Hi Also-Known-As community!
We hope you are enjoying the final weeks of winter as we prepare for warmer weather and spring flowers in bloom. March is Women’s History Month and has been celebrated dating back to 1987. The National Women’s History Alliance dubbed 2025’s theme as Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations. We felt it was only fitting to bring in our community’s fearless founder, Hollee McGinnis, to share some words of wisdom of what this theme means to her.
Best,
Lindsay Geier AKA 涂婷
Some words from Hollee McGinnis:
Women’s empowerment is empowerment for us all. Patriarchy has suppressed not only the female sex but the feminine forces of life: appreciation and honoring of that which gives and nourishes life and not just takes from it. We can see this in the constant need to consume, rather than create, the careless use of natural resources without giving anything in return.
It is time we begin to consider how we can bring into this world a new paradigm of harmony between what in eastern Taoist philosophy are called the forces of yin (feminine forces) and yang (masculine forces). Each of us carry both of these forces within us and so it is an opportunity for us all to become more aware of where we are out of balance. Are you being too forceful (masculine)? Are you being too passive (feminine)?
Wholeness comes from identifying your imbalance so you begin to make those shift, heal those parts of you that have atrophied, forgotten, or were conditioned from you. We have all been conditioned to believe you cannot be strong, that you cannot be beauty, that you cannot be creative, that our only worth is working and obeying others. It will be only when both sexes ~ men and women ~ fully realize that patriarchy forces us all to not be fully human that we will all be liberated from in.
Male genders have to see the straight jacket of toxic masculinity which limits a man to a stereotype of a human that is physically strong, emotionally weak, who behaves as a bully because their only worth comes from controlling others. Patriarchy has conditioned the female gender to enable and perpetuate the straight jacket of toxic masculinity through our permissiveness and desiring of those behaviors. Only together can we all break free from these shackles of patriarchy and be free to be our full humanity. Let us begin, now.
Board of Directors x Advisory Board Annual Dinner. Our Advisory Board plays a crucial role in providing guidance, direction, and support to the organization for a sustainable future. Thank you to our Advisory Board members who have continued to actively support Also-Known-As, Hollee McGinnis, Joy Lieberthal Rho, Marissa Martin, Mee Hyun Gerstein, Susan Becker, Jae Rindner, Bianca Kuijper, Jonas Eberle, Katherine Miller, Mike Mullen, Heather Gittens, Jacquelyn Wells, Tom Kaplan and Misha Ulrich.
February’s Navigating Relationships as an Adoptee
in collaboration with IAmAdoptee and Joy Lieberthal Rho
February’s Happy Hour at Bonnie Vee.
Come celebrate the coming of Spring with Also-Known-As in the Jersey ‘Koreatown’, Fort Lee! Make new friends, nosh on great eats, and…oh yeah…grab a cold brew (NA even). Can’t wait to see you there! 🍻
📅 Date: Tuesday, March 11th
⏰ Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
📍 Location: JJ DAK (144 Main St.
Fort Lee, NJ 07024)
💰 Cost: Pay your own way
✔️ RSVP: None, all adoptees & friends are welcome!
Join Also-Known-As and Megan Rakos (IG: @lovesupay), for an intimate evening of craft and conversation. Megan is adopted from Peru and an artist whose work uncovers themes of self-discovery, heritage, and the intricate ties between past and future.
Participants will use collage-making to produce a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork as a way to connect with heritage and themselves. Art making can be a powerful tool to work through and process complex trauma and build connections within yourself and others. No experience is necessary, just a desire to create and be in community with other adoptees! Some materials will be provided. Please bring your own scissors and any inspiration (cultural or otherwise), and/or a craft item to share with the group.
📅 Date: Wednesday, March 19th
⏰ Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
📍 Location: 134 West 29th St, 2nd Fl
New York, NY 10001
💰 Cost: $5 for members
$10 for non-members
🎓 The 2025 Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship is now live! One individual will be awarded a $1,000.00 (one-thousand dollars and zero cents) scholarship to support their full-time study at an accredited institution.
🎓 International adoptees are invited to apply if they are U.S. citizens; age 25 or under; and plan to enroll full-time in 2025 at an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school in the United States.
🎓 Financial need and merit will be considered; scholarship will be awarded in June 2025.
🎓 For more information, FAQs, and to apply, please visit https://www.alsoknownas.org/scholarships
Past scholarship winners Darci, Fikirte, Allemu, Jin, Maya, and Anderson
A Study of Adoption, Social Media, and Family Relationships
Amanda Baden, a licensed psychologist and fellow adoptee, is conducting a research study during her professorship at the Rudd Adoption Research Program at UMASS-Amherst and is seeking adult adoptees who use social media for this online survey that can be completed in 35 minutes or less.
(survey participants will receive a $15 amazon gift card for participating)
Adoptee Literary Festival
Join us for the next Adoptee Literary Festival, taking place on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 11:00 am to 8:30 pm EST, for a day full of learning, sharing, and community building. Preregistration is required. This virtual event is FREE to attend, though we welcome donations (Venmo @adopteelitfest) to help us offer honorariums to our fabulous presenters and panelists." Register here.
Voices of Adoption
Voices of Adoption (VOA) is a community-building group open to all adoptees 18+ internationally or domestically born, located anywhere in the world. VOA meets virtually via Zoom; this is a free event to all who register. It is hosted by Jessica M. Luciere, a Colombian adoptee & Adoptee Advocate; she is the Manager of Community Engagement at Spence-Chapin.
VOA is a judgement-free zone, where all participants are expected to come in with an open mind, understanding that each adoptee has their own unique experience. Occasionally, there are themed discussions; often, the group runs as an open forum.
VOA is not a clinical space, but if an adoptee is looking for clinical services, Spence-Chapin has options available.
Click here for more information and registration.
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Our mailing address is:
Also-Known-As, Inc
PO Box 6037, FDR Station
New York, NY 10150