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, February 24, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Wounds Heal. They Become Stories with Monica Hall
Join Monica Hall, author of Practically Still a Virgin, adoptee, and birth mother, as she takes us on a powerful journey of reckoning with the past to reclaim her future. In this intimate talk, Monica shares how she unpacked the abuse and trauma of her childhood and early teen years — a process guided by the sharp insight of a developmental editor who asked the questions her younger self never could.
From the chaos of Alaska’s 1970s oil boom to revelations uncovered in Washington, California, Canada, and Michigan, Monica reveals the secrets, surprises, and heartbreak that shaped her path toward hope and redemption. Attendees will gain insight into the transformative power of storytelling, the emotional depth of memoir writing, and the courage it takes to face the truths hidden in plain sight. Don't miss this moving exploration of resilience, identity, and self-forgiveness.
About Monica
Monica Hall was born in Canada, adopted by American parents, and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She spent the first sixteen years of her life there and had many of the foundational experiences that drive her writing. She has founded several successful companies and currently works in marketing. Monica is also a speaker, and life coach. In March 2024 she published her first memoir titled, Practically Still a Virgin: An Adoption Memoir. The book has been met with acclaim and has over 100 5-star reviews on Amazon. She now travels and speaks to groups about writing their stories. She has three grown children and lives in Sacramento, California.
Monday, March 3, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Becoming Enough with JJ Rett
How do we get to the place where we believe we are enough? Amidst a childhood filled with abuse, lies, and shame JJ Rett developed a powerful sense of intuition and inner drive. She will discuss the ways in which she coped with being raised by an abusive parent, navigated her “late-discovery adoptee” identity, and repaired connections with her biological and adoptive families.
Her journey through the many traumas and breakthroughs she has experienced, from the circumstances that led to her relinquishment, to the day she learned that she was adopted twenty years prior, to living in reunion with both sides of her biological family, has brought her to a place where she now shares her insights and various healing modalities with others. She hopes that by sharing her story, others may be empowered on their own paths and, along the way, uncover their present and future selves.
About JJ
JJ Rett is a certified life coach who finds much of her joy in working with other members of the adoption constellation as they navigate their own experiences. She is a volunteer with Adoption Network Cleveland and has been a member since 2015, when she and over 400,000 other Ohio adoptees were granted access to their original birth records.
Prior to her work as a coach, JJ was the Assistant Director of Admissions at The Juilliard School. She holds a B.F.A in Stage Management from Wright State University and earned her coaching certification from Upbuild in 2024. JJ is living in reunion with both sides of her biological family and currently lives in Dayton, OH with her husband and three young children.
Monday, April 7, 2025
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
A Journey Back to My Ancestral Roots with Adrian Vaillancourt
Adrian will share his personal journey as an adoptee, focusing on his reconnection with his roots in Peru. His narrative will delve into the emotional complexities of identity, belonging, and the transformative power of understanding one’s heritage.
About Adrian
Adrian Carlos Vaillancourt is a transracial adoptee born in Huancayo, Peru, and raised in Quebec, Canada. Reconnecting with his roots, he has traveled extensively to Peru, learned Spanish, and volunteered in community projects. In 2022, he founded the Latin Adoptee Program to help Latin American adoptees reconnect with their heritage through cultural and language support.
