Aleda Price Madison is the Executive Director for Madison Adoption Associates. Aleda started the agency in 1981, seeking a way to bring orphaned children and loving families together. Her passion comes from her role as an adoptive, foster, and biological parent.

Like many young couples, Aleda and her husband, Chuck, experienced fertility problems. Miraculously, she gave birth to her daughter, Diana, only to find herself again experiencing a multitude of problems with several subsequent pregnancies. Aleda then began shifting her efforts towards adoption. She found happiness as a foster parent, but experienced several difficulties when it came to adopting domestically. At that point she and Chuck began looking into international programs. In 1980, she adopted Michael from Colombia. The family happily added Christopher in 1983, from the same orphanage.

While staying at home to care for her young children, she began networking with other adoptive parents, lawyers, and contacts to help find ways to make it easier for families like hers, seeking to adopt. In 1981, she helped facilitate her first adoption. Today, Madison Adoption Associates has assisted a multitude of families, adopting from countries all over the world.

Aleda has a Bachelor Degree from West Chester University, and has completed 32 post-graduate credits. She has provided counseling to attorneys and judges about the international adoption process, and has appeared on both daytime and primetime television as an adoption expert. Although Madison Adoption Associates works with many different countries, her greatest enjoyment and love arises from the Guatemalan program, which she single handedly managed until the closing of that program in 2008. Aleda is very hopeful that Guatemalan adoptions will continue again in the not so distant future.

 

Diana Bramble began working with Madison Adoption Associates in 2002. Having two brothers who were adopted, and witnessing the work performed by her mother, Aleda, adoption work became a natural fit. Helping children through adoption has developed into her passion.

Diana serves as the Associate Director of the agency, and performs a broad range of duties spanning from casework to compliance and legal issues. She supervisors the Social Workers in our agency, and enjoys working with families through any difficult situations in the adoption process. Diana’s greatest love still remains the China program and China Special Needs program. After personally traveling to China in November 2004, and witnessing the overwhelming need of loving homes for children with special needs, Diana completed the necessary steps for Madison Adoption Associates to be accredited as a Waiting Child placement agency. The program has been an incredible success and a personal victory for Diana, who fell in love with two special needs boys while in China.

Diana graduated from University of Delaware with a Bachelor Degree in Psychology. She graduated with her MBA Degree from Wilmington University and graduated with her Master Degree in Social Work from Delaware State University. She is happily married with two children, Charlie and Danielle. The Brambles currently have a dossier in China and are excited to be adding to their family through adoption.

 

Sara Lang joined Madison Adoption Associates in July 2007 as an adoption associate and waiting child specialist. Sara enjoys advocating for the placement of children with special needs and helping to develop adoption programs in foreign countries.

Sara brings with her the experience of placing special needs and waiting children from the United States, Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Sara has a Bachelor Degree in Special Education from Winthrop University. Sara spent 15 years working as a legal assistant in Atlanta and South Carolina before following her heart into adoption work. She volunteers with animal rescue groups, and has earned awards for community service work over the years. She volunteers with The Shepherd’s Crook, an adoption ministry that helps find families for children with special needs.

Sara and her husband, John, built their family through international adoption. In September 2000 they brought home their two daughters from Arkhangelsk, Russia. Shortly afterwards, Sara decided to turn her passion for her children into a full-time career to help other families come together through adoption.

 

Kerry Yeldell joined Madison Adoption Associates in 2009 as a social worker and then became a full-time adoption associate in the Delaware office in 2010. As a case worker she assists families through the entire adoption process. She also continues to complete home studies and post placement reports for clients in Delaware and Pennsylvania in her role as a social worker. In addition, Kerry enjoys the opportunity to counsel birth mothers about their options and work with them through an adoption plan when the need arises.

Kerry graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor Degree in both Psychology and Sociology. She then received a Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. After spending almost 5 years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Kerry had the wonderful opportunity to stay home with her two boys before returning to work. Kerry thoroughly enjoys working with the Madison families and watching many children thrive as they learn the joy of joining their forever families!

 

 

 

 

Lydia Stewart joined Madison Adoption Associates in 2009 as an adoption associate in the Delaware office. Lydia developed an interest in international adoption while volunteering in several orphanages in Quito, Ecuador as a college undergraduate. She worked around the clock feeding, changing and caring for the children, including those with special needs. Lydia quickly gained a love for the children and wanted to take several home with her at the end of her time in Ecuador.

Lydia graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor Degree in English. She will complete her Master Degree in Counseling and Educational Psychology in December 2011. She loves to see the positive change in the lives of these children as adoptive families open their hearts and homes.

 

Aileen McCabe-Maucher began working with Madison Adoption Associates in 2004. She is a licensed clinical social worker and registered nurse with over a decade of experience providing individual and family counseling to diverse populations. Aileen is dedicated to helping families through the home study and post placement process in a compassionate and supportive way. She is a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Widener University, University of Delaware, and The Gestalt Therapy Institute of Philadelphia at Bryn Mawr College. Her favorite job is being a mother and helping other families on their adoption journeys.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Crowell has been working as a social worker for Madison Adoption Associates since 2000. She first became acquainted with Aleda through a mutual friend who has two adopted children through this agency. Having a profound love for children, Linda worked as an elementary school teacher earlier in her career. After receiving a Master of Social Work degree at Widener University in 1995, she obtained her license and has been working as a medical social worker. She currently works full time in the case management department of a hospital in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where she resides. The most fulfilling and enjoyable work she does, however, is for Madison Adoption Associates. Linda loves getting to know all of the families she works with, and helping them complete the home study process and following them for the post-placement and post adoption reports. The joy and happiness that she witnesses with each placement is a wonderful complement to her hospital work. In working at the hospital, she also has gained an in depth knowledge of medical issues and is a wonderful counselor for families considering children with special needs. Linda lives with her husband. She has three children and two grandchildren.

