Jenn was first introduced to ASA when she and her husband, Mike, attended the first ever "Adoption 101" class.  Jenn and Mike were pursuing adoption, wanted to learn more about the process and found training through ASA. During both of their adoptions, Jenn and her family were very active with ASA.  They have attended many of the family events and participated in the annual fundraisers.  Jenn is bringing to ASA her passion for educating people about the adoption process.  She is always always open to being a resource for adopting families seeking to find answers to their many questions.

Jenn decided to stay home full-time with her two kids after the adoption of her second child.  She is looking forward to being a part of ASA and sharing her knowledge as well as learning more herself about the adoption world.

Jenn and her husband, Mike, live outside of Charlotte with their two kiddos Piper (4) and Baron (1) who joined their family via domestic adoption.  They also have two Australian Shepherds (Agnes and Mavis).  The love spending time outside as a family as well as traveling, especially to Disney!

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Jenn and her husband, Mike, shared their unique perspectives about the adoption of both of their children on our blog.  They shared openly about their experiences with their daughter's birth mother as well as the insights they learned through experience following the adoption of their son.

Patrick Spaugh is senior litigation associate at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, where he represents businesses in commercial disputes and employment matters. He was introduced to Adoption Support Alliance through serendipity when he and his wife, Stephanie, moved next door to co-founder, Erin Nasmyth. As someone who was adopted at birth through a closed, domestic adoption, Patrick felt a personal connection to ASA’s mission and, after participating in an adult adoptee panel, excitedly joined the board. As a board member, he contributes the personal perspective of an adoptee who later reconnected with his biological mother and his experience as an attorney.

 

Patrick is a native North Carolinian who, like Stephanie, attended UNC for undergrad and Duke for law school. He and Stephanie love supporting their alma maters, though they pull for the Tar Heels when they face each other! Patrick believes in ASA’s vision and hopes to foster its growth while serving the adoption community!

Mike Masto has an extensive background in finance and accounting for nonprofits. He worked at Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte for over 14 years and when he left in September of 2018 he had been their CFO for the previous six years. Mike currently owns an accounting company called Book Keep Accounting that specializes in helping small to medium size companies and nonprofits with their day-to-day accounting needs.

 

Mike holds a Master of Public Administration degree from UNC Charlotte and has an undergraduate degree in Sociology from James Madison University.

When not running his business, Mike enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with his wife, Carrie, and their three kids.

Tracey is a nonprofit professional with 17 years of experience in the field, currently working in fund development for Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region managing corporate and faith partnerships. 

 

Tracey earned an MS in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University, where she first discovered her interest in fundraising. She is passionate about relationship building and connecting people with meaningful opportunities to bring about positive change in the world. 

 

Having an adopted sister herself, Tracey is inspired by Adoption Support Alliance’s mission to help adoptive families through the unique challenges of building their forever family, and excited to be a part of the agency’s important work. 

She and her husband, Nathan, have called Charlotte home for the past 15 years and have three daughters.

Rex Backes has more than 20 years of experience in the Human Resources industry, with experience in a variety of functions including Employee Assessment, Leadership Development, Strategic Workforce Planning, and Talent Management. Rex is currently a Director of Talent Management at TIAA in Charlotte, NC. Rex has worked previously at Bank of America, Spherion Workforce Consulting, and Pinkerton Services Group, in addition to doing independent consulting and speaking engagements.

Rex holds a Masters in Applied Psychology from Clemson University (1994), and an MBA in Leadership from the McColl School of Business at Queens University (2001). Rex has previously served on the board for One Heart Global Ministries, and has a heart for Christian mission work, having traveled to Guatemala,Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil to serve on missions.

 

Rex is married to Traci Backes and has a biological daughter named Madeline, and a son, adopted from Guatemala, named Kenan.   

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Click here to learn more about Rex and his family's experience with adoption.

David has more than five years of experience in the digital marketing industry, working with companies from the local level to managing campaigns across the nation in 90+ markets. Having graduated from NC State University in 2016, he moved to Charlotte to start his career and invest his time and energy into what he's passionate about.

 

One of his biggest passions is adoption, being an adoptee himself from Seoul, South Korea. David seeks to invest his experiences into places such as Adoption Support Alliance so that understanding is what comes first. It is one thing to navigate the world as an adoptee, but it should never be done alone. He is motivated for other families and individuals to know that support systems exist!

 

David knows that adoption is a lifelong process, and sometimes answers aren't so clear. It doesn't mean that questions shouldn't be asked, and it's more of a reason for support to be present. He wants conversations about adoption to be embraced and viewed as a vital role for adoptive families. He believes that hope is real, and hope is what binds us together.

Kathleen was first introduced to adoption and fostering as a young child growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs. She grew up among neighbors who fostered and adopted, and it moved her heart even from a young age that her future family was going to include fostering and/or adopting as well.

 

Kathleen and her husband, Thom, were first introduced to ASA when they attended "Adoption 101" in 2017.  Even before Kathleen and Thom began their adoption journey, they were involved in, and participated in the annual photo fundraiser, which was great for including in their adoptive family profile!

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Although they are new to the adoptive family community, Kathleen and Thom are an open book when sharing their learning experiences on open and transracial adoption.

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Kathleen and Thom both work for Bank of America and live in the Southend area of Charlotte with Roman Cooper (18 months), who joined their family via domestic infant adoption. The Oropeza family also has a German Shepherd pup.

Erik first got involved with ASA while he and his wife were looking for guidance with the adoption process.  Through ASA, they found educational opportunities that did not shy away from the challenges faced by adoptive families.  They also discovered a supportive network to help them through those challenges.  Erik believes strongly in ASA’s mission and the work being done here. 

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Erik and his wife adopted their daughter from Florida.  They currently live in Charlotte.  Erik is an attorney working for the federal government.  He is very excited about the opportunity to dedicate his time and resources to advance ASA’s mission of helping adoptive families like his.  As a board member, Erik is excited to connect as many people as possible with the resources and opportunities offered by ASA.