Our dedicated volunteers propel our mission forward.
Kristin Barsness
Fundraising Advisor
Kristin (she/her) has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has been defined by the conviction that when staff and volunteers are coached to bravery, they can accomplish anything. Barsness has led more than 30 major capital and comprehensive campaigns, 40 campaign feasibility studies, many community and project readiness assessments, as well as worked in-house to lead library, healthcare, university, and K-12 education shops to fundraising success. Her work with Pacific Northwest clients and organizations has helped raise more than $250 million to change the world.
After serving as Vice President of Collins Group, Kristin helped launch Seattle University’s $300 million campaign, then led the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital Foundation to triple unrestricted giving in three years. In 2018 she founded her consulting firm to help mid-size nonprofits prepare and manage significant campaigns and raise more money.
She and her husband, Ed Crossan, a high school teacher, have been lifelong advocates for the transformational power of education. They live in Tacoma and devote their free time to keeping up with a busy family of teenagers and dogs.
Bonni Goodwin
Programming Committee
Bonni Goodwin (she/her), Ph.D., LCSW, is an Assistant Professor at the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work and Director of the Center for Adoption and Family Well-Being at the University of Oklahoma. She also serves with the Oklahoma Human Services Child Welfare division as the Statewide Coordinator of Adoption Preservation Services.
Dr. Goodwin’s current research focuses on child welfare policy and practice that supports permanency through adoption as well as mental health specialization with the foster care and adoption population. Adoption is a lifelong impact that presents unique challenges for families and adult adoptees. Effective clinical service and support for this population requires specialized training and perspective. Dr. Goodwin engages in training, consultation, and macro-level systems work at the state and national level to expand the awareness of this critical practice specialization. She is committed to using research to guide policy and program development, implementation, and evaluation to respond to the needs of adoptive families and adult adoptees.
Spring Hecht
Programming Committee
Spring Hecht (she/her) is an adoptee and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals, children and their families. She worked as the Vice President of Social Services at one of the foremost foster care and adoption agencies in the country, has served on the Board of Washington Adoption Reunion Movement (WARM) and the Vashon Island School Board.
Spring attended Whitman College in Washington State and earned a B.A. in Psychology, and completed a Masters degree in Social Work from Columbia University. She is certified as an Attachment and Trauma Therapist through Cascadia Training, and has a post-graduate certification in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) through TCU Institute for Child Development. She is an Emdria trained EMDR and IFS trained therapist and is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Sam McEvans
Operations Specialist
Sam McEvans (he/him) volunteers in Operations for AMS. Sam is a listener of adoptee voices and is a queer adoptive parent in an adoption constellation that is deeply committed to openness.Sam recently acted as volunteer Publicist for the groundbreaking new book Adoption Unfiltered, which for the first time brings together the perspectives of adoptee, birth parent, and adoptive parent authors in one title. He formerly held marketing positions at Slack and Twilio.
“Aunt” Pat Stephens
Stewardship Support
Pat Stephens (she/her) is retired after years working at The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Washington. She grew up in Wenatchee, Washington, two doors down the street from Angela’s adoptive mother, so her ties to adoption are through friends. Life in retirement includes family and friends, a black cat named Eddy, and volunteering with a number of small non-profits and her church. The creativity of sewing and quilting for personal enjoyment, as well as special projects for other people, keeps her sewing area filled with color and texture. She enjoys the beauty of the outdoors in good weather, a cup of coffee or tea with friends, reading good novels, and road trips. Volunteering with AMS fulfills a niche of helping those who long to discover and share their stories.