Press Release: Center for Adoption Support and Education Honors a Former Congresswoman and an Award-Winning Journalist with a Star of Adoption Award at Annual Gala April 27

BURTONSVILLE, Md.-Former Congresswoman, journalist and author Marjorie Margolies, and journalist and author, Caroline Clarke, will each be presented with a Star of Adoption Award at the Center for Adoption Support and Education’s annual Branching Out Gala at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Thursday, April 27.

‘The personal and professional accomplishments of Marjorie Margolies and Caroline Clarke are inspiring,’ said Debbie Riley, co-founder and chief executive officer of C.A.S.E. ‘Their tireless contributions throughout their careers and their personal lives have increased awareness for the critical services that foster and adoptive families need to thrive. C.A.S.E. recognizes them for making a lasting impact on the lives of foster and adoptive children and for their outstanding contributions to adoption advocacy.’

Margolies is a former Pennsylvania congresswoman, elected in 1992. She became the first unmarried U.S. citizen to adopt a child internationally; Lee Heh from Korea and four years later, Holly from Vietnam. Marjorie chronicled their experiences in the 1976 best-seller, They Came to Stay, the first of four books she authored. Later she married a partner with four girls, had two biological children and became the legal guardian to three Vietnamese boys. Currently, she is the President of Women’s Campaign International, a group that provides advocacy training for women throughout the world. She teaches media and politics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Clarke has served a host of roles at Black Enterprise including general manager, Interactive Media; senior editor and editor-at-large, Black Enterprise Magazine; and host, Black Enterprise Business Report, a nationally syndicated television show. She is currently managing director of the Women of Power brand and host of the Women of Power TV show. Her memoir, Postcards from Cookie, highlights her own personal story of adoption and reunion with her biological mother, who was the daughter of renowned musical artist Nat King Cole.

Additional recipients of the Star of Adoption Award are Matt McGuire of Olney, Maryland, an adult adopted person who is a child welfare program specialist with the Administration for Children and Families; Catherine and Paul Gonzalez who have four children through birth, and 10 children through international adoption; and Daphne Boteler, an Alexandria, Virginia, teenager and honors student, adopted when she was two years old, who epitomizes the life of a vibrant adopted child.

The Gala will be emceed by Barbara Harrison, anchor of News4 Midday and creator of NBC4’s award-winning ‘Wednesday’s Child’, which features foster children in need of permanent adoptive homes. The Gala is chaired by Phil Gibbs, president of Hamel Builders, and Maria Garcia Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Anderson Fire Protection, Inc. Honorary Chairs include First Lady of Montgomery County, Maryland, Catherine Leggett and Mayor of Somerset, Maryland, Jeffrey Slavin.

Tickets for the business formal Gala may be purchased for $125 by April 20 on C.A.S.E.’s website www.adoptionsupport.org. The Gala will start at 6:30 p.m. and will feature a silent auction to benefit C.A.S.E. Online bidding on silent auction items is now available until 7:30 p.m. April 27, at www.biddingforgood.com/branchingout.

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is a nationally-recognized leader in adoption competent education, advocacy and training. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to strengthen the well-being of foster and adoptive families, promote adoption awareness, enhance adoption sensitivity, and develop the skills for professionals and families to empower children to thrive. With five offices in the Washington, D.C., area, C.A.S.E. has provided services for more than 6,000 children and families since its founding in 1998. Partnerships with Jockey Being Family and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption enable C.A.S.E. to have greater reach in providing counseling, education, resources and training for adoption-competency nationally and internationally. C.A.S.E. is developing an adoption-competent National Training Initiative funded by a five-year grant with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Children. For more information, visit www.adoptionsupport.org.