AVI FOUNDER
Indigo Willing
Researcher, PhD, Sociology, University of Queensland – Australia
AVI Founder (also co-founder and co-convener of the Asian Australian Film Forum and Network)
Bio / Fundraising
AVI WEB DESIGNER
Jessica Emmett
Freelance Illustrator & Artist – UK
AVI Website Designer & Advisory Network Member, Creator & Illustrator of Adopted the Comic
AVI Bio / AVI 35th Reflections / Adopted the Comic Website / Art Portfolio Website
AVI ADVISORY NETWORK
The below people have assisted AVI to develop content, moderate forums, and from time to time provide advice on special topics. For general contacts please visit country pages but please note AVI is a modest volunteer project with a website providing some archival information and a social network group and page, but does not have formal representatives or formal services. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
in alphabetical order
Emmanuelle Babey
France (up until 2010)
Developing a new VN Adoptee Resources Web
AVI Bio / AVI Reflections
Robert ‘Bert’ Ballard
PhD, Academic at Uni.of Waterloo, Ontario – Canada. (Soon at Pepperdine Uni., California). Editor of ‘Pieces of Me’ book, Co-author – Adopted the Comic, Chair – Stratford Intercountry Adoption Summit ’10.
Waterloo Bio / Pepperdine Bio / Pieces of Me (for Teen Adoptees) / Summit Website / Adopted the Comic
Kim Nguyen Browne
UK
Founder of Vietnam Volunteer Network (VVN)
AVI Bio / AVI Go Vap Orphanage / VVN Website
Natalie Cherot
(Non-Adoptee Advisory Committee Member)
PhD, Sociology & Editorial & Founding Team Member of Conducive Magazine and Imagined E-Journal
AVI Bio / Conducive Website
Viktoria Cowley
UK
Founder of Vietnam Orphans of War – Voices Today & director of Special Delivery documentary.
Special Delivery Website
David Fisk
USA
AVI E Group and Facebook Group Chief Co-Moderator.
IT Professional
Jen Fitzpatrick
Co-Founder of IAC Group, Adoptee National Representative 2011 for NICAAG, Former Adoption Officer with Adoption Services Queensland, Operation Babylift, TTAF Initiative Committee (Brisbane)
AVI Bio / Jen’s Story (Youtube) / AVI 35th Reflections / TTAF Brisbane
Ty ‘Phoon’ Gaston
Australian
Operation Babylift and Admin Team Member
AVI Bio
Trista Goldberg
USA
Founder/Director of Operation Reunite and DNA Register project.
AVI Bio / AVI 35th Reflections / AVI Reunited / Operation Reunite Website
Dominic Golding
Australia – Artist, Theatre Performer & Playwright. Screenplay and lead performance of ‘Shrimp’. Touring Transcultural Adoptee Films (TTAF) Initiative Committee (Melbourne Event Organiser)
Being Vietnamese AVI / Dominic’s Website / Shrimp website / TTAF Melbourne
T. Houston
Teacher & Writer – USA
Committee Member of Operation Reunite Return to Vietnam 2010 Trip
AVI Bio / Vietnamese Adoptees Blog
Anh Ðào Kolbe
Photographer & Community Activist – USA
Committee Member of Operation Reunite & Photographer of Portraits of Vietnamese Adoptees series
AVI Bio / Portrait Series Website / Anh Ðào website
Patrick L
Germany
AVI Advisory Committee
AVI Bio / AVI 35th Reflections
Ruth Tulloch
Teacher & Community Engagement – Australia
Teacher, Long term Community Engagement with SA VN and Multicultural Communities & Media Artist
AVI Bio
AVI MEDIA & PR ADVICE
Analee Matthews
Journalist & Editor for Fitness First magazine- Sydney, NSW Australia
AVI Bio / analee@allsmilescreative.com.au
Please note the information above is updated by volunteers and from time to time may be out of date. If you are listed and wish to update your contact info please email: tratnaresearchgroup@gmail.com – please also respect that the people below are all volunteers and have busy lives and reserve the right to only engage as much as they feel is possible at the time. Additionally, while we’re here to support each other, it’s an informal group and no one can act as a social worker, counsellor or psychologist. We’re a community group. It’s not fair or possible to expect more. If people know someone in real distress, please let them seek professional assistance and post adoption services. For more immediate intense situations, please know there are help lines available in every country. In Australia contact: https://www.lifeline.org.au – The link below also has more information on various post adoption services for Australians. Note only some of these groups have professionally trained staff who do counselling (as mentioned before, community groups like AVI cannot do this) but if you contact the government departments they should have useful tips:
http://www.ag.gov.au/FamiliesAndMarriage/IntercountryAdoption/PostAdoptionSupport/Pages/contactdetails.aspx?hc_location=ufi