Untangling Our Roots

A Statement from Right to Know

We are grateful to every attendee, speaker, volunteer, sponsor, and community member who helped make Untangling Our Roots possible. We also thank NAAP for its role in bringing the conferences to life and wish the organization well as we move forward on separate paths.

We know many of you are wondering what this means for the future. Untangling Our Roots may not continue, but the need to gather, learn, connect, and feel understood has not.

Right to Know will continue hosting a conference that brings together adoptees, donor-conceived people, people affected by an NPE or DNA surprise, and the parents, partners, siblings, professionals, and others whose lives are part of these experiences.

We are already looking toward what comes next, and we will share more when the time is right. For now, we want our community to hear this clearly:

We will continue to gather. We will continue to build community. We will see you again.

A Statement from the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP) Board of Directors

September 3, 2026

The Untangling Our Roots Summit was born from a beautiful vision — that adoptees, NPEs, donor-conceived people, and all those whose lives have been shaped by family complexity share something profound: the search for identity, truth, and connection. Leslie Mackinnon, LCSW, brought that vision to life and brought our organizations together to serve it. We are grateful for every conference, every speaker, and every person who trusted us with their story.

Today we are sharing something difficult. After four years of co-creating and co-hosting the Untangling Our Roots Summit alongside Right To Know, NAAP is withdrawing from the UTOR partnership. NAAP will no longer be part of the Untangling Our Roots Summit. What was built together, as we knew it, has come to an end for NAAP.

This was not a decision we made quickly or lightly. When the path forward became unclear, we chose to stay committed to the values and roots that seeded this organization.

To every person who attended UTOR, who spoke, who volunteered, who shared their story — Thank you! We want you to know how much we appreciate you and what you brought to this gathering. The connections formed across our communities are real and they belong to you. The friendships between adoptees, NPEs, donor-conceived people, and all those navigating questions of identity and family — those are yours to keep. You will always be welcome here. NAAP’s door is open to everyone whose life has been shaped by adoption, assisted reproduction, donor conception, or unexpected DNA discoveries.

NAAP is an accountable organization committed to keeping adoptee voices at the center in everything we do and in every partnership we pursue. We advocate for equity, for transparency, and for the principle that adoptees, birth parents and first families — however you name that experience — deserve to be seen and served by an organization dedicated to them. We know that each person names their own experience and we respect that. You are seen here. You belong here.

NAAP has been gathering this community together since 2017 — full multi-day national conferences, regional retreats, and six years of free weekly programming that began when COVID cancelled our 2020 conference and we launched Adoption Happy Hour rather than go dark. Conference building and community gathering is in our DNA.

Our free monthly programs continue. Our legislative advocacy continues. And in April 2027, NAAP will host its National Conference in Indianapolis — Rooted. Reaching. Rising. — built by the organization that has always put the adoption constellation at the center.

To Leslie Mackinnon — your vision brought real healing to real people. We carry it with us.

Building Unity in Our Community is not just our tagline. It is our promise. And we will continue to honor that promise — with integrity, transparency, and accountability.

With love and unwavering commitment,

Jennifer Fahlsing, Co-Founder & President
Beth Steury, Treasurer
Lori Wagner Knisely, Secretary
Barbara Robertson, Board Member
Ann Mire Mikeska, Board Member
Alicia Williams, Board Member
Patricia Ann Knight Meyer, Board Member

National Association of Adoptees & Parents (NAAP)
www.naapunited.org
Building Unity in Our Community

Also signed by NAAP’s Senior Advisors:

Marcie Keithley, Co-Founder & Past President, NAAP

Leslie Mackinnon, LCSW — Birth Parent Advocate, Therapist, and Founding Visionary of Untangling Our Roots

Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, Ed.D., LCSW, LMFT — Pioneering Family Therapist, Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Founder of the Center for Family Connections, Author of The Family of Adoption, Congressional Angels in Adoption Award Recipient, and Adult Adoptee

NEW - Support for Spouses & Partners - NEW

When someone discovers, or discloses, that they have a previously unknown child, the impact reaches beyond that parent and child. Spouses and partners may be left trying to make sense of shock, grief, anger, compassion, curiosity, betrayal, hope, and what this means for their relationship and family.

This group is for spouses, partners, and significant others navigating the complicated emotions and family changes that can come when a previously unknown child enters the family system.

Together, we’ll make space for topics like trust, communication, boundaries, changing relationships, supporting your partner, welcoming a newly discovered child or adult child, and caring for yourself in the process.

Whether the discovery is recent or happened years ago, you are welcome here.

Hosted by Randi
Meets Monthly: third Thursday
First meeting: July 16
Time: 5:00 PM Pacific / 8:00 PM Eastern
Preregistration required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fFaTADgqS7uSjgRDCFtKjQ

Untangling Our Roots participated in the 2026 NGS Family History Conference: America at 250, chalking up another successful venture in the umbrella organization’s mission to champion the cause of truth and transparency in genetic identity.

Volunteers, Jennifer Fahlsing, Beth Steury, and Monica Eubank Bein, from the National Association of Adoptees and Parents and Right to Know staffed the exhibit hall booth, representing all three communities the host organizations service and support. We engaged in many meaningful conversations, distributed programming details, resource listings, and each organization’s specific printed material while listening to many stories. The fortune cookies were, as always, a big hit, providing an effective way to draw attendees in to hear about the mission of UTOR and why we participate in this event: to encourage those passionate about researching their family’s history to be welcoming to the DNA surprise scenarios they may encounter and to direct those impacted individuals to us.

It was both encouraging and rewarding to hear from conference attendees, “Thank you for what you do.” Comments from attendees and fellow exhibitors that they remembered seeing and engaging with Untangling Our Roots at various past events proves that our efforts are creating a lasting impact. Parting sentiments included, “See you at . . . (future events)!” which should encourage us to embrace our place and the value of our impact in genealogy-centric spaces.

Late Discovery Adoptees

Some adoptees always knew; others found out accidentally as adults.

No matter how the truth comes out, it can reshape identity, relationships, and the understanding of your own story. Adoption conversations are often framed around gratitude.

But honesty matters, too.

Explore resources and stories:
https://righttoknow.us/adoption

Support for Parents

Parents navigating a DNA surprise often ask: “What do I say now?”

There is no perfect script, but honesty, accountability, and compassion matter more than silence.

Whether you are a parent, spouse, or family member trying to support someone through a discovery, this page is a good place to begin:
https://righttoknow.us/parents

Why DNA Truth Matters

Knowing the truth about your biological identity is not curiosity. For many people, it affects medical history, relationships, mental health, and personal identity.

Right to Know advocates for honesty, transparency, and access to biological truth. Learn why this movement matters:
https://righttoknow.us/right-to-know

“You’re Not the Only One”

One of the hardest parts of a DNA surprise is believing nobody else could possibly understand it. But thousands of people do.

Right to Know connects people with education, support organizations, podcasts, articles, and community resources.

Start here:
https://righttoknow.us/resources

Medical History Matters

A lot of people take family medical history for granted until they discover the history they were given was not accurate.

For donor conceived people, adoptees, and NPEs, missing or incorrect medical information can have lifelong consequences.

Read more:
https://righttoknow.us/medical-history