From Sara Lively, M.S.Ed., Founder of Adoption Paths
With more than twenty years of professional experience, along with personal experience as an adoptive mother, I am uniquely qualified to guide you as you embark on your adoption journey – whether you’re exploring whether or not adoption is right for you, searching for the path most suitable for you, or waiting for your child to come home.
My highest priorities are ethics and compassion in the adoption process. I intentionally keep my practice small, serving no more than 20 adopting parents at one time, to provide hands-on, personalized service. I provide all the direct services to clients of Adoption Paths, working with associates or referring to other professionals as specialized needs arise.
Professional and Personal Background
After earning my Masters Degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania, I worked for many years as the Executive Director of three nonprofit organizations serving women and children in crisis. This experience gave me the skills I use today to support and guide all members of the adoption triad. As they come together around the placement of an infant, birth parents and adopting parents are typically under great stress, and all need the validation and empathy I provide.
In 2000 with my husband, after raising my birth son to adulthood, I became the mother of a newborn boy whose courageous birth parents chose us to become his parents. With my first-hand experience with open adoption, I’m dedicated to the benefits of openness, and yet respectful of the wishes of birth and adoptive parents. Just as no two children are alike, there’s no “cookie cutter” approach to any adoption process.
While my life as an adoptive mother informs and inspires me, I take very seriously the importance of the professional qualifications that are necessary to do this work well. In addition to my experience in crisis intervention during my prior career in nonprofit organizations, I’ve chosen to participate in the best adoption-related trainings through the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, Ethica, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, Pact: An Adoption Alliance, the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, and more.
I also have specialized training in addiction and prenatal substance exposure – important issues in the adoption process which are too often overlooked by other adoption professionals.
Recognized as expert in my field, I currently teach adoption classes and seminars at various colleges in Northern California. I also have led adoption groups and workshops for Open Path (formerly Resolve of Northern California) and for the fertility clinics at Stanford University and Fertility Physicians of Northern California.
Previously an adoption facilitator, I worked directly with many pregnant women who made adoption plans for their babies. These experiences richly inform my current work with adopting parents as they come to understand the role that the birth parents play in their children's lives.
I look forward to the honor of serving you.
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