Open Adoption Counselors

Jennifer is the Los Angeles Branch Co-Director and the National Associate Counseling Director. She supervises the Open Adoption Counselors in California offices and provides ongoing training and support for counseling staff throughout the country. She graduated from USC with a B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Education. She also completed her Master's in Social Welfare at UCLA and earned her Doctorate in Psychology from Ryokan College. Through her work at the adoption agency, she has seen how both adoptive parents and birthparents benefit enormously from the ongoing counseling provided to them during the adoption process. Dr. Bliss has worked at IAC for five years and continues to be overwhelmed at the selflessness, love, and courage she sees in every birthmother she meets.

Tomasa has always had an interest in adoptions and has been fascinated with the vast amount of love that is present within the entire process. As an OAC she has the privilege of working closely with both the birth and adoptive parents and takes pleasure in assisting them throughout the process. When not fulfilling her work duties, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting new restaurants, going to flea markets, learning about new cultures and visiting San Francisco. Tomasa also speaks Spanish.

Adoption has always held a special place in Nashwa's heart since both her and her husband’s grandparents were adopted. Prior to working at IAC, Nashwa worked with pregnant and parenting foster care youth and helped start a sex education program for middle and high school students in Oakland Unified School District. Working with IAC, feel like a “full circle moment.” When not working, Nashwa enjoys fostering stray cats and dogs, hiking, throwing TV and movie viewing parties, and travelling back to Egypt to spend time with her family.

Crystal recently graduated from the Indiana University School of Social Work and was drawn to the IAC because she has always thought adoptions were beautiful. She is engaged to her best friend, Jonathon, and will be married in January. Together, they ride motorcycles and explore the world through mini-adventures and road trips. She spends every moment she can in the sunshine, spending time with family and friends doing fun outdoor activities such as kayaking, swimming, hiking, and camping. She relaxes by pretending to be an artist by painting and drawing.

Ashley received her Bachelors degree and Masters in Social Work at Widener University. She is originally from Philadelphia and her first social work job was in child welfare, where she worked for 4 years with children and families involved with the foster care system. She also worked for an adoption agency in Philadelphia for 2 years before coming to IAC, and truly believes in open adoptions. After working with so many families in the child welfare field, she know that openness is best for everyone involved. When not working, Ashley likes to go to the gym, travel, cook and simply spend time with family and friends.

Annie attained a Master of Social Work degree at Smith College in Massachusetts. She learns everyday from the women she works with who have chosen adoption for their babies. She feels that helping birthmothers develop an open adoption plan allows them to grieve, heal and live knowing, not wondering, about their children. Annie is very active: she's a runner, a biker, and dog-lover who enjoys photography and weekend adventures.

Courtney received her Master of Social Work degree from East Carolina University. Prior to joining IAC, Courtney worked as a child welfare social worker. Courtney feels very lucky to work with both birthparents and adoptive parents as they form relationships and navigate the open adoption process. Outside of work, Courtney enjoys spending time with her little girl, Gabi, her longtime boyfriend, and her family.

She completed her undergraduate work at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana and she has a Master's in Social Work from Cal State University Los Angeles. She's been with the IAC for almost 2 years now and she loves her job helping birthmothers and working with adoptive couples. When not at work, Sarah loves exploring new places, walking her dog around the neighborhood or just spending time at home with her son and her husband.

Kathleen earned her Master's in Social Work degree from Columbia University, where she specialized in Clinical Social Work. She has worked with the IAC for over two years and finds it very rewarding to help birthparents and adoptive parents plan for their adoptions and become a larger extended family with each other. Kathleen loves visiting friends and family all over the country. She also enjoys playing with her dog, Lola and cat, Panya.

Tina Graduated for California State University, Chico with a Bachelors in Psychology and from California State University, East Bay with her Masters in Social Work. In the past Tina has worked as a Birthparent Intake Counselor and has also work for IAC doing Hospital Outreach. Tina finds it very rewarding to work with birthparents and adoptive parents in creating forever families. For fun Tina enjoys traveling with her fiancé, running in Marathons and spending time with her very large family.