Staff

A Chicago native, Alexis received her Bachelor's degree in French and Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University and did her graduate work in Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University while working as an analyst for Citigroup in New York. Returning to Chicago, Alexis served on the Board of Directors of The Harbour and ran her own business before joining On Your Feet as its Executive Director. Alexis and her husband wrangle three kids, along with numerous dogs and chickens. In her spare time she is a violinist with the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Women's Board of The Field Museum and loves to read and travel. Alexis recently completed her MSW at the University of Illinois School of Social Work.

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Jennifer has dedicated her career in social services to supporting and advocating for others. She is passionate about mental health and feels fortunate to have worked at Birthparent Support Alliance since 2015. Jennifer is a Midwestern girl at heart, moving to Chicago from Cincinnati in her early twenties. Jennifer studied Family Studies at Ohio University and earned her Masters in Sociology from DePaul. She enjoys spending time with her family, exploring new places to eat, doing Crossfit, and relaxing at the beach.

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A New Yorker at heart, Katy grew up on Long Island and went on to earn a BFA from New York University and an MA from the City University of New York. She is an educator, theater artist, writer, and most importantly, a mother via open, transracial, domestic adoption. Since the birth of her two children, Katy has become passionate about using creative means to explore adoption. Katy first worked with Birthparent Support Alliance in 2019 through a collaboration with Piven Theatre Workshop and Erasing the Distance to create, Placing Home, a verbatim theater piece that explored adoption from the birth mother perspective. Her personal essays have been featured on numerous websites including, Motherly and Coffee and Crumbs. Katy is currently training to run her first half marathon and when she’s not running for her physical and mental health, she’s running after her two wildly energetic boys, ages 7 and 3.

Originally from Canada, Kristin moved to the Midwest to attend graduate school at Northwestern, first earning a master's degree in education, and then a second master's in communication, and by the time she graduated, there wasn’t any place on earth she’d rather live. As a seasoned media strategist, Kristin uses ethical storytelling as the catalyst for marketing strategy development, social media content creation, and audience engagement. Her free time is spent traveling, reading, and learning new recipes with her two sons.

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Catherine Potts Watkins grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota, and graduated from Northwestern University, where she majored in chemistry.  She returned to Northwestern a few years later to complete a Master's in journalism. Catherine spent 16 years in marketing and communications with the American Medical Association, leading the internal communications team for most of that time. She "retired" following the birth of her son, and then found ample opportunities to use her communications background in the community through work in the Oakton Elementary PTA, a friend's successful school board campaign, and periodic consulting.

Catherine is connected to the adoption constellation through her late mother-in-law, who placed a child for adoption in the 1960s. Approximately 6 years ago, her mother-in-law was reunited with her daughter and Catherine's husband met his half-sister for the first time. It was clear through the reunion process how many questions were answered on all sides, subtracting nothing from the relationships among the adoptive family, but adding important facts and context to everyone's story. Catherine and her husband also explored adding to their family through adoption following the birth of their son, completing courses very similar to Activism in Adoption.

Catherine is thrilled to be joining Birthparent Support Alliance and will support both Birthparent Support Alliance membership and Activism in Adoption programs. In addition to her work for Birthparent Support Alliance, Catherine also serves as co-president of the the Chute Middle School PTA and on the Mammoth Hockey Club Board. She is a proud mom to an 11-year-old hockey player, so if you can't find her, she is probably at a rink somewhere.  In the short season where there is no hockey, she cultivates bird-friendly plants in her garden. Her family also includes 4 aging but spunky cats.

Torie is a biracial Black woman who was placed into a white adoptive family through private domestic adoption as an infant. In 2018, Torie began to share her adoption story publicly through her Instagram micro-blog and small business, Wreckage and Wonder LLC. She provides educational workshops and consultations about transracial adoption, racial identity development, anti-racism, and the history of child welfare and adoption in the U.S. to prospective parents and adoption professionals. She is also a PhD candidate in Anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her dissertation is tentatively entitled: "Transracial Adoption in the Age of #GeorgeFloyd: Race and Kinship in the U.S. Torie was awarded the Griffin Summer Pathways Fellowship at Indiana University to work with non-profit adoption organizations like Birthparent Support Alliance to conduct research and design and facilitate educational programming. 

Sam Brayer is the founder of Lane 4 Advisory, a consulting practice dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations accelerate impact through smart, high-performance fundraising strategies. With over a decade of experience leading development efforts for national nonprofits—including the American Diabetes Association, Alzheimer’s Association, and American Heart Association—she brings deep expertise in capital campaigns, grant writing, donor research, and event strategy. Samantha is also a long-time swimmer turned swim coach and community leader, blending her passion for teamwork, growth, and excellence into every client partnership.

 Rich Brayer is the Chief Strategist at Lane 4 Advisory, bringing decades of experience leading organizations through innovation, creativity, and collaboration. With a career spanning both the nonprofit and corporate sectors, Rich has held senior leadership roles in marketing, development, and brand strategy, guiding capital campaigns, major gift initiatives, and multi-channel marketing programs. Most recently, he served as Regional Development Officer at Food For The Poor, where he built a donor portfolio that raised over $1.2 million in just four months. Known for his strategic vision and approachable leadership, Rich has partnered with industries from retail and healthcare to financial services, technology, and consumer goods. At Lane 4, he combines this cross-sector expertise with a passion for helping mission-driven organizations grow and thrive.