Becky Fawcett is the founder and president of Helpusadopt.org, an equality based organization that seeks to reduce the financial burden of adoption by awarding large, life-changing, problem-solving grants. After graduating from Franklin & Marshall College, Becky had a successful career in the magazine industry, first for Baltimore magazine, and then for Philadelphia magazine as the director of marketing. In 1999, she founded The Fawcett Group, a full-service public relations and marketing firm with offices in New York City and Philadelphia. Becky and her husband Kipp adopted their son, Jake, in 2005, and their daughter, Brooke, in 2009. After adopting their son, Becky and Kipp, were so grateful that they had the financial means to adopt that they decided to make a donation to an organization that would help ease another family’s financial burden. Sadly, they could not find an adoption grant organization that was based on a mission of equality. To address this need and help all types of families, they founded Helpusadopt.org in 2007. Under Becky's leadership, Helpusadopt.org has grown from a kitchen-table organization into a strong, national presence with a full time staff of four, board of twenty two, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of donors. Helpusadopt.org has been featured on CNN, People.com, The Today Show and Good Morning America and in The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, O Magazine and Good Housekeeping for their groundbreaking work in the world of adoption. Becky lives in Manhattan with her husband Kipp and her children Jake and Brooke.

Kipp is a Managing Director in the investment banking group at Janney Montgomery Scott. Kipp originally joined Janney in 2004. Since then, he has worked in investment banking at Bear Stearns, Jeffries and Nomura, covering the specialty finance sector. He most recently was with Accordion Partners where he served as a strategic consultant to CFOs of middle market private equity-backed companies. Kipp rejoins the Firm with over 15 years of investment banking experience and has led and executed over 100 merger and capital markets transactions throughout his career. He specializes in financial institutions with a focus on the specialty finance sector. Kipp earned his B.A. degree in finance from Franklin & Marshall College in 1993, his MBA from Villanova University in 1996 and completed his CFA degree in 1999. The decision to launch Helpusadopt.org was almost immediate once he realized what the average adoption costs are, how many couples struggle financially and how others go childless.

After a successful career in information technology consulting, Mike made a second career of giving back, paying it forward, and making community impact in VA, PA, and NYC through full-time community and nonprofit leadership, coaching and mentoring, and raising two sons while supporting his wife Jen’s successful career as a technology executive. Mike serves on several nonprofit Boards of Directors and several other nonprofit Committees, and coaches swimming and formerly baseball. Mike has been honored as a “Volunteer of the Year” and “Coach of the Year”. Mike became involved with Helpusadopt.org as an adoptee. He was adopted after his birth in 1969 by his parents through an adoption agency and foster family. His birth mother Diana was just 20, and his birth father, 24, had been killed in a drunk driving accident eight months before he was born. After college, he found Diana, and met his biological family on both sides. Mike says, "It has been an incredible experience of the miracle of life, timing and circumstance, and nature and nurture. I am blessed, fortunate, and grateful to have been conceived, born, and then adopted by my loving parents Patricia and Chuck; have a younger (also adopted) sister Michelle; have found my birth mother Diana; be happily married to Jen; be a Dad to two great sons, Ned and Eric; and be alive and well with terrific family and friends. Since meeting Helpusadopt.org Founder & President Becky Fawcett, I have served on Faces of Adoption Leadership Committees, and am honored and proud to serve on the Board of Directors."

Kim was born in South Korea and raised in Connecticut by an Italian-American family. She attended Boston University earning undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Advertising and earned her M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Kim is passionate about bridging digital innovation with the luxury retail experience and is currently the Executive Director, Global Data & Analytics Strategy and Enablement for the Estée Lauder Companies. Prior to her current role, Kim spent a decade in the data and analytics consulting space implementing reporting tools, CRM systems and modern cloud-based platforms for clients such as Stuart Weitzman, Tiffany & Company and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Kim is a proud international adoptee and has prior volunteer work experience as a middle school mentor for adopted children, an adoptee panelist for families looking to adopt, and a member of the Young Leadership Committee all for Spence-Chapin, the adoption agency she was adopted through. The mission and inclusivity-driven aspect of Help Us Adopt resonates with her immensely and she eagerly looks to apply her expertise in data and analytics at the board level to serve this high growth organization. Kim resides in NJ with her husband, son and daughter.

Michael Miller, current Board Treasurer at Helpusadopt.org, is a founder and Vice President of Miller Bros., an energy services firm based in Conshohocken, PA. He is part of the founding team at Miller Bros. Solar, a National operations and maintenance provider to owners of solar generating facilities. Michael is also a founder of GreenPrint Capital, a finance firm providing tax equity investments in the renewable energy space. He spends as much time as possible raising, watching, laughing and learning with his family.

Seema Baranwal is a board-certified internal medicine physician and serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. She was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. Seema earned her M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Seema and her husband Ash are the proud parents of three children, one of whom was adopted from India in 2011. Seema enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, mentoring medical students, caring for patients, and giving back to her community. Seeing how adoption has built her wonderful family, Seema is passionate to help support and build as many loving families as possible.

