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Susan Badeau

Susan Badeau


www.suebadeau.com

Contact Susan:

badeaufamily@gmail.com

Bio:

Susan Badeau (Sue) writes and speaks extensively on topics related to children, particularly those who have experienced trauma. She is a frequent and passionate keynote speaker and workshop leader at state, regional and national conferences, churches and parent groups. Sue and her husband, Hector, are the lifetime parents of twenty-two children, two by birth and twenty adopted (two, with terminal illnesses, are now deceased). They recently completed a memoir about their adoption and parenting experiences, Are We There Yet: The Ultimate Road Trip Adopting and Raising 22 Kids!” (Sept 2013). She also writes a regular blog,Building Bridges of Hope” located at www.suebadeau.com

The Badeau family children come from many ethnicities and personal backgrounds. Some children were adopted at birth; others were teenagers when they joined the family. Some are from the United States; others are from countries around the world. Some have mental, physical, intellectual, or emotional challenges (3 with terminal illnesses are now deceased). Active in Summit Presbyterian church, Sue and Hector have always found the motivation, strength and guidance for their life and work in their faith, particularly in Matthew 18:5-6, James 1:27, and Luke 18: 6-7. In addition to their own children, Hector and Sue have also served as foster parents for more than 50 children in three states, and as a host family for refugee youth from Sudan, Kosovo and Guatemala and as surrogate parents for countless neighborhood and church children. Hector was recently named one of West Mt. Airy (Philadelphia) Neighbor’s 50 Good Neighbors because of his charitable work in the community and with the youth of the community.

Susan has a degree in Early Child Development and Elementary Education from Smith College. She has been a child welfare professional for thirty four years working in adoption, foster care, juvenile justice and children’s mental health in both public and private agencies. She has developed curricula on many topics used to prepare professional child welfare staff, adoptive and foster parents, judges, attorneys and youth.

Active in community efforts on behalf of children and families at many levels, Sue also serves on several national boards of directors of child and family serving organizations. She has particular passion and expertise around a number of topic areas, including the impact of trauma on children’s development, achieving permanence for older adolescents, the critical need for respite for parents and caregivers, the importance of the sibling bond, the value of engaging families in all aspects of children’s lives and the systems that serve them. In addition to ASWA, Sue is a graduate of the Christian Communicators Conference, (CCC).

For more information about engaging Sue as a speaker for your event, visitwww.suebadeau.com . For more on the Badeau family, visitwww.badeaufamily.com