Join us and Dr. Oh Myo Kim for an illuminating conversation on her time parenting her two children while in Korea as a Fulbright researcher and professor at Yonsei University. Dr. Kim graces us with her perspective on Korean and US politics, how she is including her children in learning about current events, and what it has been like teaching Korean and international students about Korean adoption. Additionally, Dr. Kim sheds light on her newest research on adoptees who search but do not find, and DOKADs (descendants of Korean adoptees) and the politics of identity within the next generation, and the legacies of adoption for us all.
Oh Myo Kim Bio
Oh Myo is a counseling psychologist who researches adoption and identity. She is primarily a mixed-methods and qualitative researcher. She holds a BA in English, a Master of Divinity, and a PhD in Counseling Psychology. Oh Myo teaches classes for undergraduates and graduate students in the Mental Health Counseling program at Boston College. She is currently a visiting professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea on a Fulbright Fellowship.
https://www.childrenofadoptees.com
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
Join us for our second episode of season 2 with Shannon Bae. Shannon is a long-time friend, fellow Korean adoptee community activist and organizer, and mother of two amazing kids. This intimate conversation took place in Seoul in the summer of 2023 during the International Korean Adoptee Association's 6th Korea Gathering. In our shared ancestral land, Shannon generously shares about her decision to not explicitly share her adoption story with her children at this point in their development, and her juxtaposing experiences giving birth in Korea and the United States while continuing to cultivate a deeper relationship with her birth mother. Shannon also discusses her children's experiences moving back and forth between Korea and the United States, raising them bilingual, and why she doesn't view translating for adoptee reunions as work.
Shannon Bae Bio
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Audio Production: Augustina Moore & Adrien Prevost
https://august222222.com
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
Join us for a fierce and loving conversation with Cynthia Mumtaz Anderson, Pakastani adoptee mother of two and social justice professional. Cynthia shares about her inspiring practice of Kitchen Table Politics where she has honest conversations with her children and partner about current events, how they are affecting their lives, and what they are going to do about it together. We talk about her feelings about the changing political landscape, and witnessing her sons' heartbreak while she empowers them to use their privilege to defend themselves and the people they love. We also touch on belonging, safety, citizenship, white allyship, forgiveness, and trust with special focus on Cynthia's journey of revising her relationship with performative interactions and modeling self love for her sons and her own inner child.
Cynthia Anderson Bio
Cynthia Anderson's biological name is Mumtaz which she has tattooed on the inside of her arm. She is the ammi (mother in Urdu) of two amazing boys, wife, daughter, Pakistani American adoptee, and she believes that our true worth in this life is measured by the kindness, love, and compassion we offer to others. She has worked at the University of Washington in Seattle for 19 years as an academic adviser and is active in social justice work there and in her community.
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
Hello all~ We're thrilled to be back for Season 2 after a lengthy hiatus! Episode 1 dropping soon. We've missed you! <3 N & R
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández & Augustina Moore (august222222.com)
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
In this episode, Jenna Corriveau takes us on her journey out of the fog of internalized white supremacy, adoptee “fawn response”, isolation, and harmful familial relationships, and into personal authenticity, self love, adoptee community, and empowerment as a BIPOC adoptee mother. She generously shares her belief in brain science, learning nervous system regulation, and giving oneself daily grace, especially as an adoptee parent. Jenna is un-schooling and eclectic homeschooling her three children, and is deep in the process of de-schooling herself, as an extension of reclaiming her identity around her intelligence and personal autonomy.
https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/
https://mindsightinstitute.com/
Jenna Corriveau Bio
Jenna Corriveau is a 39-year-old Colombian Transracial Adoptee, raised in CT. She and her partner Tucker have 3 children: 7, 5 and 1-year-old. In addition to being a parent she has over 15 years of experience working with children and families. Her work spans from preschool teaching, foster care system, practicing Synergetic Play Therapy, parent coaching and Adoption Mosaic. She practices gentle brain/body-based parenting. Currently, she can be found de-schooling and secular home-educating with her family.
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Editing: Frederico Soler Fernández
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
Join us for a beautiful conversation with adoptee mother, Astrid Castro and daughter, Maya Papaya Castro Dabbeni. They generously share about their tremendous love and bond, and shed light on how intergenerational trauma and painful legacies of adoption have affected their relationship, perspectives, and behaviors. We also discuss the importance of mirroring and how unique it is for adoptees and children of adoptees; their unique birth family reunion story; birth language acquisition within adoptee families; creating adoption fluency; and moving from isolation as adoptees into community together with our children.
https://www.adoptionmosaic.com/
Astrid Castro Bio
Astrid Castro (she/her/hers) is the founder and CEO of Adoption Mosaic. Adoption Mosaic is a BIPOC adoptee, woman-led business that seeks to build an inviting adoption conscious community by providing innovative adoptee-centered programs and support.Including a monthly virtual panel series called We the Experts: Adoptee Speaker Series. Astrid has a degree in sociology with an emphasis in adoption. For twenty plus years, she has traveled the country to lead youth groups, present workshops on transracial parenting, talking with children about adoption, and various other workshops focusing on adoption. Prior to creating Adoption Mosaic, Astrid worked in both the private and public sectors of various adoption organizations such as the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Holt International and Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange.
Astrid co-authored Adoption in the Movies, which takes the reader on a guided tour of 27 movies and documentaries that are ‘dripping with adoption’ which are asking questions that encourage viewers to engage in ongoing dialogue and discussion. She also developed an innovative, evidence-based, 27-minute training DVD titled, Adoptive Parent Training:Developing Communication Skills. The training demonstrates how adoptive parents can communicate openly and honestly with family, friends and especially children. Astrid is a former member of the board of directors of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the author of many articles on the subject of adoption and contributed a chapter to the book Parenting as Adoptees.
Astrid’s personal experiences as an adoptee, a woman of color, and growing up in a white family and community, fuel her professional path to helping others. Astrid is aware of the benefit of post-adoption services for individuals and their families and seeks to bring these services to the adoption community. Her life-long interest in adoption is rooted in her own adoption at the age of four from Colombia (along with her older sister). Astrid has been in reunion with her birth family in Colombia since December 2011. Read about Astrid’s journey of searching and finding her birth mother in The Oregonian.
When Astrid is not working she loves to spend time with family, friends and enjoying the adventures of life as the mama of an amazing daughter.
Maya Papaya Castro Dabbeni Bio
Maya has grown up hearing and talking about adoption as a child of an adoptee. She is biracial, Colombian and Italian, as well as trilingual, Italian, Spanish and English. At a young age, Maya was a driving force in finding her maternal birth family. To this day, she is still uncovering connections to her Colombian roots, in addition to exploring how generational trauma and epigenetics affect children of adoptees. Maya is excited to share her experience of being a "child of an adoptee" and to bring this topic to light. Maya is currently a third year student at San Jose State University majoring in International Business with a double minor in Spanish and Italian.
Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park
Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge
Editing: Frederico Soler Fernández
Artwork: Dalhe Kim
Listen on: iTunes & Spotify
Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast
Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast