Board of Directors

Lindsay Geier (aka 涂婷 & 萧颖妍) is a Chinese American adoptee based in Brooklyn. She was adopted from Hangzhou, China at 9 months old. She grew up in South Burlington, Vermont and graduated from St. Lawrence University double majoring in Psychology and Communications. Lindsay is an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Senior Manager at Tripadvisor Group. She is passionate and committed to advancing justice for underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. Lindsay is honored to serve as President for the incredible Also-Known-As adoptee community.

Sara (aka 马酉维) is a proud Chinese-American adoptee from Westchester, New York. She earned her B.F.A. in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and has pursued a career in both freelance dance and personal training. Through her work, she strives to foster creativity, inclusivity, and connection within her communities. Sara is honored to serve as the Vice President of an organization that has played a pivotal role in her adoption journey.

Mark was adopted from Korea when he was 4 yrs old and grew up in Jackson, TN, and Lincoln, RI, and now resides in NJ with his wife Ji-yeon, daughter Jeana and two sons, Samuel and Daniel. He has been a member of Also-Known-As since it was founded in 1996 and serves as the Treasurer. He has served in many roles, such as web editor, Motherland Visit Director, and liaison to the Korean American community, and shared his adoption experiences through many speaking engagements in over 25 years of service on the board.

Joseph (aka 김동후) was born in Busan, South Korea and was adopted at 5 months old. He grew up in Storrs, Connecticut, where he volunteered for an LGBTQ+ organization throughout his teen years. He relocated to NYC 10 years ago and is currently an Assistant General Manager at Equinox. He joined Also-Known-As in 2019 as a youth mentor in the Mentorship Program. He’s very excited to continue as a mentor in our Mentorship Program and commit to another year on the board of directors. This will be his second year as Secretary.

Katie is a Brooklyn-based Korean American adoptee. Born outside of Seoul, she grew up in Yonkers, New York, before studying creative writing and journalism at Loyola University Maryland. Katie is currently the Head of Brand and Content at a workplace-experience startup following a decade-long career as a lifestyle and culture editor for major media publishers. She has been embraced by the adoptee community and Also-Known-As since 2018 and is thrilled to be serving on the Board of Directors for a second year.

Emily (aka 양선미) was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in NJ and VT. She works as a freelance textile designer for various fashion companies. Emily also founded a thriving field hockey league in NYC, now in its 18th year. She has shared some of her adoption story in a couple of podcasts and documentaries. Through parenting her 2 children, she is reclaiming her heritage and helping to create cultural traditions for her family. She is honored to have this opportunity to serve on the Also-Known-As board and is committed to helping other adoptees find community and validation for their varied life experiences.

Andrew McFarland (aka 이수민) was born in Gongju, South Korea and adopted from Seoul at 11 months old. He grew up in El Dorado, Arkansas, attended university in southwest Missouri, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Kansas. Andrew is currently an Associate Professor at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and an Associate Researcher at the Institute for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He lives in Flushing, Queens with his partner and dog Peanut and is thrilled about his second year on the board of Also-Known-As.

Emma Barr (aka Trần Ngọc Quyên Chi) was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and adopted at 8 months old. She grew up in Lumberton, New Jersey and before getting her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Rutgers University. Upon moving to Manhattan to work in life science management consulting, the first friendships she made in the city were through the adoptee community. As a recent member of the Also-Known-As in 2022, Emma is excited to advance her adoptee journey and that of others during her first year on the board.

Adam (aka 이성일) is a Korean-American adoptee who grew up in Westchester County, New York and now lives in Fort Lee, NJ. He graduated from Pace University in 2005, and has worked as a Business Analyst in the Luxury Goods & Services and Financial Services industries since graduation. Adam joined Also-Known-As in 2010 and has been a mentor in the Mentorship Program since 2018.

Katie is a Chinese adoptee who grew up in Brooklyn, NY and NJ. Through her family, she was involved in the earliest days of Families with Children from China-NY (now Chinese Adoptee Alliance), and for four summers, volunteered as a counselor and leadership staff for an adoptee camp. She earned a MA from New York University where she explored the politics and creation of the female Chinese adoptee in America. She joined Also-Known-As as a member in 2018, the Scholarship Committee in 2020, and the Board of Directors in 2021. She currently directs the Also-Known-As Adoptee Excellence Scholarship, a role she assumed in 2021.

Nick Rasch (aka 이연무) is a Korean-American adoptee who grew up in New York and graduated from Cornell in 2015. He joined Also-Known-As in 2018 and has been working with the website since 2019.

Bianca Kuijper (also known as 이 수란), is a South Korean adoptee from South Korea raised in the Netherlands. Since 2016, she has been a member of Also-Known-As, where she served as Vice President of the board and member of the Advisory Board. In the Netherlands, Bianca was a director of the board of Arierang, the Korean adoptee association in the Netherlands. Professionally, she is the COO of Orbitax, a global tax technology company. In her free time, Bianca is dedicated to promoting Asian representation and fostering cultural appreciation through film.

Heather Schultz Gittens (she/her) is a transracial adoptee from Seoul, South Korea who grew up on Long Island, NY. After visiting her birth country and reconnecting with her Korean roots in 2014, Heather became involved with the adoptee community, serving in various capacities for organizations such as The Donaldson Adoption Institute, Also-Known-As, Inc. (AKA), and All Together Now. She is a full-time Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at CUNY Baruch College and a Certified Usui Reiki Master. Heather lives in Queens, NY with her husband and 19-month-old son. She loves to explore different countries, hike, and connect to her inner child through coloring books.

