Many Thanks to Kim McKee: Former Advisory Council Member
KAAN would like to thank Kim McKee for her many years of service on the Advisory Council. In addition to her scholarly contributions to the field of critical adoption studies, Kim served the KAAN community on the Advisory Council since 2011. She attended her first KAAN conference in 2007 and in 2016, she was appointed the first Assistant Director of KAAN. Kim's leadership on the Advisory Council focused on centering the voices of adoptees and incorporating values of social justice into all aspects of the organization. Kim has been an incredible advocate for the adoptee community, voicing her support for National Adoptee Awareness Month and the #flipthescript campaign on various national news media and online publications. Though we are sad to see her go, we are excited for her and wish her the very best in this next phase of life.
Please join us in thanking Kim for her service!
Stacy Nestleroth Schroeder
I first met Kim when she bought me a glass of wine one evening during #KAAN2010. Her role in KAAN grew as she became an Advisory Council member and then a local conference coordinator. When it became clear her interests were deeper and broader than either of those roles, I created and offered her the position of assistant director/secretary. Kim and I have very different personalities and backgrounds—we actually scored completely opposite on a leadership style test—and I feel that fact created both balance and growth for KAAN. I thank Kim for her hard work on behalf of KAAN and wish her well in her new endeavors.
Katie Bozek
Kim has been a staple at KAAN and within the leadership team for many years. She has worked tirelessly to connect the work that she does in academia to the other sectors of the adoptee community, including KAAN. She brought a commitment to advocating for adoptees and centering their voices in the adoption narrative that has impacted the type of programming that KAAN offers and types of conversations that we have. Most of all, I value and am grateful for her friendship. I would not have thought to apply for the position of Executive Director if it were not for the encouragement and support of Kim. I look forward to continuing to work with her on program development for future KAAN Conferences.
Aeriel Ashlee
Kim has been a trusted mentor to me, not only as I’ve gotten more involved in the KAAN community, but also as an adoptee womxn of color academic and researcher. Her passion and commitment to advocating for and centering the voices of transracial adoptees is inspiring. Her fierce leadership and unparalleled work ethic will be sorely missed within KAAN leadership. I’m grateful for the many gifts Kim brought to and shared with KAAN over the years, and I look forward to seeing her family and relationship with KAAN continue to flourish in new ways in the years to come.
Stephen Johnson
Kim, thank you for your many years of service and unrelenting commitment to our community. KAAN would undoubtedly not be the same without your scholarship, expertise, and leadership. We will always be your family and look forward to your continued success. See you in Denver? :)
Alyson Yost
Kim, thank you for all that you have done for KAAN. I look forward to seeing you in the future. All my best!
Kyle Ashlee
For me, Kim has been a model of dedication and service to the KAAN community. As long as I’ve known her, Kim has been committed to helping KAAN grow and improve. She brings an eye for detail and excellence that I greatly admire. We will miss her leadership on the AC and I wish her all the best.
Kala Sharp
Kim's work with KAAN and the adoptee community has been very impactful. I appreciate all Kim has done to support the Korean American adoptee community as KAAN assistant director and secretary. I know that Kim will continue to impact this community in very meaningful ways through her research on transnational adoption and representations of Asian Americans in popular culture.
Rachel Hye Youn Rupright
Kim’s contributions to KAAN and Korean adoptees, as well as her commitment to communities of color and social justice have strengthened our community. Thank you for your efforts to make our conference and KAAN community better. I’ve enjoyed working with you and learning from you over the years and will dearly miss the time together!
SunAh Laybourn
Kim - Thank you for your dedication to the KAAN Community. You've been so generous with your time and mentorship! KAAN will not be the same without you.
Mike Burlbaugh
Kim is one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever worked with. She worked tirelessly for KAAN, and participated in all facets of what KAAN brings to the community including the conference and online content. Her critical academic thought process helped ensure the content at each conference was relevant, progressive, and approached the core topics from different perspectives. She also made me laugh constantly. KAAN will certainly miss her involvement.
Grace Newton
I really appreciate Kim welcoming me into the KAAN community as someone who was there in 2014 during my first conference. As I've stuck around as a presenter and AC member, I appreciate her looking out for me like when she gave me bandaids at the 2018 conference when I gauged my leg with my heel and the 2019 conference when I was contemplating eating a piece of chocolate cake that had been sitting in my car all day and she asked, "you wanna (might have been an expletive here) die?!?!" Kim is thoughtful, always honest, and passionate about what she does.