Voices of Adoption amplifies authentic stories from across the adoption triad - birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive families - along with adoption service providers. Host Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart To Heart Adoptions and Clinical Mental Health Counselor and her co-host Nathan Gwilliam, founder & former CEO of Adoption.com, create a safe space for honest conversations about the complexities of adoption. Birth parents share their journeys of love, loss, and healing. Adoptees discuss identity, belonging, and their lived experiences. Adoptive families open up about challenges and beautiful moments. Adoption service providers offer insights from their professional experience supporting families throughout the process. Each episode bridges different perspectives within the adoption community, helping listeners understand that every adoption story is unique yet connected by common threads of resilience and hope. These conversations don't shy away from difficult emotions or complex questions. Instead, they honor the full spectrum of adoption experiences with empathy and respect. Join us for stories that educate, inspire understanding, and remind us that every voice in the adoption community matters.
Voices of Adoption
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Podcast Overview
Voices of Adoption amplifies authentic stories from across the adoption triad - birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive families - along with adoption service providers. Host Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart To Heart Adoptions and Clinical Mental Health Counselor and her co-host Nathan Gwilliam, founder & former CEO of Adoption.com, create a safe space for honest conversations about the complexities of adoption. Birth parents share their journeys of love, loss, and healing. Adoptees discuss identity, belonging, and their lived experiences. Adoptive families open up about challenges and beautiful moments. Adoption service providers offer insights from their professional experience supporting families throughout the process. Each episode bridges different perspectives within the adoption community, helping listeners understand that every adoption story is unique yet connected by common threads of resilience and hope. These conversations don't shy away from difficult emotions or complex questions. Instead, they honor the full spectrum of adoption experiences with empathy and respect. Join us for stories that educate, inspire understanding, and remind us that every voice in the adoption community matters.
Language
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Publishing Since
6/20/2025
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Recent Episodes
July 20, 2026
Finding Family After Foster Care and Adoption
He called 22 people, mom or dad, before he learned what family really means. Michael Sheaffer moved through eight foster homes by age six, lost his name and his siblings to adoption, and rebuilt his life one honest relationship at a time. Now he runs Welcome Home Youth Advocacy to walk beside foster and adoptive families through the hard middle. In this episode of Voices of Adoption with host Donna Pope, Michael Sheaffer shares his life story, and it is full of hope. Eight Homes, Zero Stability By age six, Michael had lived in eight foster homes and learned to treat every goodbye as the next adventure. He explains how kids build walls to survive and what steady adults can do to help them feel safe again. Adoption Is a Beginning Michael says movies end the story on adoption day, but real life starts there. He shares what adoptive families need most in the years that follow, and why a child's history should stay part of who they are. Found After Forty Years After four decades apart, Michael recently found his biological brother. He opens up about why that reunion matters and what he wishes every foster and adoptive family understood about belonging. Michael turns real pain into real help for families who feel alone. Listen now, then keep the conversation going. Download Your FREE Guide to Adoption at VoicesofAdoption.org. #Adoption #FosterCare #Adoptee #AdoptiveFamilies #OpenAdoption #VoicesofAdoption #WelcomeHomeYouth Follow Voices of Adoption Website: https://VoicesofAdoption.org YouTube: https://youtube.com/@VoicesofAdoptionShow Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Voices_Adoption Instagram: https://instagram.com/Voicesof_Adoption TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@Voices_of_Adoption LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/Voices-of-Adoption Nathan Gwilliam LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam Donna Pope LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/donna-pope-41652ba Connect With Michael Sheaffer Welcome Home Youth Advocacy: https://welcomehomeyouth.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcomehomeyouth/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welcomehomeyouth/ Email: mikes@welcomehomeyouth.org
July 17, 2026
What Your Adopted Child Is Really Trying to Tell You
For twenty-eight years, Cheryl Parkhurst has worked inside school systems with neurodivergent teenagers, and she has watched the same quiet pattern repeat in adoptive families. A child settles in, the calm honeymoon period passes, and then behavior that nobody expected starts to surface. In this episode of Voices of Adoption, co-hosted by Nathan Gwilliam and Donna Pope, host Donna sits down with Cheryl to talk about what that behavior is actually saying and what adoptive parents can do about it. Behavior Is Communication Cheryl's central message is simple and freeing. When an adopted child acts out, they are not scheming or testing you. They are telling you that something underneath needs attention. She walks through the hidden needs that can show up after a placement, the value of gathering information instead of guessing, and the difference between reacting to a behavior and answering the need behind it. Curiosity Changes the Conversation Instead of new rules and firmer consequences, Cheryl offers a gentler starting point. Pick a calm moment, lower the pressure, and ask with real care, what is going on here. Donna shares a tender story about a seven-year old and his birth parent that shows exactly why patience works better than panic. You Do Not Have to Do This Alone Cheryl is firm that families do better when they build a team around the child: a family doctor, a school counselor, a special education contact, and a social worker who all share what they see. She also explains how parents can move from advocating for their child to advocating with their child, so a young person learns to understand and ask for what they need. Listen and subscribe to Voices of Adoption wherever you get your podcasts. Download Your FREE Guide to Adoption at VoicesofAdoption.org. #VoicesOfAdoption #CherylParkhurst #Adoption #AdoptiveFamilies #Adoptee #BirthParents #Neurodivergent #ADHD #Autism #FASD #IEP #BehaviorIsCommunication #AdoptionSupport #YouAreNotAlone Connect with Voices of Adoption Website: https://VoicesofAdoption.org YouTube: https://youtube.com/@voicesofadoptionshow Instagram: https://instagram.com/voicesof_adoption Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577208399818 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@voices_of_adoption X: https://x.com/voices_adoption LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/voices-of-adoption Connect with Nathan Gwilliam LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam Connect with Donna Pope LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/donna-pope-41652ba Connect with Cheryl Parkhurst Website: https://www.cherylpankhurst.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.a.pankhurst Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheryl.a.pankhurst/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-ann-pankhurst-1b611855/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cherylpankhurst
June 30, 2026
A Korean Adoptee Filmmaker Turning Truth Into Belonging
Shelby Kilgore was seventeen when she traveled to the country she was born in and met the woman who had named her Beautiful Truth. One trip to South Korea became the beginning of a calling she has spent more than a decade pursuing. In this episode of Voices of Adoption, host Donna Pope interviews Shelby Kilgore, a Korean American adoptee and filmmaker who documents the stories of the adoption constellation, about the parents who prepared to raise her, the birth father who saved her photographs, and how telling the truth became her path toward healing.
48 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is Voices of Adoption?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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