Hollee A. McGinnis, Ph.D., MSW, also-known-as Lee Hwa Young, was adopted from South Korea and has almost 30 years of community organizing, practice, policy, and research experience relating to adoption and child welfare. Her work centers the lived experiences of individuals raised in alternative care (adoptive, foster and/or orphanages) so they can thrive across the lifespan and inform socially just child welfare policies and practices. Dr. McGinnis’ research focuses on adoptive and racial/ethnic identity, adverse childhood experiences/ complex trauma, cultural loss, the life course of adoption, and adoptee-led mutual aid groups. In 1996 she founded Also-Known-As, Inc., a non-profit adult intercountry adoptee organization in New York City.

Jacquelyn Wells is an artist, musician and entrepreneur from Boston, MA. She served on the board of Also Known As for several years during her time living in NYC, including as Vice President from 2021-2022. She currently serves on the board of Boston Korean Adoptees, and travels back to Korea often. She resides in southern Maine with her husband and son, and runs her company, Oohjacquelina Jewelry, amongst other endeavors.

Joy Lieberthal Rho, LCSW is a social worker/counselor in private practice. She is Co-Founder of IAMADOPTEE.org, an online mental health and wellness resource for the international adoptee community. She has been involved with the intercountry adoptee community for over 25 years, as a founding member and former president of Also-Known-As, policy analyst at Donaldson Adoption Institute and staff at a private adoption agency in NYC. Joy created the original mentorship program for Also-Known-As and also for Spence-Chapin Adoption agency. Dedicated to working within the Asian American community, Joy has been a clinical supervisor at the Korean American Family Service Center. For the last 15 years, Joy has been a counselor at the Juilliard School, an internationally renowned music and arts school, serving mostly Asian and Asian American students.

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Katherine (aka 권채영) was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in New England and NJ. After visiting her motherland in 2013, she was introduced to Also-Known-As, Inc. through a graduate school friend in the city. In 2014 she joined the Board as Secretary, a position she held until 2021. Her favorite part of Also-Known-As is that the organization creates opportunities to connect with the local tristate and global adoptee community.

Marissa has over a decade of experience working in nonprofits and government where she has managed operations, policy and data teams, and led advocacy campaigns centered on the Asian-American community, young people, and immigrant communities. Currently Marissa is a nonprofit consultant focused on project management, facilitation, advocacy strategy, capacity building, and organizational development.  Most recently, Marissa served as the Executive Director of the Advocacy Institute, an organization committed to supporting the legislative advocacy of social justice and movement building organizations in New York State.

Prior to the Advocacy Institute, she served as the Northeast Director of Young Invincibles, leading policy and advocacy efforts around higher education, workforce development and healthcare for young adults. She has also held positions leading advocacy efforts at ExpandED Schools and the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and served as the Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at the NYC Public Engagement Unit in the Mayor’s Office.

For over 20  years, Marissa has worked as an adoptee advocate working to strengthen the community and voice of the adoptee community. Marissa is an advisory board member and past president of Also-Known-As, Inc., a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to creating innovative educational programs and community building activities for those on their adoption life journey. While she was on the board, she served as the representative for the International Korean Adoptee Association (IKAA) and volunteered with the planning of the 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2023 IKAA Gatherings in Korea. In 2023, Marissa also helped plan and facilitate the inaugural Adoptee Leadership Exchange sponsored by Also-Known-As and IKAA.

Marissa is a Licensed Social Worker (LMSW) and holds a Masters in Social Work from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, with a concentration in Community Organizing, Planning and Development.
‍https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-martin-lmsw-nyc/

Mee Hyun Gerstein was adopted from Korea at 6.5 months and raised on the UWS, begrudgingly attending Korean school on Saturdays, but happily willing to take the train out to Flushing for kimchi pizza. She was an original AKA mentee back in the mid-90s, and reacquainted herself (as an adult) with the organization in January 2003, serving in various board and advisory positions over the years. From 2006-2020, she was on the executive board of the International Korean Adoptee Associations (IKAA) Network, an international consortium of adoptee-run organizations, of which AKA is a founding member organization.

Michael Mullen served on the Also-Known-As board for 6 years, the last 5 of those as President, until graduating to the Advisory Committee and becoming the IKAA Representative. During his tenure, Also-Known-As hosted or organized many groundbreaking activities giving focus to adoptees with less visibility, such as a video series and fundraiser in support of deported adoptees, a multi-racial panel on navigating the Black Lives Matter movement as adoptees, a forum on transgender intersectionality, professional art installations involving the Side x Side series and Afro-Asian Futurism, multiple events about birth mothers including a worldwide screening and director discussion of Forget Me Not, and a weekend Film-A-Thon showcasing local adoptee filmmakers.

Misha is a Korean adoptee who grew up in New York City. She moved to Hawaii to pursue a bachelor's degree in communications, and then received a master's in international relations at the University of Melbourne in Australia before landing back in NYC. Misha is passionate about environmental sustainability and conservation, resource management, and human rights. Her favorite pastimes include traveling, baking, working with her hands, and generally anything outdoors. She joined the Also-Known-As community as a teen mentor in 2015, then joined the board in 2016 and served as Vice President from 2022-2023.

Susan Becker was adopted from Seoul, Korea at the age of 4 ½ months. She was raised in Northern New Jersey with strong ties to the Korean American Adoptee community attending regional cultural events and camps since she was a baby. Since her first trip to Korea in 1995, Susan has returned 12 more times most recently to attend the IKAA Gathering 2023 in Seoul. Susan is former President and current Advisory Committee member of Also-Known-As. She was a mentor for the Also-Known-As Youth Mentorship Program from 2007 to 2014 and was Director of the Teen Mentorship Program from 2014 to 2016. Susan works in project management at a financial services company in New York City.

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