Dear Also-Known-As Members and Friends,

We hope you all had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to the upcoming year as much as we are! This past April, Also-Known-As, Inc. celebrated 15 years of service to the adoptee community and brought together over 150 international adoptees from 24 states and 4 countries for a truly unforgettable event. The Also-Known-As 15th Anniversary showcased how much the organization has grown, utilizing the strong voice of adult adoptees and their dedication to giving back to the international adoption community.

This year marks a milestone for many other adoptee organizations as well. In August, AKF (Adopted Koreaners Forening), the oldest adoptee organization in the world, celebrated their 25th Anniversary and hosted over 200 adoptees from 8 European countries and a number of US states. Additionally, this year Arierang (Netherlands) will cerebrate their 20th Anniversary, AAAW (Asian Adult Adoptees of Washington) will be celebrating their 15th Anniversary, AK Connection will celebrate their 10th Anniversary, and KAHI (Korean Adoptees of Hawaii) celebrated their 5th Anniversary! It has been remarkable to acknowledge so many achievements across the globe.

We had a great summer developing an exciting new schedule of programs for this year and we hope you will all be involved. On October 1, 2011, Also-Known-As will walk in the Korean Day Parade and welcome all Also-Known-As members, friends and family to join us! See below for details. For other upcoming events click here. Prior to each event, details will be sent out via email and Facebook.

Our Teen and Youth Mentorship Programs continue to grow in size, and the schedule is filled with many new exciting events, including 3rd Annual NYC Dumpling Festival and visiting Six Flags Great Adventure!

At the beginning of September a new year of language classes offered by the Korean Education Center of the Korean Consulate General of New York began. Both the beginner course taught by returning Professor Ji-Young Jung and the new intermediate level taught by Professor Beom Lee filled up quickly over the summer with adult adoptees and Also-Known-As members!

As always, we are dedicated to developing and growing while offering diverse programs that appeal to our many members. In addition to our scheduled programming, we often participate on adoption panels and other related events. If you are interested in sharing your story or know of an event looking for speakers, please contact Geanna Barlaam for a Speaker’s Bureau application!

We want to be sure we are reaching as many members of the Also-Known-As, Inc. community as possible so keep an eye out for the Also-Known-As, Inc. Newsletter! We will include feature articles as we have in the past, but we are also looking to include submissions and stories from our members. If you have an idea for a story, please email Geanna Barlaam.

Lastly, we encourage new and old members to take advantage of our Sustaining Membership Program. Also-Known-As is a completely volunteer-run organization and we would not be able to exist without your generous contributions!

For more information or to become a member, please visit the Membership Page or email info@alsoknownas.org.

We value everyone’s feedback and encourage you to contact any of us to discuss your ideas. We look forward to a fun-filled year connecting with current and past members, meeting new ones, and continuing to grow and build our community.

All the best,

Marissa Martin
President, Also-Known-As, Inc.