Every year, Adoption STAR hosts an annual staff training and dinner (typically in the spring), a mandatory event for Adoption STAR staff. All employees of the agency are told to keep their own personal training logs and submit them annually, as the agency requires staff to show proof of on-going, comprehensive professional development/training. The annual staff training and dinner helps staff work towards their professional development goals, as all employees are given “credits” as a result of attending the event.
This year’s dinner and training is taking place on Thursday, May 15th, and we’re very fortunate to have Maris Blechner as our trainer/facilitator. For those of you who are unaware of Maris, here’s some biographical information on her:
“Maris Blechner is an adoptive and birth parent, an educator, a social worker, and an internationally respected speaker and trainer on child welfare issues, with more than thirty-three years of professional experience in public adoption. She has been the Vice President of the North American Council on Adoptable Children and the New York State Adoption Action Network. She is a Board member emeritus of the New York State Adoptive Parents Committee, also sitting on a variety of work groups dealing with the improvement of adoption. Maris is a seasoned keynote speaker and conference presenter throughout the U.S. and Canada. Most importantly, Maris defines herself as a child advocate, well trained in grass roots community activism.”
In an effort to give you a bit more insight into Maris, please read the following article
Maris penned for the February 2014 edition of Adoption Today, a digital magazine you can learn more about at www.adoptinfo.net.