1555 Sherman Ave, #173
Evanston, Illinois 60201
© Activism in Adoption

Activism in Adoption is organized around three key concepts:

Race, Relationships, and Resilience;

centering birthparent and adoptee voices,

which bring nuance and detail that can only come from lived experience.


When we listen to the individuals whose lives are most impacted by adoption, when we allow ourselves to sit in uncomfortable spaces, we learn and we grow, we begin to understand the ethics, and sometimes the lack of ethics in adoption, and we become the change-makers - improving outcomes in adoption for our children, for ourselves as adoptive parents and adoption professionals, and for the birthparents who chose to place their children for adoption.

We are Stronger Together.

  • Testimonial 1

    "On Your Feet Foundation is one of the most proactive groups I’ve been a part of in the adoption field. Their recent speaker series made a point to honor all those connected to adoption. As an adoptee, I pay very close attention to how others honor adoptees, like myself, as well as birth parents. On Your Feet Foundation makes sure these two very important voices are heard and that is extremely important to me."

    Kevin Hofmann, AiA Speaker and panelist

Visit our Blog

Julie Ryan McGue's third book, Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood was released today, and we had the opportunity to sit down with her to talk about it. A coming-of-age memoir set in Chicago’s western suburbs in the 1960s, her book dives into the complexity of family and adoption with an unflinching point of view.

We were honored to host the authors of Adoption Unfiltered to the Chicagoland area in February, as part of their book tour. The recording of that panel session is now available on the Activism in Adoption website, and today we sit down with one of the authors, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, to do a deep-dive into the incredible advocacy work she does in adoption spaces, to help foster better outcomes for everyone in the adoption constellation.

As part of our Ethics in Adoption series, we discuss the practice of moving expectant mothers as an adoption practice, separating them from the support of their family and friends, and why that should matter to potential adoptive parents.

Our community thrives when we work together for good.

Discover how your help furthers our cause and supports our vital programs. See what we do.