Webinars

NWAE webinars

In our webinars, Northwest Adoption Exchange staff share their firsthand experience and expertise working directly with youth in adoption recruitment.

Personality is in the details: Effective storytelling in recruitment

How do we ensure that a youth’s profile tells a story that creates meaningful and lasting connections with potential families? Join us to learn about the storytelling strategies Northwest Adoption Exchange relies on to create compelling youth content that inspires more families to come forward.

Topics covered in this webinar include:

• How to find and involve a youth’s strongest advocates.
• Ways to empower youth to lend their own voice and creativity.
• Centering equity in recruitment.
• Dos and don’ts of creative storytelling.
• Real examples of transforming youth profiles from basic to authentic.

Presenters:

• Nick Baumgartner (he/him), youth engagement specialist
• Kailee Haong (she/her), youth engagement specialist
• Jess Tholmer (she/her), program manager

How to engage with youth about recruiting adoptive families

How do we explain adoption recruitment to youth? We know the importance of engaging youth in conversations about permanency in general, but talking with them about the process of how we recruit adoptive families is essential.

Topics covered in this webinar include:

• Creating equitable recruitment by involving youth as active participants.
• Looking at recruitment through a lens of lived youth experience.
• Using strength-based approaches to engage youth and recruit adoptive families.
• We will use In-Depth Profiles to demonstrate real examples of youth involvement.

Presenters:

• Nick Baumgartner (he/him), youth engagement specialist
• Tyler Helbach (he/him), MPA, Northwest Adoption Exchange director
• Jess Tholmer (she/her), Northwest Adoption Exchange program manager

Strategies to creatively empower youth to reach adoptive families

What happens when we empower youth to take more ownership in their adoption recruitment? Learn how engaging a youth’s own voice in recruitment can inspire potential adoptive families to step forward.

Topics covered in this webinar include:

• Proven strategies for engaging with youth remotely during COVID-19.
• What it looks like to give youth creative control in recruitment.
• Tools that allow youth voices to stand out.
• Real examples of youth storytellers shown through our In-Depth Profiles.

Presenters:

• Nick Baumgartner (he/him), youth engagement specialist
• Brandon Adams (he/him), In-Depth Profiles project manager
• Naomi Kolb-Untinen (she/they), youth engagement specialist

Want full access to a past webinar?

To request temporary access to the full webinars, please contact our In-Depth Profiles project manager, Kailee Haong, at khaong@nwresource.org.