Monday Evening Speaker Series
Adoption Network Cleveland is pleased to offer a VIRTUAL Monday Evening Speaker Series full of topics that are of interest to a broad audience impacted by adoption, kinship, and foster care. These programs are made possible by donors and presenters volunteering their time and they thrive thanks to the active participation of attendees.
Upcoming Presentations
Monday, September 29, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Socio-Cultural Factors in Identity Reclamation For An American Indian with Bruce Kafer
As an adoptee who was raised in a loving Caucasian family, Bruce Kafer, has always known he was adopted and an American Indian. The significance of his Native background didn’t become poignantly relevant to him until his adult years. The journey of identity reclamation really began when he first asked his mother, “Why do I look different than the other kids, why is my skin darker?”
Following the resolution of his alcoholism and the myriads of traumas which ensued due to alcoholic drinking behaviors, the journey then became exponentially more complicated. Nonetheless, it was the eventual recognition that the Universe offered holistic possibilities which compelled Bruce to offer a prayer to find his birth mother. Once reunited with his birth mother, he recognized she was someone whom he looked like. Henceforth, the journey of reclamation spiritually evolved into a sacred journey of discovery replete with growth, gratitude, and opportunities for profound connectedness.
About Bruce
Bruce Kafer is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a registered nurse as well as a doctoral student completing a PhD in Nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
Mr. Kafer is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellow. In addition, he is a VA Jonas Foundation Scholar whereby recipients of this philanthropic scholarship are by invitation only to nurse leaders.
Mr. Kafer has been on staff at the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System in Cleveland, Ohio, for the past twenty-three years. Prior to joining the federal government, he worked in the private sector and for non-profit agencies in substance abuse and mental health programs. Mr. Kafer remains a stalwart advocate for indigenous people and is a principal advocate for military veterans and their families. His research and practice interests include Native American Health as well as Organizational Health and Development.
Monday, October 6, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Choosing to Breathe: A Return to The Gathering Place presented by Linda Pevac aka Emma Stevens
What happens when we make a conscious decision to make our identities more than only being an adoptee? What if we were first to do the hard work necessary to move residual trauma out of our bodies and then dedicate ourselves to writing ourselves a new story? I want to share with you my own experience of doing just that and how creating The Gathering Place has helped me transform. This magical and mysterious place has shown me that when I choose to fully breathe and make space for new thoughts and ideas about myself and the world around me, I can, and we all can, be set free from former ways of being.
About Emma
Emma Stevens, who is also known as Linda Pevac, is the author of two earlier memoirs: The Gathering Place: An Adoptee’s Story and A Fire Is Coming. Her adoption journey began when she was relinquished as an infant and adopted at three months old. Only in hindsight does she understand how being an adoptee has shaped and formed her entire life.
In her first memoir, The Gathering Place, Emma describes a magical space she has created for healing, comfort, and restoration for the younger parts of herself that never felt safe, seen, heard, or understood. A Fire Is Coming is Emma’s cautionary tale, emphasizing the importance of selecting a therapist thoughtfully. She alerts readers to the psychological nightmare that can result from an unethical therapist, doctor, or counselor.
Emma’s third memoir, Choosing to Breathe, brings together all three themes. It takes readers back to The Gathering Place, where they discover what it means to integrate their identities as Emma releases multiple layers of trauma.
After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma, she pursued master's-level coursework in psychology at Pepperdine University in Orange County, California. In March 2024, Emma won an Independent Author Award for her second book, A Fire Is Coming, at Tucson’s 2024 Festival of Books. She was a finalist in the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards for the same book.
Emma loves traveling and spending time with her two adult children and her two lively, affectionate Bengal cats. www.emmastevenswriter.com
Monday, October 13, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Finding Your Voice: From Personal Journey to Shared Experience with Deborah Jiang-Stein
Deborah Jiang-Stein, a product of foster care and adoption, is author of Lucky Tomorrow: Stories, and the memoir, Prison Baby. She will discuss her adoption journey after learning the secret of her birth in prison. She speaks about the stories that define us, and reframing our narrative on our own terms, moving through trauma stories to include joy, resilience, and growth in the adoption narrative.
About Deborah
Deborah Jiang-Stein is a product of foster care and adoption, and an award-winning writer, public speaker, collaborator, and author of the short story collection, Lucky Tomorrow, and the memoir Prison Baby. Deborah is founder of the unPrison Project, working with and mentoring people in prisons to build life skills.
