Friday, February 12, 2010

Saying Goodbye......


With mixed feelings we announce the resignation of IAN’s International Program Director, Sarah Strong.


Sarah and her husband Sean are embarking on their next adventure, a two year term of service with the Peace Corps in Latin America. Joining the Peace Corps has been a lifelong dream for both of the Strongs. Sarah will utilize her fluent Spanish and experience with teenagers, and Sean will put his engineering skills to work while they live and work in community with the local residents. Sarah will be here at IAN through the end of the month, before she takes some time off to hike the 211 mile John Muir trail in the Sierra Nevadas with Sean and visit with family all over the country before they leave for their assignment in June.

All of us at IAN are excited for Sarah as she fulfills her lifelong dream, but are soooo sad to see her go. Her contributions at IAN are many and wide reaching. As some of you may remember, Sarah made a solo trip to Addis Ababa in November of 2008, laying the groundwork for what is now IAN’s care home. She has been instrumental in developing pilot programs in Nepal and Mexico, has expanded IAN’s outreach through Webinars, Web Chats and Information meetings, and increased IAN’s visibility with national organizations supporting adoption. Most importantly, Sarah has a genuine heart for finding homes for orphans. She loved working with adoptive families and truly celebrated the arrival of the children she helped to bring home. To say she will be missed is an understatement.

Sarah is in the process of training her replacements, and a future blog post will introduce you to Liz and Connie.

Please send your well-wishes to Sarah Strong, c/o IAN or to sarah@adoptioninternational.net.

1 comment:

Restless in Denver said...

My husband and I met with Sarah on Friday. That meeting was our introduction to IAN, and it was obvious to us what a great person Sarah is! It was evident that she cares about her work and does it with professionalism. Best wishes to you and your husband Sarah! How amazing!