Adoptees and adoptive parents have individual and unique perspectives and struggles that aren’t usually seen side by side.  Join us to hear from adoptive mother Julie Etter and son Isaac as they share a candid look into their real-life challenges, lessons learned, and moments of joy in navigating identity across different life stages. Rabbi and adoptive parent D'ror Chankin-Gould will also offer insights through a Jewish lens and moderate the Q&A session. This is a virtual event.

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This program is free and open to the community, made possible by a generous donation from the Rubens Family Foundation.

Meet the Panelists

Isaac Etter was adopted at the age of two. He’s a speaker, podcaster, author of A Practical Guide: Transracial Adoption, and founder of Identity, a resource hub for adoptive and foster parents.  Isaac specializes in re-imagining post-placement support for adoptive and foster families and child welfare professionals.

Julie Etter is a mother of five. Her oldest and youngest were transracially adopted, with three biological kids in the middle. Julie is a classroom teacher, and outside of school, her passion lies with educating adoptive parents and adoption professionals.  Her goal is to share tools to equip parents and children throughout their journey.

Rabbi D'ror Chankin-Gould has served as one of the rabbis at the Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago for the past 10 years. He oversees the synagogue partnership with JCFS focusing on mental health and social service resources for the full community. Rabbi Chankin-Gould and his husband are fathers of two adopted black and brown boys and are advocates for adoptive families and multiracial families in the Jewish Community.