7:30am EDT
8:30am EDT
9:15am EDT
New England Priorities and Progress
Monday April 27, 2026 9:15am - 9:35am EDT
Moderators 
Loperena Mentorship Awardee, New England Association Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors
Maria has spent more than 30 years in leadership roles across the nonprofit and public sectors, advancing systems that support children, youth, and families. She currently serves as Executive Director of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors (NEACWCD...
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Staverne Miller is the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), having been appointed by Governor Maura T. Healey in 2024. With over 30 years of experience in social work, Miller has held various leadership positions within DCF, including Acting...
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Connecticut Department of Children and Families
Attorney Hamilton has over thirty (32) years of management, social work, legal and legislative experience in the area of youth justice, family law and child welfare, including over 20 years of prior experience with DCF, beginning as a front-line social worker and culminating in serving...
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Ashley Deckert serves as the Director for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF), a state agency statutorily responsible for children’s behavioral health, child welfare and juvenile justice. Director Deckert is passionate about improving child and family...
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Bobbi L. Johnson, LMSW, has served as Director of the Maine Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) since January 2024. In her role, she is responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of child welfare and early care and education services in Maine.
Director Johnson holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maine and has demonstrated commitment to Maine children and families, as reflected in her 30-year career in social work and public service. She has supported countless children and families, brings experience...
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New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families
Marie Noonan, MSW, is a child welfare leader with more than 25 years of experience in state government, committed to strengthening outcomes for children, youth, and families, by valuing both lived experience and the child welfare workforce. Throughout her career, she has held a...
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Aryka Radke, JD Deputy Commissioner Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services DivisionAryka Radke serves as Deputy Commissioner of the Family Services Division (FSD) within the Vermont Department for Children and Families. Appointed by Governor Phil Scott in 2021, she leads the division responsible for Vermont’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems.Since joining...
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9:40am EDT
11:00am EDT
11:00am EDT
11:00am EDT
12:30pm EDT
AdoptUSKids Lunch & Learn: “Centering Lived Experience in Adoption Practice”
Monday April 27, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Speakers 
Melinda Kline, LSCSW, National Project Director (NPD) – AdoptUSKids Melinda is a proud Citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Melinda has 30+ years of child welfare and Social Work experience with an emphasis on permanency, foster care and adoption. Prior to her current position as NPD at AdoptUSKids, she served as the Deputy Director of Permanency Programs for the State of Kansas. Melinda has national...
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Raise the Future/National Center for Diligent Recruitment/AdoptUSKids
National Child Welfare Advisor, Raise the Future
12:30pm EDT
Ujima Collective Lunch & Learn: “Increasing Economic Opportunity and Connections for System-Involved Youth and Caregivers”
Monday April 27, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Speakers 
Presenter- Ujima Impact Award, NAA National Director of Ujima Collective
Lanecia Radcliff is a passionate child welfare professional with over 25 years of experience. Ms. Radcliff now works as the NAA National Director of the Ujima Collective. Ms. Radcliff is a certified case manager, a volunteer for Guardian Ad Litem and advocates for children...
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Joyce James is the President and CEO of Joyce James Consulting, (JJC). JJC provides technical assistance and support, training, coaching, data analysis and leadership development to multiple systems, institutions, and faith and community-based organizations across the country with...
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National Adoption Association (NAA)
Ujima Consultant National Adoption Association
National Adoption Association (NAA)
Maci Kean is currently a Senior Project Specialist with The Ujima Collective. She leads initiatives under the Ujima Collective to elevate youth voice, advance workforce equity, and support healing-centered engagement for transition-age youth. After being adopted at the age of...
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National Adoption Association (NAA)
Monday April 27, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm
EDT
Plymouth
1:45pm EDT
1:45pm EDT
1:45pm EDT
3:30pm EDT
3:30pm EDT
3:30pm EDT
5:00pm EDT
7:30am EDT
8:30am EDT
8:40am EDT
Community Conversation “What are a People Without Roots”: Understanding Community Cultural Connections and Reconnections from Tribal Leaders, Elders and Mothers (1.0 CE National Association of Social Workers)
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:40am - 10:00am EDT
Moderators
Melinda Kline, LSCSW, National Project Director (NPD) – AdoptUSKids Melinda is a proud Citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Melinda has 30+ years of child welfare and Social Work experience with an emphasis on permanency, foster care and adoption. Prior to her current position as NPD at AdoptUSKids, she served as the Deputy Director of Permanency Programs for the State of Kansas. Melinda has national...
