The Ties Program

Ties Together: Monthly Chat is back for June! 🗓️
RSVP: https://bit.ly/TiesTogetherSignUp

Join us on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at 5pm Pacific / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern for an hour of connection, reflection, and real talk with adoptees and loved ones.

This month’s theme: Choice, Agency, and Saying Yes (or No)

An intentional space to explore the emotions, expectations, and personal decisions that can come up in these moments, with a focus on honoring your experience and what feels right for you.

What to expect: gentle prompts, space to share (or just listen), and a community that gets it. 💛 We will be hosting two intentional spaces: an adoptee-only chat and a parent/loved one chat.

Last week, our Executive Director and Owner, Tanya Kaanta, had the opportunity to connect with Korean adoptee leaders from around the world at OKA’s (Overseas Korean Agency) adoptee gathering in Seoul. This government-sponsored event created space to hear directly from government organizations working on issues that impact adoptees. Tanya also participated in discussions to share perspectives, develop ideas, and offer policy recommendations that we hope can support Korean adoptees both overseas and in Korea.

Most meaningful of all was the opportunity to build relationships, exchange ideas, and strengthen connections within the community. We are deeply inspired and encouraged by the continued collaboration and momentum toward meaningful change for Korean adoptees.

This past weekend, The Ties Program had the honor of attending the 2nd Annual Conference in Philadelphia, centered around the theme of “Family: First, Found & Future.” 💜

Our Program Manager, Autumn Ackerson, represented Ties throughout the weekend and co-led breakout sessions on the logistics of going back to China and searching, as well as a session on adoptee identity beyond search & return.

It was so meaningful to not only meet and connect with so many adoptees throughout the weekend, but also reconnect with several Ties alumni along the way. 🤍

We’re grateful for spaces like these that allow adoptees t build community together. Thank you to everyone who helped bring this weekend to life and for continuing to create opportunities where adoptees can feel seen, heard, and understood.

💌 Postcards are in from around the world 🌍

Each one is bringing back a little message as we officially announce Summer 2027 program dates.

Registration opens early June ✈️

We cannot wait to share where we are headed next and welcome you into another season of meaningful journeys, connection, and discovery 💛

Which program are you most excited about? Drop it in the comments 👇

We’re sharing reflections from our first “Together In This” cohort, a space created for partners of adoptees, and what we learned along the way. This experience opened up important conversations around support, identity, and what it means to walk alongside an adoptee in relationship.

Read the full post here or at the link in our bio: https://bit.ly/WhatWeLearnedTogetherinThisBlog

If you are in a relationship with an adoptee and have wondered whether a space like this exists for you, it does, regardless of where you are starting from. We would love to have you join us for our fall cohort 💛

📅 There are four sessions:
Sept 3, 10, 17, 24
60-minute, small group (5–10 people)

$120 registration covers all sessions. Zoom link sent after signup.

Register here or link in our bio: https://bit.ly/TogetherinThisFall2026

We would be so glad to have you with us 💛

We honestly could not have imagined this kind of response 💛 Our Dual Citizenship Webinar for Guatemalan adoptees filled so quickly that we’ve decided to host another session in partnership with Adoptees With Guatemalan Roots (). We are incredibly grateful for the excitement, interest, and support surrounding this space and these conversations. Join us next month for the next one.

📅 Saturday, June 20, 2026
🕛 12 PM Eastern Time

To everyone who signed up for the last session, joined the waitlist, shared the event, or simply expressed interest, thank you. It’s clear how important these conversations around identity, citizenship, connection, and access are within the Guatemalan adoptee community.

Registration: https://bit.ly/AWGRDualCitizenshipWebinarJune or link in bio

Please note: This is the same content we presented on May 7, 2026. If you attended that webinar, please do not register for this one to allow others to attend.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to our Community & Connection: Boston Meetup this weekend! ❤️

It was so meaningful to gather with fellow Guatemalan adoptees and their loved ones for an afternoon filled with conversation, connection, laughter, shuffleboard, and community. Events like these remind us how important it is to have spaces where adoptees can simply show up as themselves and be together.

Thank you to everyone who attended, shared stories, hung out, and helped create such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. We’re also incredibly grateful to our co-hosts at Adoptees With Guatemalan Roots () and to the Boston Post Adoption Resources () for sponsoring and supporting this gathering.

We loved spending the afternoon with you all and can’t wait for the next one 🤍

Be sure to follow and support:
Adoptees with Guatemalan Roots - guateroots.org
Boston Post Adoption Resources - bpar.org
The Ties Program - thetiesprogram.com

We’re excited to share our latest blog post highlighting the Annual Truth Day International Conference & Korea Tour with USKRG and CKRG. This post takes a closer look at the experience and what participants can expect as part of this meaningful gathering centered on connection, reflection, and community.

Read the full post here: https://bit.ly/5ReasonsTruthDay

This experience brings together adoptees and the wider community for meaningful dialogue, learning, and connection in Korea, offering space to engage more deeply with identity, history, and lived experience

5 Reasons to Join the Annual Truth Day International Conference and Korea Tour — The Ties Program Access to KRG Conference on September 9-10, 2026 in Seoul The 2nd annual KRG conference is open to Korean Adoptees (KADs), descendants of Korean Adoptees (DoKADs) and supporters of Korean Adoptees. As well, the conference is open to those who are a Korean Rights Group supporter or have submitted th

Our bags are (almost) packed! ✈️📍

We’re heading out across the country to connect, learn, and build community with you all. From heritage camps in the Rockies to gatherings in Seoul, the Ties team is honored to be part of these vital conversations over the coming months.

Take a peek at our schedule to see if we’ll be in your neck of the woods! We’d love to meet you IRL, hear your stories, and share what’s on the horizon for our upcoming journeys.

The Roadmap:
🗓️ MAY: Boston, Seoul, & Philly
🗓️ JUNE: Fraser & Denver, CO
🗓️ JULY: Estes Park, Portland, & Westminster

Which of these are you attending? Let us know in the comments! 👇

Full details and links can be found at: thetiesprogram.com/events

We are still feeling the resonance from last week's webinar with Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families . To everyone who carved out time to join us: thank you.

Together, we pulled back the curtain on the "in-between" moments of life, the transitions that challenge our sense of belonging and shape who we are becoming. It was a powerful session filled with nuance, exploring how we find our footing when identity and societal expectations collide.

To our incredible panelists: Thank you for showing up with such radical honesty. By sharing your lived truths and personal insights, you didn't just give a presentation, you created a roadmap for others navigating similar paths. We are deeply moved by your vulnerability and the care you put into every word.

With Deepest Appreciation for our Panelists:
💜Alisha Kwon Hammett
💜Caitlin Irwin
💜Kelly Calderon
💜Katie Barry
💜Bodhi Severns

Your commitment to centering lived experience is what makes this work possible.

Visit our website to catch up on what else we are doing in the coming months: www.thetiesprogram.com/events