 

 

 

Jennifer Steele is a Social Worker for those adopting in the Western Pennsylvania area. She has worked with Madison Adoption Associates since 2004. Jennifer received her Master Degree in Social Work from West Virginia University in 1997. She offers friendly support for home study and post-placement clients. She also is a friendly and compassionate ear for birth families. Jennifer enjoys helping families navigate through the various stages of the adoption process, and loves to see happy children at the end of a long journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lydia Stewart is the Executive Director of the Illinois branch of Madison Adoption Associates. She received her Master Degree in Social Work from Loyola University in Chicago in 1999. Jamie joined Madison in 2001 as a social worker and in 2004 she became the Executive Director for the Illinois office. She supports families by helping them gather the appropriate paperwork to complete a home study. She enjoys working with a variety of families and helping them in the various stages of the adoption process through home studies and post placement visits. She provides an enthusiastic, warm and friendly support to the families she works with.

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah Fisher brings an abundance of compassion and a wealth of experience to her clients. She has been serving adoptive families for over 20 years, helping them through the home study and post-adoptive processes. Debby is a graduate of Judson University and she has completed graduate course work in psychology and counseling at Southern Illinois University and Illinois State University. Debby is a seasoned adoptive parent of two beautiful daughters from Honduras and Guatemala.

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle McGowan is the hosting coordinator for Madison’s orphan hosting program and an orphan advocate. She has had a passion for orphans since she was seven years old and saw a video about so many babies being abandoned. Michelle feels blessed to have the privilege of helping children to be united with their families through the miracle of adoption.

Michelle volunteered at her church’s adoption agency and crisis pregnancy center for several years. In 2006, she felt called to do more and began a non-profit ministry, In His Hands Orphans Outreach, which is located in central Illinois. She likes to promote how everyone can do something to help orphans, whether that is through helping orphans left behind or by adopting.

Michelle is happily married to Marshall and they have six beautiful children: Nicholas, Joshua, Christian, Daniel, Trevor and Victoria. Victoria was a waiting child in China before being adopted in 2008. The McGowan family agrees that adopting Victoria was the best decision they ever made. They wanted to adopt to make a difference for a child in need, but in return, she has brought so much joy to their family.

 

Sara Oglesby joined Madison Adoption Associates in August 2010. She serves as the point person for all inquiries and follow-ups related to Illinois home study families. She completed a graduate internship with Madison, beginning in January, 2010, and was able to gain much experience and knowledge about the international adoption field. Sara had the opportunity to travel to China in April 2010 to participate in Camp Tiger.

Sara has always had an interest in international adoption and has focused on children with special needs for several projects during her undergraduate and graduate schooling. She also volunteers for In His Hands Orphans Outreach, a non-profit adoption advocacy organization, where she is able to advocate for children in need of families, provide humanitarian aid for orphanages, and fundraise for families’ adoptions. Sara looks forward to increasing her skills and knowledge in her current position while helping families with their adoptions. She also wishes to one day begin the adoption process herself and find a child in need of a safe and loving home.

Sara graduated from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor Degree in Social Work. She earned her Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is currently in the process of acquiring her Illinois social work license and anticipates returning to school for her PhD within the next few years.

 

Mollie Pouska has been a caseworker for Madison Adoption Associates in Illinois since 2008. She holds undergraduate degrees in Deaf Education and Special Education. She has been a teacher educating students with multiple disabilities since 1994. In May 2003, she received her Master Degree in Social Work from Aurora University and became a Licensed Social Worker in 2004.

Mollie relishes the opportunity to support families through the home study process and is ecstatic about meeting with the families and children to facilitate the post placement visits. Her experiences in special education provide a unique perspective with those families interested in adopting children with special needs.

Mollie is married and has two daughters. She enjoys traveling to the Northwoods of Wisconsin and volunteering for Special Olympics.

 

 

 

Delyn Duggins is a social worker in the Illinois branch of Madison Adoption Associates. She received her Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1999. Delyn has worked in the adoption field since 2005 and joined Madison in 2010. In her role as a social worker, she guides families through the home study process and provides post adoption visits once the family has returned home. Delyn enjoys working with families and helping them through the adoption process. She finds it rewarding to work in this field and thoroughly enjoys helping children find loving families.

Delyn and her husband Brian have built their family through adoption. They had prepared to adopt a child from Vietnam; however the country was closed to adoptions before they were matched with a child. They then decided to adopt domestically and in 2008 became proud parents to their son Bryson.

 

 

 

Joan M. Reardon is the proud mother of four adopted children. She is well aware of what it feels like to prepare for a Home Study interview and her heart goes out to her clients as they move through the tedious paperwork. Joan holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a Master Degree from Sangamon State University, now the University of Illinois-Springfield. She has been a home study worker since 1997, and, prior to that time, spent 20 years working with birth mothers who were in need of supportive medical and social services. Joan views her present position as far more than a job. She is dedicated to helping children find loving parents and stable homes.