Meet The Cradled in Grace Team
Kim Smith
Founder and Executive Director
I live in South Carolina with my husband, Scott, and 3 boys, 2 dogs, and a big fat cat. For more than 12 years, I worked as a full-time social worker. During this time, I struggled through years of pregnancy loss and infertility, before having the privilege of becoming mom to my son, Micah.
With his adoption in 2012, a seed was planted. I began to view adoption in a different way. As I later returned to work, helping both adoptive families and adult adoptees, my interest in adoption continued to grow. As an open advocate for adoption, I had often been approached by friends and acquaintances and asked to help guide them through the difficult and emotional process of domestic adoption. I began to see how rewarding it was to walk with others throughout the adoption process.
These experiences, as well as the adoption of two more sons in 2015 and 2019, only made stronger the passion and desire to help and advocate for all members of the adoption triad. I began to see my heart for adoption and my ability to help others through the adoption process as a God-given calling. I was able to look back and see how God had been preparing me for this for more than a decade. As I prayed for wisdom and direction, Cradled in Grace was born in my heart. With God’s guidance and the encouragement and support of my incredible husband, in 2017 my dream became a reality.
Fun Facts
* I homeschool my two oldest boys.
* We moved from Texas to the coast of South Carolina in 2021 when we bought our new house while on our 20th anniversary trip and decided to make our dream of living near the beach a reality!!
Martha Holland
Consultant
I live in New York with my husband Billy of 7 years and we are raising our two children, Brielle and Isaiah, who joined our family through adoption.
My passion for adoption is founded in my own identity as an adoptee from the Marshall Islands. As an adoptee and an adoptive mother I can empathize with the peaks, valleys, and everything in between when it comes to the adoption process.
I consider it such an honor and privilege to be able to come alongside other hopeful adoptive parents as they go on their own adoption journey! My faith is central to my view of adoption in that it is important to love each member of the adoption triad and to treat everyone as they are made in the image of God. I look forward to walking this journey alongside you!
Fun Facts
* My husband and I are middle school sweet hearts and have been together since we were 11!
* I was adopted from the Marshall Islands at 4 years old
* We have an open adoption with our children birth mom
Heather Stacy
Consultant
I live in Ohio with my family and our dog Buddy. My husband, Ben, and I have been married for almost 24 years and are college sweethearts. We have five kids: Lily (23), Maddie (21), Micah (19), Natalie (16), and Sam (10).
I’ve always had a heart for adoption and knew I wanted to adopt. Ben and I talked about adoption even when we were dating, but at that time we weren’t sure how it would look.
After having our four biological children, we knew our family wasn’t complete. We felt God calling us to domestic adoption. We looked into different options and ended up choosing an adoption consultant. Having a consultant really helped us through the highs and lows of adoption, helping things go smoothly.
We began the adoption process and adopted Sam at birth in 2012 through an open adoption. Sam loves having a relationship with his birth grandparents. He brings much joy to our family and keeps me on my toes!
We learned so much through our adoption. process, that I knew I wanted to be a consultant one day. For a while the timing wasn’t right due to homeschooling our kids and all their sports and activities. Now that three of my children are now adults, I have so excited to be an adoption consultant and walk other families through the process.
Fun Facts
*I grew up in Michigan and moved to Ohio when I got married.
*I love traveling to watch my college-aged kids compete in sports and lead AWANA.
*I love the beach and sunshine.
Cradled in Grace renewed our faith in the blessing of adoption
“Our family is overwhelmed with gratitude for Cradled in Grace and specifically for Kim. Cradled in Grace operates with the highest of ethical standards within the adoption industry. They care deeply for their clients. Kim has become family to us.
Our family initially came to Cradled in Grace after being contracted for 18 months with a larger, nationwide adoption agency. We discovered, after a painful loss of time and money, that our previous agency did not operate in an ethical way as falsely advertised. Cradled in Grace renewed our faith in the blessing of adoption and our precious baby boy came home to our family within 6 months of working with Cradled in Grace. We are currently working with Kim through Cradled in Grace again as we hopefully await the opportunity to adopt for a second time. Our family is forever grateful for the privilege of having Cradled in Grace in our life!“
~ Tracy Lewis
Amanda Justice
Educational Consultant for Transracial Adoption and Adoptee Perspective
My name is Amanda and I am a transracial adoptee. I was born in New York, where I was adopted and raised in an Italian/Irish American home along with my brother who was adopted from New Mexico. I am the mother of 2 beautiful daughters, just welcoming our youngest 9 months ago, and my oldest who is now 18 years old. I enjoy DIY projects and recently got into listening to podcasts to help me unwind. I also really love traveling. I especially enjoy going to the Caribbean, with Jamaica being my favorite, because of the food and people.
