What’s New in Adoption? Panel Presentation

Panel:

Betsie Norris, Adoptee, Executive Director and Founder of Adoption Network Cleveland
Recognizing adoption as a lifelong process rather than a one-time legal event, Betsie founded the nonprofit Adoption Network Cleveland in 1988 to provide support, education, and advocacy to others after her personal journey of searching for and reuniting with her birth family. She has led the groundbreaking and successful organization for 36 years, helping thousands and changing laws along the way.

Jennifer Collins, Adoptive Parent
Jennifer Collins lives in Lakewood with her wife, Beth, and their 17-year-old son Alex. Their 18-year-old son, Jacob, lives a half mile away in a wonderful group home for people with special needs. She has known their sons since they were weeks old and met them through the county foster care system. Jennifer is a special education teacher and Beth is an accountant.

Lindsey Huling, Birth Parent
Lindsey lives in Massillon with her fiancé Brian and two-year-old pup, Daisee. She is a birth mother to her 15-year-old son who she placed at birth. She and her son have maintained an open adoption, regularly seeing each other a few times a year.

Amy Zlotnik, Adoptee
Amy Zlotnik lives in Solon, with her husband, Mitchell, not far from her two adult children, Brandon and Kayla. She is an adoptee who reunited with her birth parents and two siblings when the Ohio records were unsealed in 2015. As they all live in the Cleveland area, they have been able to be a part of each other’s lives and families.