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Brave Transitions
Lorraine Brave, MSW, is Mohawk of the Turtle Clan - people of the Flint, from New York and has lived in the Pacific Northwest since moving to Seattle in 1979. Almost immediately, she became an advocate for the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), serving as Chair of the Local Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committee (LICWAC) for King County, Co-President...
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National Indian Child Welfare Association
Misty (Thomas) Flowers is a member of the Santee Sioux Nation and a descendant of the Tlingit of Alaska. With nearly 20 years of experience in child welfare—including 12 years leading her Tribe’s Social Services department—she is a recognized leader in Indigenous advocacy. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and has served as...
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Susan Devan Harness is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, a cultural anthropologist, and author of the multiple award-winning book Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption. Her research, writing, and speaking has informed the child placement community and beyond of the very real and problematic issues of transracial/interracial...
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Taylor McClellan (Sac and Fox, Bahkhoje and Mvskole) has over 17 years of experience working with young people and state/tribal child welfare programs is various capacities including collaborative work, life skills seminars, outreach and event planning, cultural connections, content creation, strategic sharing, policy change, public...
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Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:40am - 10:00am
EDT
Ballroom AB
10:30am EDT
10:30am EDT
10:30am EDT
10:30am EDT
12:00pm EDT
Awards Luncheon with Keynote Speaker
Tuesday April 28, 2026 12:00pm - 1:10pm EDT
Moderators 
Host
Rimy
Morris is the founder of The
Collective, an organization dedicated to creating equitable curriculum, resources, and experiences for individuals impacted by the child welfare system. Through her leadership, Rimy centers equity, healing, and lived experience in everything she designs—ensuring that those most...
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Generosity of Spirit Awardee
Jacqueline Wilson served as Chief Executive Officer of TRAC Services for Families from February 2000 to February 2024. In this position, Dr. Wilson headed one of the largest full service adoption agencies in Western Pennsylvania and one of only a handful that recruited for both public...
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Ujima Impact Awardee, Connecticut Department of Children and Families
Jacqueline Ford, MSW, has dedicated more than thirty-three years to serving children and families through her work with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). Since 2019, she has served as Community Outreach Coordinator in the Bureau of External Affairs, where...
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Loperena Mentorship Awardee, New England Association Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors
Maria has spent more than 30 years in leadership roles across the nonprofit and public sectors, advancing systems that support children, youth, and families. She currently serves as Executive Director of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors (NEACWCD...
Read More → 
Loperena Mentorship Awardee, Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE)
Ricardo is the associate director of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange -MARE, where he has served in a variety of capacities for more than fifteen years. Ricardo is a strategic and innovative leader who combines his training in social work, his post-graduate studies in...
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Lillian Lansberry Awardee, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families
Lansberry Awardee Timothy Britton,
Adoption Social Worker, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families
Tim Britton graduated from the University of Lowell in 1990 with a degree in criminal justice and psychology. He began his career in September 1991 as a social worker with the Department of Social Services, where he quickly developed a passion for supporting children and families...
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Tuesday April 28, 2026 12:00pm - 1:10pm
EDT
Ballroom AB
1:10pm EDT
2:15pm EDT
2:15pm EDT
2:15pm EDT
2:15pm EDT
Workshop B8: Collective Healing Leads to Empowering Futures
Tuesday April 28, 2026 2:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
Speakers 
Kenisha Coon Consulting, LLC
Dr. Kenisha Coon-Santiago is a nationally recognized leader in child welfare and equity-centered systems change, with over 15 years of experience advancing racial equity and improving outcomes for children and families. She is the founder of Kenisha Coon Consulting and serves as a...
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National Child Welfare Advisor, Raise the Future
National Adoption Association (NAA)
Maci Kean is currently a Senior Project Specialist with The Ujima Collective. She leads initiatives under the Ujima Collective to elevate youth voice, advance workforce equity, and support healing-centered engagement for transition-age youth. After being adopted at the age of...
Read More →
Presenter- Ujima Impact Award, NAA National Director of Ujima Collective
Lanecia Radcliff is a passionate child welfare professional with over 25 years of experience. Ms. Radcliff now works as the NAA National Director of the Ujima Collective. Ms. Radcliff is a certified case manager, a volunteer for Guardian Ad Litem and advocates for children...
Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 2:15pm - 3:30pm
EDT
Sturbridge
3:45pm EDT
