by Maureen O'Connor

FTIA Staff Update

FTIA has been busy adding new staff and making staff changes due to the re-opening of our Vietnam program and continued growth in existing programs.

New Members of our Team:

Marcella Crowell, Administrative Assistant, fills a key role for FTIA since she helps with our website, computer and phone system issues, general administrative support, and front office coverage.  As you can imagine, we keep her quite busy.  Marcella replaced Andrea Barnett who relocated with her family to Texas. 

Kristina Dodson, Russia Program Coordinator, brings a unique background to her role since she was adopted from Russia as a teenager.  Kristina is beginning to work with adopting families as she completes an extensive training period.  Kristina joined Inessa Shiryaeva on the Russia team after Tina Hazelip’s departure. 

Debbie Brockman is one of our Intake Specialists.  She talks with prospective adopters to answer their questions about adoption and FTIA.  Debbie has two daughters who were adopted through FTIA’s China program and she brings that personal experience to her role.  Debbie joins Susan Wahlstrom and Linda Huber, also adoptive parents, in providing more extensive coverage for FTIA’s intake line. 

Tim Owen, IT Specialist, has joined FTIA in a temporary position to work on programming for our AdopTrak ™ database.  Tim brings exceptional programming skills and we are very excited about the opportunities this will give us to improve and expand the features of this program.

Lan Do, Vietnam Program Manager, is assisting FTIA on a temporary basis through the accreditation process in Vietnam and in the development of materials, such as the Vietnam Dossier Guide.  Lan is from Vietnam and her bilingual fluency and knowledge of the government process and culture are invaluable during this time. 

Promotion:

Nicole Simpson was named China Program Manager in July.  Nicole joined FTIA last year as a China program coordinator.  In her new position, she is responsible for the day to day operation of the China program.  Nicole is supported in her role by Kate Boyd and Joshua Cheng who are Senior Coordinators in the China program.

Transfers:

Dusty Russell has been named FTIA’s Vietnam Program Coordinator.   Dusty who has been a Guatemala Program Coordinator since 2003 will be transitioning into this position over the next month.  Dusty is looking forward to the challenge of re-establishing the Vietnam Program.

Beth Huff, an FTIA employee since 1998, has been selected to fill the open position of Coordinator in the Guatemala program created by Dusty’s transfer to the Vietnam program.  Beth most recently has been working on a part time basis for FTIA.  She is quickly becoming oriented in her new role due to her prior work in Intake and on the China team.

Learn more about FTIA’s staff by visiting our website and selecting “Meet Our Team.”

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