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We are pleased to announce the IKAA 2023 Conference Grant Application is officially open. Grant recipients will receive financial aid to attend the 2023 IKAA Gathering in Seoul, South Korea. In order to be considered, applicants must be a transnational adoptee, residing in the tristate area and currently hold an active Also-Known-As membership. Five individuals will be awarded a $1,000 grant to support their expenses in attending the IKAA Korea Gathering .
Grant Application can be found here.
Grant Application deadline: February 28, 2023
A Letter From Our President
Dear friends,
As we draw closer to the end of another year, it’s natural that we consider where we’ve been and where we’d like to go. For many of us, parts of our adoptee identities have shaped the paths we’ve intentionally taken this past year, and perhaps invite our attention to assess ourselves through a question I’ve found quite helpful, and have put to words in this simple way:
What is the kindest / truest / most loving thing I can do?
Imagine where the next year could take us, if we acted upon that, to the best of our abilities. Actually, it might be unimaginable. I’ve found it to be this kind of rule of life, that whenever we set ourselves to be the best that we can for ourselves, it always, always, leaves me pleasantly surprised.
We hope you’ll continue to share the gift of you being you in many more ways in the coming year. May all the closings of this year and the openings of the next, find you present, intentional, and flourishing.
Also-Known-As President,
Robert Lee (Calabretta)
Also-Known-As Upcoming Events
Happy Hour 11/10
Join us Thursday November 10th at 6:00pm at Izakaya Juraku for this month’s Happy Hour. Izakaya Juraku has an incredible selection of Japanese Craft Beers, Sake, Cocktails and tons of delicious food. All are welcome. We hope to see you there!
A Letter From Our President
Friends,
If I may ask: who is truly a part of your community? And how do we sustain long term belonging in our circles, throughout the seasons of life? I’ve recently had to rethink which aspects of my community were serving me in my journey and present moment in life—which has led to some truly life-giving adjustments to where I’m investing my time and presence.
I recently heard a story—really a parable—from a mentor that I admire. It went like this:
A Letter From Our President
Friends,
I briefly wanted to drop a note to welcome veterans and newcomers and to briefly introduce myself in my first month as president.
My American name is Robert Calabretta (aka, Hanil Lee,) and to be quite honest, as I consider the line of presidents that have preceded me, I am both honored and extremely humbled. The history of what Also-Known-As has accomplished throughout the past 25+ years of building community among transnational adoptees is staggering. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. However, the fact that none of these presidents stood alone comforts me. Around them—always present—were the amazing people composing their board of directors, and beyond them were the volunteers, helpers, and those simply present, bringing their stories and themselves.
We have thrived as an organization because each and every one of us has believed that–to be understood, and welcomed, and included was not an option. It was a necessity.
Deported, Not Forgotten: Mike Davis
The final in our interview series with Mike Davis is now available.Mike Davis was deported to Ethiopia in 2005, leaving behind friends, a family business, and most painful of all, his wife and children. In this interview, he is able to see his wife and one of his sons for the first time in many years. They discuss the emotional, financial and personal impact that years of separation have caused.
Watch the full interview:https://youtu.be/E30-hlvwINc
A Letter From Our President
This will be my last president's letter, as I will be stepping down from the Also-Known-As Board of Directors at the end of this term.
Being on the Board has been an incredible privilege, an opportunity unlike any other: to have a hand in building the adoptee community that I would like to be part of. After attending my first amazing event connecting with adoptees, I knew I wanted to be part of a strong community and recognized that meant putting in my own effort.
Selfishly, the first event I ever organized was to show a documentary that I wanted to see and to hear the filmmaker's insights: In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee. As an Also-Known-As representative, I was able to reach out to director Deann Borshay Liem and get her to agree to join us by Skype (before Zoom days!) at the event. So it was, over the years since, that Also-Known-As allowed us on the Board to open doors and pull together discussions to create spaces for adoptees to have their voices heard. Fittingly, one of our last events this year is co-sponsoring the showing of Deann's latest film, Geographies of Kinship, on PBS on May 19.