Kim Brown Joins Board of Directors of Both Ends Burning Campaign

Kim Brown, President and CEO of Holt International, Joins Board of Directors of Both Ends Burning Campaign

Brown a Strong Advocate for International Adoption

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (MMD Newswire) September 23, 2010 -- Mr. Kim Brown, president and CEO of Holt International, one of the world's leading advocates on behalf of orphaned and abandoned children, has joined the board of directors of the Both Ends Burning Campaign.

"This is an important development for this new movement to help parentless children," said Craig Juntunen, founder of Both Ends Burning, an effort to reform the system of international adoption. "Brown's leadership and passion for helping vulnerable children will provide strong forward momentum for the campaign."

Holt International, the agency that pioneered intercountry adoption, helps orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children to thrive by finding families to love them. Holt's involvement in the Both Ends Burning Campaign will help reverse the declining trend in adoptions worldwide and result in more parentless children growing up in loving families, Juntunen said.

Adoptions to the United States have plummeted by more than 50 percent in the last six years. Both ends of the adoption spectrum are burning: orphaned children need families, while families who want to adopt them face a process that has become politicized, too bureaucratic, too costly, too discriminatory and too fraught with delays.

"No one is more committed to ethical adoption practices than Holt--ethical adoptions are the only way to ensure they continue as an option for children," Brown said. "But it's time we returned to the common-sense idea that a child's most basic human right is a permanent family. We must do all we can to eliminate the barriers between orphaned children and loving families. I am excited to address this urgent need and be part of this international effort."

Brown is the first Korean adoptee to be named President and CEO of Holt. Brown grew up in Omaha, Nebraska with his adoptive family. He attended Biola University in Southern California, majoring in business. Prior to his appointment as Holt International President & CEO, Mr. Brown was a successful investment Banker for Fortune 100 companies and President & CEO of his own company. Kim and his wife are the parents of two children (also adopted from Korea).