C.A.S.E. Gala 2026 Program

Dr. Michelle Brooks-Thompson,
Grammy-nominated Indie Recording Artist and Season 3 Finalist on NBC’s The Voice

Michelle Brooks-Thompson is a Grammy-nominated independent recording artist who gained widespread recognition as a finalist on Season 3 of NBC’s The Voice. In 2017, she earned the title of Grand Champion at the renowned Amateur Night at the Apollo in New York winning $20,000, in addition to clinching victories in over 21 vocal competitions. She has become known by all as a dynamic powerhouse vocalist! Her vocal tone and power are often compared to the late musical icon, Whitney Houston. As quoted by Maroon 5’s lead singer and NBC’s the Voice former vocal coach Adam Levine, “Michelle has been gifted with a supernatural singing ability.” She has shared the stage with both Grammy and Stellar Award-winning artists from the gospel and secular music scenes.

Josephine Falola is a dedicated nursing student at Towson University with aspirations of becoming a surgeon. Her journey to higher education has been shaped by resilience, perseverance, and a deep commitment to serving others. Through every challenge she has faced, Josephine has remained focused on building a future where she can use healthcare to advocate for and care for vulnerable communities.

At Towson University, Josephine is actively involved in campus leadership as a Resident Assistant, where she mentors and supports fellow students while fostering a strong sense of community. She is also deeply committed to service and professional development within the healthcare field. Josephine has volunteered in clinical settings and continues to seek opportunities that strengthen her ability to care for patients with empathy, cultural awareness, and compassion.

Josephine’s academic focus in nursing and the sciences reflects her passion for medicine and patient care. Her goal is to combine her nursing foundation with advanced medical training to pursue a career in surgery, where she hopes to provide life-changing care to patients while also serving as a role model for young people who come from backgrounds similar to her own.

Receiving the Harris K. Leonard Scholarship is both an honor and a meaningful reminder of how community support can empower students to reach their full potential. Josephine is incredibly grateful for the encouragement and investment in her education, and she looks forward to continuing to make a positive impact through healthcare and service.

Saulius was born in Alytus, Lithuania in 2006. He was left at the hospital by his mother immediately after his birth and lived at a “baby house” until he was 4 when he was moved to an orphanage. At the Lithuanian Adoption Court hearing he was asked if he wanted to move to the USA with them and was ok with changing his name. He agreed to both! He was adopted in 2011 at the age of 5 by John and Veronica Reardon and brought to the USA after only knowing them for 3 weeks. His first year was a busy one, new name – John Theodore Saulius Reardon – new language, attending school for the first time, getting glasses, extensive dental work, and open-heart surgery.

After he had acquired enough English, we started going to C.A.S.E. in 2012. There was so much to explain to him about his background and his early life, we wanted to make sure we used the correct language at the correct level for him. We had amazing counselors (Mabilia, Liz, Penny, Casey) that helped us to explain adoption, how families are formed, deal with his ADHD diagnosis in grade school and his autism diagnosis in high school. When we needed a psychiatrist, C.A.S.E. had a relationship with one (Dr. Cullins) that worked seamlessly with our counselors.

We took advantage of the KAN Conference every year and John is looking forward to volunteering at them in the future. He has attended the W.I.S.E. Up! programs for the grade school and middle school age groups. C.A.S.E. has offered several online groups for teens (Beneath the Mask, High School Senior Group, etc.) which John has attended and has thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

The special events, such as the movie screening about searching for your birth parents, are always favorite activities which we have to attend. He always learns something new and finds a new way to look at his personal situation in a new way. He also loves to listen and help the others in the groups. His favorite activities are music and theater. He took guitar and piano during high school, spends hours playing his electric guitar in the basement. His favorite genre is classic rock, but he appreciates all live music, attending concerts is a family event – Kiss, Springsteen, Oak Ridge Boys, AC/DC, NIH philharmonic, Big Bad VooDoo Daddy. He really appreciates live theater and has been on the staff of the Maryland Community Theater Festival and Eastern States Theater Festival for several years helping out wherever needed.

During high school John has been very active in the Glenelg Broadway Connections group – the theater group for special education students. He is a peer mentor and has had several major roles in their productions. Last year they performed “Annie” and John was cast as “lead orphan” – his attitude was that his life experience would improve his performance of that character since he was the only one on stage that had any real-life experience in the role. John will be graduating from Glenelg High School this spring and plans to attend Howard County Community College in the fall. He is hoping to go into the electrical trade unless his dream of being a rock and roll star happens.

After attending an adoption conference in hopes to gain more information about the adoption process, Brian and Lauren decided that they wanted to pursue older child adoption. In recognizing the need for families, specifically for older children coming from foster care, they felt compelled to keep sibling groups together.

In September 2023, Brian and Lauren were matched with a sibling group from Texas – two young boys (ages 6 and 8) and a teenage girl (age 15). After several visits over the next few months, both in Texas and at the family home in Maryland, the kids were officially placed in the Flynn home in January 2024. After six months of placement, it was time to make it official. The adoption was finalized in July 2024.

Brian and Lauren were diligent about accessing as many resources as possible to support their family, including exceptional C.A.S.E. therapist Casey, peer parent coaching, ongoing training and support groups, and utilizing their family and friends network. They have remained committed to permanency with their children since day one, navigating challenges with patience, strength, and teamwork.

