If you are pregnant or a parent looking to place a child, please follow this link to our
Embracing Hope website. www.EmbracingHopeAdoptions.com
A Fully Licensed
Child Placing Agency
About Hope Embraced
Jeanna Smith
Founder and Executive Director,
Certified Adoption Investigator,
President of the South Carolina Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies
I have been blessed on all sides of adoption. I was a birth mother when I was 20 years old and experienced a lot of the emotions that placing mothers go through. Years later, after getting married, I went through years of infertility before becoming an adoptive parent. Adoption is very close to my heart, and it brings me great joy to be a part of the process with so many families. We know that families are formed in many different ways!
I have a degree in education. I have had years of experience working in crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes, working with adoption attorneys and agencies, working face-to-face with birth parents, and guiding adopting families. I thank God for my professional and personal experiences through life so I can better relate to families going through this process. I look forward to working with you!
Mike Smith
Senior Graphic Designer,
Advertising and Marketing Director,
Certified ClinicalTrauma Support Specialist, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Practitioner, Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner
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I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist through the Arizona Trauma Insitute and a Certified Cognitive Behavior Therapy Practitioner through the Academy of Modern Applied Psychology. I am also certified as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner through the Priority Academy.
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I was adopted when I was 9 years old and spent 7 years in and out of the Foster Care system (I remember sitting down with my Social Worker to choose a family from a stack of profiles that she had brought). I am an adoptive parent, both regular adoption and step-parent adoption. My wife, Jeanna, was a birth mother as well. Together, with our personal and professional experience, we can help families get a profile that is unique and more focused than the other profiles that are out there. Jeanna reads through them and helps the families with the text from a birth mom’s perspective, and I bring my vision and creativity to the profile with the graphics.
I have had the privilege to help many families with their adoption profiles/ dear birth mother letters/ lifestyle presentations. I can also do adoption (birth) announcements, invitations, and family books. We want you to have the best profile possible so that a birth mom sees who you are with clarity and excitement. The profile is the first impression the birth parents get of your family. Let me make that first impression stand out from the others!
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Julia Seppala
Office Administrative Assistant/Adoption Support Coordinator
I am a mother to three beautiful children, one of whom is adopted. My husband and I chose adoption because adoption was God’s design and plan for our family. We have an open adoption with our daughter’s birth mom and continue to keep in touch with her, even still, years after she placed her with us. Through that, we have built a wonderful relationship with her and love that she is part of our family now. We also have many family members and friends who are either foster parents or have been adopted through an adoption agency, so adoption is not new to us.
I also have a heart and compassion for children in foster care and adoption. Not only am I a big supporter of adoptions, but I also have a gift of serving my community and those around me. I have experience working with children in various fields. I also volunteer my time at a local foster “closet” that provides clothing, toys, and many other things for children in foster care.
I am excited to be a part of this team at Hope Embraced. I look forward to collaborating with you and being a part of your journey!
Santana Powell
My name is Santana. I am married to an amazing man, and I'm a mother of 4 children with one of them coming to us through adoption. We have an open adoption and a wonderful relationship with our daughter's birth mother. My husband was adopted and he has an open adoption with his birth mother. I have also been a surrogate and carried babies for two different families. I love to pour into others and I'm all about personal growth. A cool fact about me is, I'm a triplet.
I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know the birth moms that come to work with Hope Embraced, and be able to be a mentor. I love to empower them to see their own potential and am here to be a lifetime friend.
Our Mission Statement and Purpose
We believe all children are a treasure and are filled with unique potential which is enhanced by the nurturing provided in a loving and stable home. To that end, we provide adoption services to assure that all children within the reach of this agency are embraced by healthy and loving families. We believe birth parents are precious and heroes and it is our goal to empower them in life and support whatever decision they make. We provide support and guidance to the adopting parents every step of the way in their adoption journey.
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We are a licensed adoption agency based out of South Carolina, certified to receive minor children for placement in family homes with a view toward domestic adoption; to provide adoptive recruitment services and/or serve as a referral agency; consulting; and, to provide adoptive assessments, and training.
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Hope Embraced team members have fulfilled the requirements for our state licensing and complete all the recertification training annually to stay up to date and current with education and how to best assist in the adoption world with birth parents, adoptive parents, and other adoption professionals.
Hope Embraced team members all have personal experiences that have led to their hearts and passion for adoption. Our team is committed to excellence and ethics and will do everything in our power to educate guide, and partner with our clients in the complete adoption triad toward a secure and loving adoption plan!
