JCICS 2005 Board Members

The current 2005 Joint Council Board is composed of eleven members. Seven of the Board members served on the Board in 2003, while two was re-elected and two were elected to the Board for the first time at the annual conference in April 2005.

President

Deb Murphy-Scheumann is the founder and Executive Director of Special Additions, Inc. established in 1993. Special Additions, is an international aid and adoption agency that is accredited by the Council on Accreditation. She has been involved in the field of international adoptions since the adoption of their daughter Allison from Korea in 1985. Deb is the mother of nine children ranging in age from three years to 28 years and has three grandchildren. Three of her children have special needs, shaken baby syndrome, cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome. This is Deb's second term on the Board of Directors as she served from 2002 - 2005; Deb served as Vice-President of the Board in 2003 and President in 2004.

, Vice-President

Ms. Wetterberg is Director of the Uniting Families Foundation, a small agency in Illinois that has received COA accreditation. She is a CPA and also holds an MS degree in human services administration. Her undergraduate training was in elementary education, and she worked in a school district for seven years. She has testified before Congress on international adoption issues, and has presented seminars on adoption in the U.S. and abroad. She has also organized a program in Croatia, which trained health workers, social workers, and religious leaders to recognize and treat post traumatic stress disorder in rape victims. She is the mother of children adopted from Eastern Europe. This is Lynn's second term on the Board of Directors as she served from 2001 - 2005; Ms. Wetterberg served as Treasurer of the Board for 2002 and 2003 and Vice President in 2004.

, Secretary

Heather Stultz is the Romania Program Specialist and Post-Placement Coordinator for MAPS International, founded in 1977 by Dawn C. Degenhardt. Ms. Stultz is an active member of the COA Standing Review Committee as well as a co-facilitator of MAPS International’s support evenings for waiting families. Prior to joining MAPS International, Ms. Stultz traveled to both Guatemala and Romania where she worked with low-income families and abandoned children while completing her undergraduate social work education. This is Ms. Stultz's third year as Secretary.

, Treasurer

Linda Vollman has been involved with adoptions at PLAN Loving Adoptions Now, Inc. since 1976. Linda's degree is in management. As General Manager at PLAN she has been able to experience the many facets of adoption both international and domestic. Linda has worn many hats! She has been an adoptive parent/ social work trainer, coordinator/trainer for the Infant Adoption Awareness Training (training health care professionals in the area of adoption), seminar presenter both in the United States and abroad, and public speaker on adoption issues. In the early years of PLAN Linda was active in parent group development - (PLAN was founded by a group of adoptive parents and was one of the first parent-led adoption agencies.) She has been involved in legislative issues pertinent to adoption. Linda has traveled worldwide for PLAN - visiting orphanages, representing the agency and escorting children to their adoptive families. Linda and her husband have children by birth and by adoption.

Tom DiFilipo is new to the Board this year and currently serves as Vice-President of Programs & Services for the CASI Foundation. He recently served as Chief Operations Officer and Board member of International Children’s Alliance, Board Chair of Discovery Outreach and as an independent consultant in management practices for a variety of non-profits. In the private sector, Tom has held executive positions with Sorbee International, Mars Inc and Pace Brokerage.

Rick Gibson is new to the Board this year and earned his BA in psychology from the University of Iowa in 1988. After living in the woods for years, teaching environmental education and counseling boys in a long-term therapy center, Rick moved to Minneapolis, MN where he counseled grade school children for a number of years then earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. Rick began work in adoption at Children’s Home Society & Family Services as a social worker in 1999 and is currently an Adoption Supervisor responsible for Recruitment and Intake for all CHSFS adoption programming.

Rebecca Hackworth is the Director of Social Services for Dillon International, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is a licensed clinical social worker. She helped develop Dillon's India program and now directs the agency's China and Haiti programs. She teaches a quarterly class on the Physical and Emotional Care of Newly Adopted Children. Rebecca did an extensive research project with their agency's families over the last 30 years that was published in the November 2002 issue of Adoption Today magazine. She has served as President of the Oklahoma Adoption Coalition in the past and remains active in that organization made up of public and private adoption agencies, adoption attorneys, adoptive parents and adult adoptees within their state. She is the mother of two adopted children from Haiti and four step children (three of whom were adopted domestically). She has served on the board of directors for the Foundation for the Children of Haiti since 1981.

Rosemary Martin is the Executive Director at Carolina Adoption Services. She has a masters degree in social work and over 30 years experience as a clinician and agency administrator. Her clinical experience includes years of working with adoptive parents and birth mothers considering adoption. Rosemary is both a NC licensed clinical social worker and licensed marriage and family therapist.

Mr. Pitkowsky is the current Vice President of the Adoptive Parents Committee, Inc. (APC), a parent support group serving over 3,000 New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut families. He is also President of the New York City chapter. He has represented APC at Joint Council, the Hague Alliance, and the Advisory Council on Intercountry Adoption (ACIA); he serves on the Executive Board of ACIA. He has provided testimony on Capitol Hill, chaired and co-chaired APC conferences, and led workshops for the Open Door Society and NACAC conferences. He has two children adopted from Latin America. This is Sam's second term on the Board of Directors as he served from 2001 - 2003 as well.

Keith M. Wallace is founder and CEO of Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA). Keith is also an attorney and a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. FTIA is accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services, Inc. (COA). Keith has served on several JCICS committees and is currently the Treasurer of the Board of Directors. He has presented hundreds of seminars on different aspects of international adoption to various audiences. FTIA is active in many aid projects for children. Keith served as Treasurer in 2004.

Snow Wu is President of Great Wall China Adoptions based in Austin, Texas. Ms. Wu, a native of China, brings to the JCICS Board her knowledge and expertise of Chinese culture and intercountry adoption.