Adult Adoptee Support Group

Tony Hynes, Ph.D. was adopted by his parents, Mary and Janet, in the mid-1990s. He has been invited to be a speaker at conferences on adoption and foster care throughout the nation and has a passion for speaking up for children and families touched by challenges in the adoption and foster care system. He writes about his experiences growing up as both an interracial adoptee and as a child growing up in an LGBTQ-headed household in his memoir “The Son With Two Moms“, which has been cited in the DC family court system to inform best practice. Tony’s work and writing have been featured in The Atlantic, and he is a contributing author to books such as What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption and Adoption Unfiltered. Tony completed his master’s thesis in Sociology on the psychology of children within the same-sex headed household, and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His dissertation focuses on social connectedness among adult, interracial adoptees. As the Training and Content Development Specialist at C.A.S.E., Tony has designed innovative training curriculums that help families and professionals respond to evaluation and assessment tools that encapsulate holistic pictures of adoptees and foster youth.

Rachel Shifaraw was internationally adopted from Santiago, Chile at 6 weeks of age. She has lived in Maryland ever since & currently resides in Frederick with her husband & four children. Rachel has a Bachelor’s Degree in Forensic Psychology from Trinity University in Washington, DC & an Associate of Applied Science from Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. Rachel came to C.A.S.E. with a writing contribution that was published in the Beneath The Mask Workbook & she has been passionate about working with the organization from that day forward. Rachel joined the Emerging Leaders Council in hopes of giving a voice of lived adoption experience to assist C.A.S.E. in their mission of offering adoption support. When not busy with her family or small pet care company, Rachel spends her time writing descriptive stories & hanging out with animals on the local Frederick farms.