The Northwest Adoption Exchange Staff:
Barbara Tucker Pearson, M.S.W. joined NWAE in 1988 as the director. Barbara has worked as an advocate in child welfare and special needs adoption for twenty-five years. As the director of NWAE, Barbara has volunteered her services and frequently been named to various local, regional, and national planning committees that help form foster care and adoption policies. In addition, Barbara also oversees NWAE staff and systems and directs the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center, Alaska Adoption Exchange, and Washington Adoption Resource Exchange. Barbara's leisure is spent with her husband, three horses, and two cats.
Holly Biermann, joined NWAE in February 2004 as an adoption recruiter for the Specialized Recruitment Project. In addition to her recruitment tasks, Holly is also the acting web mistress for NWAE and WARE. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences focused on ethnic, gender, and labor studies. From 2001 to 2002, Holly completed over 1700 hours of national community service working with kids and families. She just moved into her first house with her fantastic boyfriend, two kitties and one dog, and can be found roller-skating, watching movies and hanging out with friends and family.
Maggie Cotton joined NWAE in 1989 to advocate for families wanting to adopt and write biographical sketches of waiting children. Although adopted as an older child, it hadn't occurred to Maggie while getting her degree in human services, doing graduate work in psychology, and doing crisis intervention with families and children for 15 years, to have a career in adoption. Now well into her second decade at NWAE, Maggie cannot imagine working in any other field. An avid reader, she enjoys her three cats and doting on two darling little brothers to whom she is "Nana!"
In 1988 Bryna Desper stumbled upon a job with the NWAE never knowing that special needs adoption would become her life’s passion and work. After working for the Northwest Adoption Exchange/Northwest Resource Associates for 10 years, Bryna took a position with Medina Children’s Services in 1998 as a special needs adoption social worker. During her 10 years at Medina, Bryna worked as a Kinship Adoption specialist assisting relative care givers adopt relative children in the Washington state foster care system. She also served as a mediation specialist assisting birth parents in aiding in the establishment of their child’s permanent plan. Bryna has been a member of several advisory committees which have included the Foster Care Assessment Program (FCAP), the Ombudsman Advisory Committee and a Child Protection Team (CPT) for the state of Washington. She has worked with children and families for the last 20 years with her last employment with the state of Washington as an adoption social worker in region IV. Bryna returned to the NWAE this year. She states that “there is no place like home.” During her leisure, Bryna enjoys day trips, long walks and spending time with her young adult sons and granddaughter. She also enjoys learning anything new and challenging and is a closet decorator and big fan of HGTV.
Rena Grant,  joined NWAE in the summer of 2004 as an adoption recruiter for the Specialized Recruitment Project.  Rena received her MSW in 1980 and has worked primarily in the field of child welfare and special needs foster care and adoption.  Away from the office, Rena enjoys being a mother to the coolest 14 year old daughter in the world, reading, practicing the fine art of calligraphy and calming down with Yoga- a life long hobby.  She is married to Steve and lives in the Wallingford area of Seattle.
Tyler Helbach, joined NWAE in January 2008 working closely with the Specialized Recruitment and WARE projects. A 2007 graduate of Willamette University, Tyler got his B.A. in History while focusing a minor on American Ethnic Studies. He first became interested in adoption issues when in 2006 he spent a semester in Nepal, teaching English and working with children who no longer had active parents in their lives. After spending this time abroad, Tyler went on to concentrate his major on how the popular discovery of child abuse in the 1960’s shaped our current understanding of child welfare issues. A native of Seattle, Tyler is happy and excited to be back where he grew up and working for NWAE.
Norma Nelson, who works on the Specialized Recruitment Project as an adoption recruiter, rejoined NWAE in January 2004 after an absence of 2 years.  Norma is an adoption professional with over 30 years of special needs adoption experience in both public and private agency settings.  In addition to her "on the line" experience, Norma has acted as a consultant in permanency planning and adoption and has delivered a number of trainings in both Washington State as well as across the country.  Both an adoptive and birth mother, Norma enjoys trips to the ocean, "puttering" around her postage stamp sized patio and spending time with her family- especially her two grandchildren.

JoAnn Trick, who joined our organization in 1994, is responsible for developing, planning, organizing and managing all Kids' Fest adoption parties and the Adoption Training and Tracking program. Jo Ann has refined the process of developing and planning adoption parties and definitely knows the tools and tricks of the trade. Included amongst Jo Ann's proudest accomplishments are earning her Bachelor's degree from Antioch University in 2002 and welcoming two new granddaughters to her family in 2007! She can be found riding her bike, knitting a new project and gathering with family and friends. JoAnn's motto is "It is never too late to become what you might have been." (George Eliot)
Kathleen Weber joined NWAE in March 2004 after working with the AdoptUsKids.org website during its start-up phase.  Kathleen also worked on a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome project and got adoption fever while volunteering at adoption events. Prior to her social service work, Kathleen was a professional Interior Designer for over 28 years with an extensive customer service background.  Kathleen's main responsibilities include responding to the hundreds of inquiries from waiting families and agency workers from across the US.  Although Kathleen still loves her interior design activities, that focus is now on assisting friends and former clients.  So, if you are inquiring about a waiting child, she can help you redecorate your house at the same time for that new addition. Kathleen and hubby have a beautiful 28 year old daughter and handsome 33 year old son, both single. In the interim, Kathleen enjoys community and church volunteering and has just recently taken up Tai Chi Chuan Fa Kung Fu martial arts to get her in shape.
Patrick Weber, who joined NWAE in 2001, is an adoption professional with 30 years of management and leadership in special needs adoption. In addition to completing over 100 local and international adoptions, Patrick coordinated the emergency placement of 150 children from the Vietnamese Airlift. His interest in adoption as a lifelong process involved him as a founding board member with the Washington Adoptive Reunion Movement (WARM) and led him to serve on the Governor's Adoption Taskforce. A devoted family man who has been married for 34 years, Patrick and his wife have two adult children.
Sharon Wilford joined NWAE as Director of Development in 2005. As of spring 2008 she has also been named Director of Marketing for NWAE. She has a B.A. from the University of Washington, concentrating in Finance and a minor in Business, Government and Society. Her past career experiences with Investment Sponsors, Brokerage Firms and Mortgage Brokers give Sharon a varied perspective to bring to NWAE. Besides raising capital, in-kind donations and volunteer interest, Sharon has another crucial goal. It is to increase name identification and community awareness for NWAE. “Once people know who we are and what we do, they immediately want to help us.” She is the mother of a softball-loving 13 year old daughter, a baseball-loving 15 year old son and 5 mini dachshunds. She adores her wine-making husband (owner & operator of Fletcher Bay Winery). Sharon often tells people, “There is absolutely nowhere else that I would rather work. I am so fortunate to be able to help in the mission of finding permanent, loving families for waiting foster children.”
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