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Executive Director
 Sandra joined ASIA in April 2004. She brings more than five years experience directing nonprofit organizations, more than six years experience operating her own international consulting company in the Russian Far East and four years as assistant administrator for the Intercultural Communication Institute. She has led many groups to and from Russia, as well as tours to Norway and Sweden. Her areas of expertise include budget and finance, human resources management and marketing and fundraising.
She has volunteered for other nonprofit organizations and has served on six boards over the years. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors for the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation. She loves to folk dance, explore cultural diversity and read while her four cats settle in around her. She and her husband Gary live in the "semi-country" and enjoy frequent visits with their son, Ian. |
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China Program Director
 Fei was born and raised in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China. In 1996, following her training at a Singapore business school, she moved to the United States. She received her bachelor's degree from Portland State University in 2002. Fei once worked as a tour guide in China, where she helped adoptive parents from Canada and the U.S. complete their adoption process.
Fei started her Chinese class in early 2004 to help families prepare for their adoption trip to China. Fei is also an active speaker for local Families with Children from China (FCC) waiting families. She continues to serve families and children from China. In her free time, Fei enjoys working out, cooking and making crafts. |
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Office Coordinator/Graphic Designer
Elisabeth was born in the Netherlands and moved to the US in 1993. She has worked in sustainable design since 1997, after graduating with a masters degree in architecture. Graphic design has always been a tandem career path and she hopes to bring her creative talents to good use at ASIA. In 2006 she became an adoptive parent to Skye, a 5-1/2 month girl from Korea. As a board member of the Hollywood Neighborhood Association’s Sustainability Committee Chair, she wants to bring an urban park to her neighborhood. On weekends Elisabeth can be found hiking the trails in Oregon with her dog Snowy (also an adoptee), who has become the office mascot at ASIA.
Snowy, the Official ASIA Office Mascot
Snowy was rescued from a puppy mill last Spring in Madras, Oregon. Since joining Elisabeth's family he has worked steadily on an impressisve hiking resume. He loves to scale mountains and trees, together with Skye. His accomplishments include: Dog Mountain, Neahkanie Mountain, Saddleback mountain and several others. When families come to visit the ASIA office he is always there to greet everyone and ready for some petting!
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Director of Social Services
 Marci grew up in the Bay Area of California. She moved to Oregon when she began college and fell in love with the clean, green state. She earned her bachelor's degree from Lewis & Clark College and her Masters in Social Work from Portland State University. Marci has a background in child welfare and adoptions, having experience with the State of Oregon Department of Human Services, as well as the State of Washington and Plan Loving Adoptions. She also grew up with two adopted siblings. She has been working for ASIA since October of 2001. Marci has always wanted to work in international adoptions and working for ASIA has been a "dream come true." She thoroughly enjoys helping unite children from China with loving families in the United States. She enjoys witnessing how quickly and successfully the children adapt to their new lives. Since working at ASIA, Marci has had the opportunity to go to China three times with ASIA groups. She loved her first experience in Guangxi Province and jumped at the opportunity to go to Hunan Province in April of 2002 and October of 2003. She feels a special connection with China since she began working in Chinese adoptions.
Marci and her husband hope to adopt from China someday. Marci enjoys traveling, scuba diving and vaulting (in photo) in her spare time. |
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Family Services Coordinator
 Vicki was born and raised in Portland and has long had an interest in international cultures and their people. The summer before her high school sophomore year she was an exchange student in Germany where she really began to appreciate different cultures. As a child and as an adult, her family has hosted three Japanese students during cultural trips to the United States. Vicki attended the University of Oregon in Eugene where she received her Music Education degree.
Working in adoption is more than a job for Vicki; it is her passion. She loves helping parents and children find each other. Vicki and her husband have two children through adoption (domestic and China). She believes that her own adoption experience allows her to better connect with families. In her spare time she enjoys participating in her children's many activities, including serving as soccer coach, team mom, cheering on her children at their various activities and volunteering in her children's schools. Prior to working for Heritage she was a "stay-at-home mom", although she doesn't know why it's called that because she was never home! |
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Social Worker
 Debbie lives in Seattle, Washington and began working for ASIA in Fall 2008. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Washington State University and went on to obtain a Masters of Public Administration degree from Seattle University. Debbie found her calling in the field of social work and moved to Boston to began her social work studies at Boston University. From Boston, she moved back to Washington to complete her Masters of Social Work from University of Washington. Her emphasis has always been on children and building stronger families and communities.
Debbie has over 10 years of experience working with children and families in many diverse settings. She sponsors and volunteers for the Friends of the Orphans organization that helps fund orphaned children in 9 countries around the world. Adoption work was a natural progression for Debbie. She has been working in the adoption field doing both domestic and international adoption home study reports for 3 years. Debbie enjoys helping families achieve their dream of building a family through adoption.
Debbie interests include traveling (last big trip was to Africa), golf and spending time with family and friends. |
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China Program Coordinator
 Eva was born in Hong Kong and moved to the US in 1998. After finishing high school in Vancouver, WA, she graduated from Portland State University in Graphic Design. She has worked in Hong Kong for a year and taught English and music in Northern Thailand for 3 months before she moved back to Portland to settle. She has worked as in-house graphic designer and executive secretary since. She is very active at church and spends lots of time with friends and families.
Eva joined the ASIA team in December 2009. She is excited to work for such great organization and its dedicated staffs. Eva enjoys traveling, the outdoors and exploring restaurants. She also enjoys playing piano and listening to all kinds of music in her spare time.
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Program Outreach Specialist
Joy likes to say that she has spent half her life in Chicago and half her life in Oregon…but is here in Portland to stay! After growing up in a loyal Chicago Cubs household, her family moved to the Portland area while she was in college. Joy graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in German language, as well as a new commitment to being a U of O ducks fan (a.k.a. a “quacker backer”.) Her foreign language skills launched her into a 17-year career with United Airlines right after college. During her time with the airline, Joy worked in several customer service positions at the San Francisco, Portland and Chicago - O’Hare airports assisting passengers with their domestic and international travel needs. Most recently, Joy spent the last five years at United’s headquarters in a public relations/communications role.
But what Joy is most proud of are her two lively young boys, who are adopted from Korea. Through their own adoptive journey, Joy and her husband have experienced the wonder of becoming parents and love their new chaotic life. Joy’s jet-setting days are over but she has happily replaced them with moments of doing homework, cheering at baseball practice and giggling at silly noises during dinner. While raising her own little “quacker backers”, Joy is thrilled she can combine her experience in the travel industry along her personal history in international adoption to help other families learn about the terrific kids available for adoption at ASIA.
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