Speakers

2025 Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Mike & Kristin Berry

Mike & Kristin Berry

Keynote 1 | Handling Crisis in the Home | When Trauma and Puberty Meet

Mike and Kristin Berry are the co-founders of The Honestly Adoption Company, an online global support and training community for Foster and Adoptive caregivers. They are the authors of 7 books, the most recent being Securely Attached, and the hosts of The Honestly Adoption Podcast which reaches an audience of 40,000 subscribers monthly, in 55 countries around the world. They have a passion to help caregivers learn how to reframe their perspective on their child’s trauma history and respond to behaviors with compassion and connection. When Mike and Kristin are not traveling and helping caregivers thrive, you can find them on their farm in Central Indiana with their 9 children, 4 grandchildren, miniature cow, miniature horse, 3 miniature donkeys, 2 former grand champion show horses, pot belly pig, 10 chickens, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 40,000 bees.

Zawadi Morrow

Zawadi Morrow

Keynote

Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and adopted by European missionary parents, Zawadi was raised internationally, living in both Africa and Europe before his family settled in the United States. He is a multi-instrumentalist and holds a Bachelor of Music degree as well as a Master of Arts in Worship Studies. He currently serves as the Director of Worship at Calvary Holland, Director of Global Worship at Hope College, Artist in Residence at Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and leads a collective of local artists committed to encountering their Creator, equipping each other and empowering local churches to become cathedrals of creativity. He is married with two children (one through adoption). When he’s not at home leading worship each week and spending time with his family, you can sometimes find him on tour with artists like Kings Kaleidoscope, Andy Mineo, Switchfoot, and SYML.

Breakout Speakers

Jess Degenhardt, MA, LMHC, NCC, CSAYC

Jess Degenhardt, MA, LMHC, NCC, CSAYC

Family Preservation Panel – Ways to support family preservation and reunification

Jess is a nationally board-certified therapist with over 18 years of experience serving children internationally and locally. She works as Clinical Director for The Villages of Indiana where she provides clinical supervision to case managers and seeks to advocate for foster parents and children. Jess was also a single foster parent, and she is an adoptive mama of two boys.

Adam Dell Psy.D., ABPP

Adam Dell Psy.D., ABPP

Psychological Flexibility: Insights from a Psychologist | Understanding Trauma & Post-traumatic Growth

Dr. Adam Dell is a board certified in clinical psychology. He and his wife, Janine, were foster parents in 3 states. He is a US Air Force veteran, husband of 17 years, father to two daughters, and is passionate about sharing behavioral science with audiences around the country.

Pastor Dexter Harris

Pastor Dexter Harris

Fostering Unity & Collaboration across Diverse Churches

Pastor Dexter Harris, Lead Pastor of Flourish Church and a Hub mentor, graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies and in 2021 with a master’s degree in biblical studies. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Community Redevelopment. He also received a Community Health Care Worker Certificate from the State of Indiana in 2024 and an Assembly of God Certification in 2009. Prior to becoming a pastor, he spent much of his time developing relationships with young people in Gary through a youth ministry he started called EPIC (Experiencing Power In Christ). Along with mentoring youth, he organizes youth community outreach events and professional development activities through Flourish Church. He is married to his wife Paige and they have three children together.

Ashley Edwards

Ashley Edwards

FAM Basics

Ashley is the Director of Church Engagement at Hands of Hope, where she inspires and guides churches to build and maintain a ministry serving vulnerable children. Prior to that, she led the Family Advocacy Ministry at her church. Ashley is a mom of three and she has been married to her husband Garrett for 11 years. She loves to be outside, hang out with friends, read, and eat chocolate! The Edwards’ have been a foster family for the last few years and deeply care about equipping and mobilizing the local church to care for vulnerable kids and families at home and across the globe.

Kelly Hamilton

Kelly Hamilton

Mindful Parenting | Connection Based Ministry

Kelly loves helping others build healthy connections to God, themselves, and others. Kelly is a certified trauma-informed parenting coach, earned a Masters in Theological Studies from TCU, and has served in ministry for 20 years. She is an adoptive mom who has professionally worked in the foster care and adoption field for 9 years. Kelly and her husband, Blaine, serve foster and adoptive families at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. Blaine and I have two amazing children.

Chef Kibby

Chef Kibby

A Child’s Hunger for Connection: Why They Resist what they need the most

Chef Kibby is on a mission to get families in the kitchen, because Cooking is Connecting! With 25 years of food experience and 16 years as a biological, foster, and adoptive dad, he offers a unique and practical perspective on how parents and caregivers can support the mental and emotional development of their children by understanding the Hunger for Connection and harnessing the inherent trust of cooking and eating together.

