The Transnational Adoptee Support Group Meetings offer a safe space for transnational adoptees to explore the challenges and lifelong experiences shaped by adoption across borders. Led by transnational adoptees Abby Shaw and Svetlana Sandoval, these group discussions aim to foster a sense of community, allowing us to share our stories and support one another in our unique experiences. Transnational adoptees face distinct challenges, including cultural and language loss, legal complexities related to citizenship and identity, and the unique challenges in birth family search and reunion transnationally. To ensure this space is centered on our shared yet nuanced experiences, we ask that only transnational adoptees attend.

About Svetlana
Svetlana Sandoval is an International Adoptee from Russia. She was adopted to the U.S. during the peak wave of international adoptions in the late 90s. Svetlana is in reunion with her birthmother and family in Russia, and has been navigating reunion across language, cultural and legal barriers shared by many international adoptees. Svetlana has spent the last two years reclaiming her immigrant and adoptee identities and exploring her heritage with the support of adoptee community. Svetlana is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work and hopes to pursue a future supporting adoptees and centering their lived experiences in research.