TITLE: Non-Adoptee Siblings

DESCRIPTION

This event was held on November 19, 2022 featuring panelists Gabrielle Blair, Julia Caplan, and Patrick Gieseke. We are so excited for our final 2022 edition of We the Experts: Adoptee Ally Speaker Series. Join us as we listen and learn from these remarkable panelists who will share their experiences of growing up with siblings who are adoptees, and the complexity that can bring.

PANELISTS:

Gabrielle Blair (she/her) is the author of NYT bestseller, Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way To Think About Abortion. She is also the founder of DesignMom.com, started in 2006, and Alt Summit, the blockbuster annual conference for online content creators and creative entrepreneurs, currently in its 13th year. Gabrielle and her husband, Ben Blair, have six children — Ralph, Maude, Olive, Oscar, Betty, and Flora June. After six years in Oakland, CA they now live in Normandy, France. You can follow Gabrielle on Instagram and Twitter at @DesignMom. Gabrielle wanted to join this panel since following #adopteetwitter for the last two years and experiencing a huge shift in how she thinks about adoption.

Julia Caplan (she/her), a lifelong social justice activist, is Executive Director of State of Equity, a nonprofit organization that "transforms public institutions to advance racial equity and health through capacity building, government accountability, and community partnerships." (read more at https://stateofequity.phi.org/). She has been with State of Equity since 2010. Prior to this role, Julia directed the California Senior Leaders Alliance, raised funds for Medical Students for Choice, led Jewish Youth for Community Action, and was a co-founder of A Jewish Voice for Peace. She lives in Oakland, California with her wife and little dog Rocket. Julia loves her brother to the moon and back. She was 7-years-old when he joined her family. He was hands-down the best part of her entire childhood, and is one of her bestest friends to this day.

Patrick Gieseke (he/him) is the youngest of four children in his biological family. His two oldest siblings are also biological to his family. Patrick’s also has an older sister who is an inter-country, interracial adoptee from South Korea. They were all raised on a farm in Minnesota. Having an interracial adoptee sibling has definitely influenced his views on race and racism. Patrick owns a general contracting business (Gieseke Homes, LLC) in Minnesota where he lives with his wife and their blended families. He wanted to be part of this panel to learn more about the lives and influences of other siblings of adoptees and their adopted siblings.