Upcoming Workshops & Events

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Discussing the Both/And of Mother’s Day: An Adoptee Panel

An adoption panel delving into the nuances of Mother’s Day, hosted by Sandhya Oaks (Speaker and Co-Founder of the Adoptee Table) and Melissa Guida-Richards of Adoptee Thoughts.

For an hour we feel feature our 5 Panelists, who will share what it means to hold the both/and of mother’s day.

Our Panelists Are…

Your purchase covers the cost of one ticket for your household for an hour long panel with 5 adoptees having a collective conversation and what mother’s day holds for each unique adoptee and a 30 minute discussion with hosts Melissa & Sandhya, where you will have a chance to ask all your questions with two adoption educators with lived experience.

What are our qualifications?

Melissa Guida-Richards is an adoptee advocate, an educator, and the author of What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption. She was adopted in 1993 from Colombia to a family in the USA. After her viral essay, “My Adoptive Parents Hid My Racial Identity From Me for 19 Years,” was published in Huffington Post in April 2019. She soon launched the Adoptee Thoughts Instagram and Podcast to help elevate adoptee voices and educate adoptive parents on the nuances and complexity of adoption. She has appeared on news outlets such as Washington Post, NYT, Tamron Hall, Good Day LA and has given workshops to dozen of agencies for adoptive parents and adoption professionals. For more, check out AdopteeThoughts.com.

Sandhya is a Ministry Leader, Spiritual Director, writer, and speaker. She is the co founder of The Adoption Table, and walks with Adoptees and those in the adoption constellation through healing, restoration and cultural identity reclamation work. She is one who brings light to dark places and invites others to courageously do the same. She is a Transracial Adoptee with Pakistani and Indian roots and her joys include traveling, gathering around the table, and water sports. You can find more of her good work at sandhyaoaks.com

Praise for Workshops by Melissa:

“I wish more adoptive parents and their extended families were attending the incredible online workshops being put on by The Adoption Companion. We listened to Melissa Guida-Richards today.. Trans-racial adoptee and author of “What white parents should know about Trans-racial adoption” . It was so eye opening for me and I have been in the adoption space for 12 years.” ~Justin Foxton, Adoptive Parent and Educator

“Wonderful, well-organized and informative!” ~Anonymous Adoptive Parent

“As an adoptive parent, it has been so helpful to get a knowledgeable and approachable perspective from an adult adoptee.”~Dusadee S.

When & where are the classes?

Panel will be held on Zoom from 8pm – 9:30pm EST on May 31st, 2023