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Get to Know Daniel
How did you first come to know C.A.S.E.?
I first came to C.A.S.E. to ease my transition into adoption in 2001. Through my childhood and adolescence, my family and I have continued to benefit from C.A.S.E.’s expertise and have supported the wonderful work they do.
How has your work with C.A.S.E. impacted you and your family?
C.A.S.E. has been a continuous resource over the years for my family through therapy and activities. I believe with the help of our fabulous therapist at C.A.S.E., my family and I managed to rethink how we should speak to one another, how to effectively listen to one another, and how to process how one another feels without taking it too personally. As a child and teen growing up with ADHD, impulsivity was a struggle I needed to learn to take a minute and really evaluate how I felt in a moment before just reacting, and C.A.S.E. is where I learned those techniques. Also, having had the chance and honor to be nominated and selected as the 2016 Star of Adoption was an empowering and healing experience because I was able to share my story with others. Furthermore, having the opportunity to write a portion of the Beneath the Mask: For Teen Adoptees: Teens and Young Adults Share Their Stories continued that healing and acceptance process, while also providing the opportunity to help other adoptees and their parents. To my family and me, C.A.S.E. wasn’t just a therapy session, but a resource that helped bridge the gaps between a moody/anxious teen and his parents, and a resource to help all of us face the numerous complex questions that typically come with adoption, but are individually unique to each adoptee, their experiences, and their family.
Why did you want to become an Emerging Leader at C.A.S.E., and what do you hope to achieve during your time as a Board Member?
Serving as a board member would be a wonderful opportunity to develop my personal leadership skills while gaining a new perspective on the wonderful work C.A.S.E. does through a supporting role. Having had the opportunity to grow with C.A.S.E. over the years and share my story, it’s my hope that taking on this new role with C.A.S.E. will not only help to support the organization, but also the adoptees and their families. As a former C.A.S.E. spokes persona and the face of a C.A.S.E. fundraising campaign, I am very aware of C.A.S.E.’s need to balance the service it provides with the need for fundraising. I would be happy to implement programs and to raise funds during my term.
Tell us about your life outside C.A.S.E.: What do you do professionally and what are your interests outside work?
I graduated from Mercyhurst University with a major in Hospitality Management and a concentration in event planning and am now an event planner. My work mainly focuses on weddings and smaller events such as a recent NCAA college signing ceremony. I bake and I love trying new dishes when I have the opportunity. Beyond that I enjoy exploring what the DC, VA and MD area has to offer and I look forward to traveling internationally again soon.