As an adult adoptee, I began to share about life growing up, my experiences, and how I overcame certain challenges to educate current and prospective adoptive families. Sharing my stories has helped support many adoptees and adoptive parents on their own journeys. My parents didn’t have any resources to support them while I was growing up. This has shown me how important it is for adoptive families to have better support and education. I hope by sharing my experience and having open discussions, the education I provide is not just useful, but is also empowering to parents within this community. I hope to help all Cradled in Grace families have a better understanding of transracial adoption and what that entails, so that you can answer the question of whether or not transracial adoption is right for you, as well as to better understand how you can support a transracial adoptee in developing a positive identity. I look forward to working with you and providing a memorable experience.
How Amanda Helps Cradled in Grace Clients:
- Leads workshops to help families navigate transracial adoption, helping them to decide if transracial adoption is for them, and if so, how they can best support their adoptee in their identity development.
- Partners with Martha as they share their experiences as adoptees and help parents prepare for the unique parenting challenges that come with adoption.
Ashley Mitchell
Educational Consultant for Open Adoption
My name is Ashley and I wear many hats, literally and figuratively. I am a birth mother through domestic infant adoption, 18+ years post placement with my first born. My husband and I met in Nashville, TN a few years later and we tied the knot 15+ years ago and have two amazing kids that we parent. We are all VERY involved in my open adoption and they are the reason I am able to have my son in my life!
In 2006, I placed my first born for adoption. In the aftermath I suffered greatly without any guidance, mental health support or language around grief and loss for a mother. The first years post placement were a dark, lonely and unsettling time. With no understanding I landed myself in great crisis. After I was able to get the help and resources that I needed, I realized that there had to be others going through the same things and I knew I needed to talk through my experience with community support because I was lacking in familial support.
My life has been changed since. For the past 15 years, I have been working to educate, support and help reform the needs of adoption in this nation. In 2017, we launched the only post placement program that provided FREE licensed mental health supported curriculum, training for national professionals from adoption to healthcare and beyond. We continue to raise the bar in the standard of care for the women.
I pray that our work continues to honor you and prepare you for what is coming for your families. Adoption is for life. We are here for it.
I live in Utah with the most amazing view of the mountains. I love to travel, I think college Football is the greatest sport on the planet and I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
How Ashley Helps Cradled in Grace Clients:
- Guides clients during the profile writing process, helping them gain a birth mother’s point of view as they navigate the nuanced challenges of presenting an authentic profile while keeping in mind the lens in which the reader will view the contents of their book.
- Provides one-on-one sessions to Cradled in Grace families to help prepare them for and navigate birth family relationships.
- We’re proud to also include Back to Basics open adoption training, including multiple birth mother voices, led and produced by Ashley.
Whitney Chesnut
Profile Designer
Hello lovelies! My name is Whitney, and I am a birth mom 17 years post placement. I’ve been married nearly 15 years and together we have two beautiful daughters (13 and 10) who couldn’t be more opposite from each other. I am a Utah girl born and raised and can’t live anywhere that doesn’t have mountains. They are my sanctuary and I fill my summers with time in them. I enjoy spending my winter free time with reading and video games. I’m a huge Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings nerd. I used to work as a Medical Assistant for an urgent care until becoming disabled a couple years ago which has been a blessing and a curse. I have been able to get more into what I actually love doing which is designing and planning.
I began working in the adoption education world 10 years ago with Ashley Mitchell (BigToughGirl) helping plan and design for her birth mom and team retreats. Over the years I have learned to have a voice for my story and experiences as a birth mom and now use this in helping write curriculum for the Knee-to-Knee post placement care program, as well as to help families create amazing, expectant mom-centered profiles. I hope my insight as a birth mom can help you to share your story in an authentic way and bring you to life on paper.
Kim is the only consultant in the nation that I do exclusive work for
“When Kim reached out to me 5+ years ago to see if I would sit knee to knee with her clients to help prepare them for some of the realities of adoption, bring a birth mother perspective to the table and to make sure that we moved forward in healthier and safer spaces for the adopted children, I was thrilled.
I knew that families needed it and it is rare that professionals provide it. Kim is the only consultant in the nation that I do exclusive work for and she has become one of my closest friends and greatest supporters.“
~ Ashley Mitchell
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No Hidden Fees
We want to be completely up front with our fees. All of the support and education services listed on our website are included in your contract fee.
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Check out our frequently asked questions to learn more about Cradled in Grace and our unique approach to domestic adoption.