Check out our AdoptTogether interview with Samantha as we discuss how she discovered she had a twin sister and the inspiration behind founding Kindred.
Samantha Futerman is a Korean American adoptee. Born in Busan, South Korea, Samantha was adopted by a loving family in Verona, New Jersey through Spence Chapin Adoption Services and the Social Welfare Society. She was raised with two older brothers, her parents’ biological sons.
Samantha began performing during her childhood and continued to pursue her talents while attending high school at the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City, and eventually graduating with a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University. In 2011, Samantha moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career. Her entire life changed in February of 2013 when she discovered that she had an identical twin sister. This remarkable experience ignited a desire in Samantha to explore the world of adoption by assisting fellow adoptees and their surrounding communities. Growing up without the insight of other adoptees, she wanted to share a positive outlook on adoption and explore the ways in which family is deeper than DNA.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy:
Testimonial: Foster-Adoption Far From A Nightmare by Julie Halton
During our training to become fost-adopt parents we heard a lot of grim stories... My husband and I completed our certification and prepared for the worst. We were fostering with the intent to adopt and and heard story after story of families caring for two, three or...
Testimonial: 5 Important Crowdfunding Reminders
Remember... You're Not Alone "Feeling scared to ask people for money? Me too!" Most of the families I have talked with about starting their AdoptTogether crowd fundraising say, “I am nervous to ask people for money.” I felt the same way when we started crowd...
Testimonial: Adoption Is Not One Thing
As I sit watching the snowflakes falling outside my kitchen window my mind to wanders back to the time when my husband and I were adopting. So here come my thoughts... Adoption is a process. We talk about adoption as though it is one thing. That one thing is finding a...
Testimonial: A Single Parent International Adoption
Char Williams always knew she wanted to adopt, it was plan A to her. In fact it was the only plan she had for making her family. When she was in her late 30s, her two-year relationship ended. She was dating a guy who had kids from his first marriage but he knew she...
Testimonial: Why We Are Choosing Adoption Over Biological Children
About five years ago I stumbled upon a blog by a lovely young woman and her young husband who recounted their story of adopting their daughter from Uganda. I spent hours reading every post about their daughter. I was so moved by the mother’s heart, her yearning to be...
5 Ways Adoptive Parents Can Honor Birth Mothers
1. Be Present During the pre-placement process... I really enjoyed having the company of the adoptive parents. My parents lived in another state at the time and I had a 2 year old so I really appreciated their help as they would watch my son while I had counseling...
7 TED Talks about Adoption
1. How I Use the Internet to Build Families | Hank Fortener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csimKako7_s&t=5s It's the pain inside of you, the mark the world left on you, that is the mark that you will then leave on the world. Ask yourself the question "What mark...
Testimonial: How We Chose Our Adoption Agency
After encountering various challenges with adopting through LA County, we decided that going through a private agency was a better choice for our family. We also knew that there were hundreds of agencies out there and were slightly overwhelmed by the process of...
Jenna Ushkowitz: Actress & Kindred Adoption Co-Founder
Jenna Ushkowitz is a Korean American adoptee from Seoul, South Korea who was adopted at 3 months old through Love the Children Adoption Agency. She grew up in East Meadow, New York with her parents Brad and Judi Ushkowitz, and an older brother, Gregg. As a child,...
Kindred: The Foundation For Adoption
Kindred: The Foundation for Adoption is an American foundation created by adoptees Samantha Futerman and Jenna Ushkowitz. In 2013, Samantha and Anaïs Bordier discovered that they were identical twin sisters separated at birth. When their story garnered worldwide...