With the help of C.A.S.E. therapist Casey, Brian and Lauren soon became advocates for their children, ensuring school and childcare staff understood the unique needs of kids from trauma through accommodations and education.

This family is a true example of not only finding permanency for children in the foster care system but also providing a loving home where siblings can remain together.

Kayla is honored to be recognized for her strength and resilience. Born in Yunnan, China, and adopted at the age of two, her life has been shaped by perseverance, identity, and the power of a strong support system.

Growing up, Kayla faced challenges that were not always visible. Although she performed well academically, her learning differences made certain aspects of school confusing and difficult to navigate. Thanks to early intervention and the attentiveness of her parents and educators, she was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disability in elementary school. Later, she was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD—each bringing unique obstacles, but also deeper self-awareness.

As an autistic individual, Kayla has learned to navigate a world that is not always designed with neurodiversity in mind. Through persistence, self-advocacy, and the encouragement of those around her, she has continued to grow and move forward with determination.

Kayla’s journey has also included profound personal challenges, including a life-threatening medical crisis last year. Even in the face of uncertainty and fear, she remained determined to keep going. Her resilience is defined not by the absence of hardship, but by her unwavering commitment to never give up, no matter the obstacles in her path.

Today, Kayla reflects on her journey with gratitude—for her adoption story, for the early support that helped shape her path, and for the strong foundation her parents built through understanding and care. Her story is one of resilience, growth, and the courage to keep moving forward, again and again.

Debbie B. Riley, LCMFT, is C.A.S.E.’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Debbie B. Riley, LCMFT, CEO, is co-founder of The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), a national leader in mental health services for the foster care, kinship, and adoption community. A nationally recognized adoption expert, author, and public speaker, Ms. Riley has 40 years of professional experience, including health care management, administrative, designing and developing nationally acclaimed adoption-competent training programs, and direct delivery of specialized pre- and post-adoption counseling services. Ms. Riley created a continuum of innovative, culturally responsive, evidenced-informed programs to improve the behavioral outcomes of foster and adopted youth and their families, which have become nationally recognized models.

For over a decade, Ms. Riley has built and implemented a framework for training an adoption competent mental health workforce nationally, and is the founder of TAC (Training for Adoption Competency Curriculum). Through two federal grant awards to C.A.S.E from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Children and Families, Ms. Riley serves as the PI for the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) and the National Center for Child Welfare Competent Mental Health Services, to improve mental health outcomes for children and families experiencing child welfare systems.

Ms. Riley is co-author of the book, Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens (Riley and Meeks, 2006) and Adoption Specific Therapy, A Guide to Helping Adopted Children and Their Families Thrive (Waterman, Langley, Miranda, and Riley, 2018). She is a contributing author to The Need for Adoption Competent Mental Health Professionals in Transracial and Intercountry Adoptions, Cultural Guidance for Professionals (Fong and McRoy, 2016); Training for Adoption Competency Curriculum in The Routledge Handbook Of Adoption (Wrober, Helder, and Marr, 2020); Adoption as a Diversity Issue in Professional Preparation: Perceptions of Preservice Education Professionals, Adoptions Quarterly (Taymans, Marotta, Lynch, Riley, Ortiz, Schutt, Mallery, Embich, 2008); Adoption Competent Clinical Practice; Defining Its Meaning and Development, Adoption Quarterly (Atkinson, Freundlich, Gonet, Riley, 2013); and Training for Adoption Competency: Building a Community of Adoption-Competent Clinicians, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services (Atkinson and Riley, 2017).

Developed in 2020, the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board work closely with the C.A.S.E. Board of Directors and staff to enhance the organization’s local and national presence in the adoption, foster and kinship care communities.

They offer advice and recommendations to the organization, while also participating in public speaking, advocacy, and special fundraising events. While the council members are dedicated to their current role at C.A.S.E., they work with the intent to eventually assume leadership roles within the organization.

This evening members of our Emerging Leaders Advisory Board will share their stories and passion for our cause.

The generous donations of C.A.S.E.’s philanthropic community provides the ability to offer a sliding fee discount to families each year who do not qualify for grants but are unable to afford the full fee for our services. Please consider making a donation this evening so we can continue offering financial support to families in need.

Cathy Bernard,
Bernard Family Foundation

Rick founded PMG, an employee-owned company, in 1997 to provide integrated fundraising and direct mail production management services to nonprofit organizations and the agencies that serve them. He has a keen ability to build a team of smart, experienced, and caring people. He is always innovating how PMG delivers and manages mail production to benefit its clients.

After graduating with a degree in Public Accounting in 1981, he formed and managed a caging and data processing company, Palmer Technical Services. Palmer served the donation processing needs of nonprofits with significant direct mail fundraising programs. Rick earned his MBA from Loyola College in Maryland and subsequently founded PMG.

Rick’s volunteer work includes several board positions. He previously served as Vice President/Treasurer of Partners in Care, and currently he serves as Treasurer of the DMAW Educational Foundation, and on the Board of Trustees for the Indian Creek School. Rick was also a founding member of the Anne Arundel County Great Give initiative and served on both its steering committee and training sub-committee.

He is also an adoptive parent.