Gladney Blog

I joined Gladney on April 1, 2008 (April Fool’s Day–appropriate!) as the Chief Development Officer. The agency was in transition at that time, as the development team had just been relocated from the Gladney Fund to the Gladney Center. I later began working with different departments throughout the organization and eventually became the Chief Operating Officer. Eighteen months ago, I took the reins as President and CEO. I have worked in the nonprofit world for the past 24 years, and I’m continually amazed by the generosity of our society. I have learned over the years that people are motivated to make a real impact. It has been my job to tell the story and show how a person’s support can change lives. At Gladney, we have the privilege of doing that every day.

The swinging bridge of Camp El Tesoro is a great metaphor for camp. It marks a crossing over into another world, it leaves you unsteady, and it requires a bit of an adventurous spirit and bravery to wobble across. That’s the leap that twenty children took, crossing over to spend a week at Gladney’s Camp Forge at the end of July. 

For the last decade, Gladney's Superkids program has been sending pediatric therapy teams to visit orphanages in China and Taiwan to learn more about children waiting to be matched with adoptive families. The information we learn on these trips helps us to find permanent adoptive families.  To date, almost 200 children that were seen by Superkids have been adopted by families in the United States as well as other countries.  Many of these children would not have found the love and care of a family, without the Superkids program.  This program continues currently with wonderful success in Taiwan.  The next trip is scheduled for November, 2019.

reFRAMED Host, Emily Morehead, talked with Bailey Guthrie, Gladney adoptive parent, and Ashley Whiteside, LMSW, answer the question, "what is the adoption journey like" if adopting an infant. Bailey discussed the mixed feelings with the adoption process, along with personal experience of loss.

reFRAMED Host, Emily Morehead, talked with Staci Danford about reframing your brain with gratitude. Staci talked about how gratitude can have a major impact on your life and the different ways you can practice being grateful. Describing why you are grateful for something, like a cup of coffee, allows you to change your thought process and creates the practice of scientific gratitude. Staci's bubbly personality and captivating smile will leave you wanting more.

Yesterday was a difficult day. It was one of those days where everything is hard, and nothing goes as planned both at work and at home. My husband was traveling, my son had multiple places to be, I had a ton of stuff going on at work and to top it off someone I love was hurting.

Bella is such a beautiful little girl! She is 5 years old, but most of the information we have for her is from when she was 2. 

It was bound to happen after 25 years of working at Gladney. The Gladney Babies that I heard about and saw photos of when I first started have all grown up.  Many are in college and a few choose to apply to intern at Gladney.  One of these Gladney Babies is Elena Hall.