Veronica Miele Beard was raised in northern New Jersey. She graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and studied abroad in Florence, Italy. With a head for business and a heart for culture, she is inspired by myriad forms of art and has always enjoyed taking fashion risks. Her first job was on Wall Street in sales and trading. After a brief stint in the ‘90s working for Ron Galotti at Vogue, Veronica returned to the world of finance. She reached the pinnacle of her finance career when she helped Philippe Laffont launch Coatue Management, LLC, a premier technology hedge fund, where she was partner and COO. There she learned how to manage and organically build a business. Her quest to find and fill a void in the market led her to the fashion industry to create the perfect uniform for women; cool, sexy and chic. She believes in enhancing a woman’s personal strengths and features through her individual look. Veronica lives in Manhattan with her husband, Anson H. Beard, and their five children, Helaina, Scarlett, Anson Jr., India, and Matthew Rhett.

Sarah Cotenoff was born and raised in New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Delaware and received her Masters from The New School in Media Management. She began her career in advertising sales at Turner Broadcast and HowStuffWorks. After launching her own podcast advertising agency, she transitioned into adtech by co-founding and leading the sales team at Podsights, which was acquired by Spotify in 2022. Currently, she is the VP of Sales at Just Women's Sports and resides in LA with her dog and cat. Sarah has a passion for helping companies and organizations that solve real-life problems, like HelpUsAdopt.org. Her family was built in part by adoption and she wishes every couple or person who has it in their heart to adopt should be able to. She strongly believes that families come in all forms and the high cost of adoption should not be a barrier for children to find loving homes.

Christina Donelson is a C-Suite Executive with 20+ years of experience building and transforming cultures through strategic talent development and reinvestment strategies. Her public and private company Board work includes partnering with Nominating and Governance, Compensation and Board Chairs to develop programs and processes to enhance the overall effectiveness of the Board, and to align executive compensation with shareholder value. After spending several years as the SVP/Chief Human Resources Officer of a ~$2.5B+ organization, Christina now serves as a strategic advisor to Boards and executive teams looking to transform their culture and talent programs by leveraging her experience in M&A intensive environments. She is committed to helping leaders create equitable and inclusive teams. Christina earned her MA in Organizational Communication from the University of Oklahoma as well as a BA in Journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington. When asked why she joined Helpusadopt.org's Board Christina says, “As an adoptive mom, I know that families are formed in a variety of ways and come in all shapes and sizes. I love the clarity of the mission at Helusadopt.org and the emphasis on making adoption accessible to a diverse and inclusive population. It would be an honor to participate in helping the organization support more families by increasing awareness of the programs and fundraising needs throughout my professional and personal networks.”.

Jeff Dorschuck serves as the Vice President of Business and Professional Banking Regional Manager at M&T Bank where he has worked for over 16 years. Jeff was born and raised in Valley Stream, NY and is married to Danielle with whom he has a three month old named girl, Isabella Marie. He is a sports enthusiast being a big fan of the NY Mets, NY Jets, and Penn State football. He's an avid traveler who has visited over 36 countries and enjoys play golf on his downtime. Jeff is passionate about Helpusadopt.org's mission and is very excited to help more kids who are in need of a loving, permanent home.

Debbie Drinkwater is an adoptee. She was raised in St. Louis by her adopted parents along with her younger brother Steve, who is also adopted. Deb attended Franklin & Marshall College and graduated in 1992 with a degree in Political Science. While attending F&M she met her future husband, Mark Drinkwater, and married in 1993. Together they raised their three children in Duxbury, MA. They currently live in Stowe, VT full time. Deb and Mark have three biological children, Liz, Caroline, and Sam. In the mid-nineties Deb worked on the Weld-Cellucci Committee and then transitioned to a role as an Executive Assistant to Governor Bill Weld. As a mom Deb became a habitual volunteer for local community causes. She Chaired the Duxbury Beach Preservation Society for 4 years, raising money for the barrier beach's restoration efforts. She also ran events for the Jett Foundation of Pembroke, MA, Crossroads for Kids of Duxbury, MA., and The Mt. Mansfield Ski Academy in Stowe, VT. In 2021, working through a social worker, Deb has found and established connections with her biological family. With the support of her adoptive family, she is currently building some amazing relationships with her extensive biological family who are mostly in the Kentucky area.

Glenn Hill is the proud father of three adopted children. He is also a Managing Director with J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Global Fund Structuring Team where he focuses on structuring and funds management for private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds. Mr. Hill serves as President of J.P. Morgan Private Investments Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser that manages private client assets in J.P. Morgan multi-manager portfolios and feeder funds. Prior to joining the Private Bank in 2003, he worked for J.P. Morgan Partners and the J.P. Morgan Investment Bank, where he managed institutional private equity fundraisings for both internal and third-party fund managers. Mr. Hill received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and B.S. in Advertising from Florida State University.