Grant Kirsh

Grant Kirsh

The Legal Process of Adopting a Child from DCS

Growing up as the son of an adoption attorney, Grant Kirsh has been surrounded by adoption his entire life. As a second-generation adoption attorney, he enjoys continuing his family’s legacy in Indiana. Grant focuses his work on private newborn adoptions and foster care/kinship/DCS adoptions.

Jana L

Jana L

Transracial Family Panel

Jana Langebartels and her husband of fifteen years, Bryce, live on a small homestead in Indianapolis with their seven children (plus a random assortment of dogs, cats, chickens, geese, pigs, rabbits, and a goat). Four children joined their family through adoption from foster care and three joined the family through birth. Their ages span from one to thirteen-years-old. Over the past thirteen years as foster parents and also serving with Family Hope, Bryce and Jana have welcomed more than thirty children into their home. Jana is passionate about encouraging and supporting foster and adoptive moms. On a typical weekday, you can usually find her homeschooling the children or sneaking a moment to read a fun book.

Dr. Nicholas Moore, DC

Dr. Nicholas Moore, DC

Nervous System Dysregulation: What to look for & how to heal

Nicholas Moore, DC is the owner and founder of a full family practice (age ranges 2 days old to 97 years old) that specializes in Gonstead Chiropractic. As a Chiropractor Dr. Moore focuses on finding and correcting any subluxation that is present in the nervous system that is impairing optimal function. Dr. Moore is a member of the International Chiropractic Association, Indiana Chiropractic Association, Gonstead Clinical Studies Society and Gonstead Seminars, and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Chiropractors Association of Indiana.

Clarkston Morgan

Clarkston Morgan

Working Beyond $$$: Developing and Launching Strategic Partnerships

Clarkston serves as the CEO of Ambassador Consultants & Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Dunamoo LLC. Our organization’s missions are to empower communities and leaders by bridging vision and manifestation through strategic business development and collaborative relations. We are dedicated to strengthening and confirming community foundations in three core areas: Family, Faith, and Marketplace.He and his wife, LaKendra Morgan, have taken up the call to adopt two children after fostering 9 kids.

Sarah Pfleeger

Sarah Pfleeger

Family Positive Language

My name is Sarah Pfleeger. I am a reader, writer, and speaker. I am a proud adoptee and delighted to be part of a foster family, serving the vulnerable children in our community.

Gretchen Stanley

Gretchen Stanley

Adoptive Parent Panel

Gretchen is mother to four children, two who were adopted internationally. She is the Adoption Champion for Hands of Hope, where she has led the Adoption Information Meetings for many years, assisting families in navigating the road of adoption, fostering and family preservation. She also leads the adoptive moms night at her church. Gretchen will be joined by a panel of experts on adoption, foster care and family preservation.

Corrie Vos

Corrie Vos

Fostering Unity & Collaboration across Diverse Churches

Corrie Vos has served as the Missions Director at Faith Church since 2010 and is passionate about partnering with thriving, active churches around the world. Her heart for global collaboration became focused locally when she became a foster parent. Corrie is married to her husband, Dan, and they have two kids, ages 8 and 5. Additionally, they serve as a foster family and have provided loving care to six children under the age of 2 over the last three years. Corrie has a vision to empower the church to serve the most vulnerable locally and globally!

Vanessa Wilkins

Vanessa Wilkins

Life in Limbo

Vanessa is the Director of Programs for Hands of Hope, as well as an adoptive and former foster parent. She has been on staff with Hands of Hope for almost 7 years, and prior to that had 13 years of experience working with teens as a teacher and then youth director. Vanessa and her husband, Andy, have three teenagers who keep them on their toes.

Keynote Hosts

Suzy Roth

Suzy Roth

Keynote

Suzy Roth is the Executive Director and founder of Hands of Hope. She has over 20 years’ experience working with children and families. Her previous work experience includes project management at Eli Lilly and managing her own computer consulting business. Adopting their youngest son in 2003 ignited her passion to love and serve vulnerable children. Suzy is married to Kevin and has 4 kids.

Takkeem Morgan

Takkeem Morgan

Keynote

Takkeem Morgan is the Senior Director of Communications of Prevent Child Abuse America. Takkeem’s dedication to family support stems from his own experience with family separation during his childhood, which inspired him to become a lifelong learner, leveraging his skills and firsthand experiences to transform these systems into engines for family support and recovery. Takkeem is a father, a friend, and an avid learner, currently enjoying the challenges of golf and bowling. His unique blend of personal experience, professional expertise, and visionary approach makes him a passionate advocate for families and a dynamic leader in the field of child abuse prevention.

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