BIPOC Adoptees: Improving Mental Health and Health Outcomes for an Underserved Community

Cam Lee Small, MS, LPCC, is a licensed clinical counselor, transracial adoptee, mental health advocate, and author based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His book The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment addresses the intersection of adoption, faith, mental health, and social responsibility. Cam was born in Korea and relinquished into foster care at age three. He was then adopted in 1984 to a family in the United States. His private practice, Therapy Redeemed, specializes in the mental health needs of adoptees and their families wherever they may be in their own adoption journey. His work has been featured in University of Minnesota School of Social Work, the National Council for Adoption, Christianity Today, and the Center for Adoption Support and Education.

Shanta Loecker founded 75/25 Impact in 2020, a company that builds custom education, consulting, and media projects through an intersectional anti-oppression lens. With close to five years of experience in this role, Shanta applies her skills as a coach, complex problem solver, and critical thinker to create identity-forward and People of the Global Majority-centered solutions using four core pillars: critical thought, cultural humility, inclusive leadership, and healing justice. Shanta shifted to her current role at 75/25 Impact after a hugely successful 14-year career in college, international and professional sports, including eight years as an NCAA head women’s lacrosse coach. Shanta produces Human Regards, a bi-weekly podcast that unapologetically centers the diverse experiences of women, femmes, and gender expansive folks of the Global Majority. She has produced the podcast for two seasons, showcasing her expertise in content creation, production, and strategy through an intersectional anti-oppression lens. Additionally, Shanta is an essay writer, songwriter, and screenwriter who independently writes, produces, and publishes original music, essays, and more. Their work has been featured in independent productions. Read more at medium.com/@sloecker. On the human side of things, Shanta identifies as an immigrant, Queer, Bengali-American, and transracial international adoptee. They currently reside on land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Chumash and Tongva/Gabrieleño Peoples in so-called Los Angeles.

Molly Washington is a Split Feather/Lost Bird, a Native adoptee and former foster child, as well as a transracial adoptee. Molly is Apache/N’dee on her paternal side, as well as Mexican-American, and is actively engaged in the lifelong work of reconnection and reclamation of her culture and heritage. Molly serves as the Chair of the Native American Youth and Family Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the Vice Chair of the NAYA Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization. Her work centers the voices and needs of communities of color, with special focus on issues impacting Native and Indigenous communities. Molly also serves on the Lawyers Committee for the ACLU, on the Advance Portland committee with Prosper Portland, as a volunteer with VOICES, a BIPOC Adoptee Community, and as a N’dee biyati i∤ ch’igo ahí (Apache language student) through the Apache Language Preservation Dept. of the San Carlos Tribe. Molly previously served on the Board of Oregon Tradeswomen, on the Advisory Committee for Diversity and Inclusion to the Oregon State Bar, and as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Programs Officer for the National Association of Minority Contractors, with an emphasis on advocacy, support services, and relationship building in the construction industry. Molly is a past recipient of the Wonder Woman Award, the Women of Vision Award, and the Building Equity Award. Molly has been an attorney for over 15 years, including as the deputy city attorney for the City of Portland. Molly’s approach to legal practice focuses on the decolonization of legal support and the inclusion of cultural practices and customs. To learn more about Molly’s journey, check out her interview on the Pulled By The Root podcast