Kate Jenkins is a Managing Director and Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Ares where she is responsible for leading the firm's recruitment efforts and setting its global recruiting strategy. Prior to joining Ares, Kate was the Global Head of Investments & Client Businesses Recruiting at BlackRock. Previously, Kate was an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan, where she oversaw Global Recruitment for Investment Management. Before J.P. Morgan, she held various recruiting leadership roles at Morgan Stanley and Oak Hill Capital Management. Kate began her career in Human Resources at Penguin Putnam Publishing. Kate earned a BA degree in Sociology from Gettysburg College in 2000. She is an active member of the Millbrook School alumni association. Kate resides in Essex Fells, NJ with her husband Brady and their two children.

Sheryl is a Florida family law attorney, cancer survivor, and child champion. She is an advocate for adoption, in particular single parent adoptions. Her son, William, who was born in her heart and not under, made her a mother in 2016 after a challenging journey where she experienced significant anti-favoritism from agencies because she was adopting as a single parent. Sheryl is committed to helping fund forever bonds by rallying financial assistance and raising awareness.

Victoria is a 20+ year Corporate Executive, Professional Public Speaker and #1 best-selling Author. She has been recognized for her work in leadership, mentorship and her advocacy and advancement of under-represented groups, particularly focused around the equity and advancement of women and those in the LGBTQ community. Victoria is an experienced Board Director having served on many boards, including ones that support children from the Child Welfare system. As an adopted child herself, Victoria is deeply committed to the mission of HelpUsAdopt.org

Sandhya Rawal-Sumangali is a seasoned professional with extensive leadership experience in healthcare organizations. Most recently, as Vice President of Corporate Development at Elixir Solutions, she specialized in corporate strategy, business analytics, and operational transformation. Sandhya's accomplishments include establishing infrastructure for Rite Aid's Executive Leadership Team as the inaugural CEO's Chief of Staff and orchestrating a successful asset sale exceeding $500M. Previously, at McKinsey & Company, she excelled in formulating growth strategies for Fortune 50 retail pharmacies, overseeing spin-offs, and optimizing operations for prominent clients.

Marilyn’s full-time and favorite job is being a mother. Having had her first child at 23 and then adopting her fourth 20 years later, she has a unique and evolving perspective on motherhood. Marilyn was born and raised in New York and attended the Pharmacy School at SUNY Buffalo. She married her high school sweetheart, Michael, at 22. They now live in San Diego where they own several successful restaurants. She is still working on raising her 17-year-old son, Max, who is finishing his senior year, and considers herself very lucky that her three grown children and two grandsons live nearby. Marilyn considers Max's adoption to be her greatest accomplishment. Knowing that she changed his life from uncertainty in a Russian orphanage to giving him every advantage that every child deserves has filled her heart and soul. The faces of the other orphans waiting for homes still haunts her 17 years later. Every child deserves a family and a home and she cannot think of a more meaningful way to share her resources and time than working with Helpusadopt.org.

Hyla Kaplan Rosenberg is originally from Barrington, Rhode Island. She is a Partner at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP in New York, NY where she focuses on employment-based immigration for Fortune 500 companies. Her passion for immigration law developed in college when she began working with individuals from underserved immigrant communities. Pro bono work remains an important part of her practice with a focus on asylum applicants and unaccompanied minors. Currently residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons, Helpusadopt.org’s mission resonates with her as she understands the importance of removing financial barriers to adoption and values the important work the organization does to build families. She feels so fortunate that as a child, her long-wished-for sibling finally arrived via adoption and hopes to help others on their adoption journeys.

Jerry Slipakoff graduated from the University of Miami School of Business and joined the family owned steel company. After running the company for 10 years Jerry decided to leave the steel business to join a friend to grow his start up real estate investment / management company. Starting with 200 apartment units, the Galman Group has grown over the past 30 years and now owns and manages approximately 10,000 apartment units.

Karen grew up in Chicago and graduate from Loyola University of Chicago with a B.A in Finance. She began work immediately at The Northern Trust Chicago, as a Vice President. Karen was a Relationship Manager in the Trust Department for 16 years with clients nationwide including ERISA, Taft-Hartley and Insurance Pension Funds. Karen left Northern Trust to stay at home to care for her children full time. Having championed many efforts in her school district and beyond for the rights of children with disabilities she became fully committed to helping children. She also sits on another Board which raises scholarship money to send kids to camp who financially could not attend. Karen and her husband of 25 years, the Global Corporate Head of Mayer Brown, adopted their oldest son Jake, from Bulgaria 20 years ago. Two other children followed, Joseph now age 19 and Sophia now 16. Karen and her family live in a Northern Suburb of Chicago, Northbrook.

Linda Yarden is an attorney, a Managing Director of the Golden Seeds Angel Network, and is the co-founder of In the Stacks with Linda, a facilitated book salon. She was the Managing Director of Corporate Placement and Strategy at the A.W. Rush & Co. search firm, where she now serves as a consultant. Her legal experience includes 14 years with Goldman, Sachs & Co. and 10 years at Lehman Brothers. During the course of her career in the financial services industry, Linda served as the Executive Vice President of SIFMA C&L. She is now on the Board of Trustees of Park Avenue Synagogue. Linda is an arbitrator with both FINRA and the AAA. Linda graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and received her Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law. Linda lives in Manhattan with her spouse, Chris Smith and her two children.