracial adoptee (TRA) who experienced multiple failed adoptions and foster care placements as one of the first generations of transracial adoptive families. Robert was an early contributor to the development and delivery of TRA training to parents and to professionals and served on the federal Children’s Bureau’s training and technical assistance team for adoption. He has been a fierce advocate for open records and for adult TRAdoptees and was an initiator of the use of adult TRA panels. Robert is the social work department chair, and founding director of the Multicultural Title IV-E Stipend Program at Metro State University in Minnesota. Robert is excited to participate in this unique conversation that truly addresses the reality of adoption as a lifelong journey.

Alternate Panelist, Susan Kiyo Ito (she/her) is a domestic, biracial Japanese American adoptee. She was adopted in 1959 to a Japanese American family. She edited the anthology A Ghost at Heart's Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption and has written extensively about her adoption, as well as performed a solo show, The Ice Cream Gene, around the US. Her memoir, I WOULD MEET YOU ANYWHERE is forthcoming from The Ohio State University in Fall 2023. Susan continues to be amazed at the lifelong impact and repercussions of adoption, and looks forward to discussing this with others on this panel.