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Patricia Irwin Johnston, M.S.Pat Johnston is Perspective Press’ publisher. She has been writing and speaking and advocating about infertility and adoption issues for nearly 30 years, beginning as a long-term volunteer in Indiana coalition building and with RESOLVE (for which she chaired the national board of directors for three years) and including several years on the national board of Adoptive Families of America. An innovative thinker, in 1979 Pat and two partners (Carol Hallenbeck, RN and reproductive endocrinologist Dr. William R. Keye, Jr., who was later president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine) conceived of and planned what they later discovered had been the first consumer symposium on infertility held anywhere in the world! It became the model for the RESOLVE/Serono symposia series. She was a regular columnist (”Growing Up Adopted: 0-2″) for Adoptive Families magazine for over five years (ending in 2000.) Pat is an on-line expert for INCIID’s Exploring Adoption and Expecting by Adoption and Parenting in Adoption bulletin boards. As well, she is a frequent contributor to many other magazines and newsletters.Her books include Understanding Infertility: Insights for Family and Friends, Taking Charge of Infertility, (Adopting after Infertility, Launching a Baby’s Adoption which are both being replaced by 2008’s Adopting: Sound Choices, Strong Families), and Adoption Is a Family Affair! What Relatives and Friends Must Know and editing the poetry anthology Perspectives on a Grafted Tree: Thoughts for those Touched by Adoption. Pat has been given several awards during her years in the iinfertility and adoption communities, including the 2007 Angel in Adoption Award from Congresswoman Julia Carson and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption; the 2006 Robert Todd Duncan award from Butler University’s Alumni Association to an alum whose personal or professional achievements bring honor to the University; a 2005 JCICS “110% Award” for above-and-beyond commitment to JCICS; and a 2004 Kaleidoscope Best of the Best Award (Consumer Watchdogs) from As Simple as That. Additionally, she received the 1992 Friend of Adoption award from the Adoptive Parents Committee of New York and New Jersey; in 1991 Resolve, Inc, named its annual volunteer service award to a chapter volunteer in her honor; she received a 1989 Adoption Activist Award from the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Pat and her husband, Dave, are the second generation of their family to extend it beyond infertility through the adoption of three children, who are now adults. Pat Johnston’s decision-making and special-issue-exploration workshops for consumers and her in-service trainings for allied professionals are routinely praised for their friendly, inspiring, and gently provocative nature. Frequent topics (as one hour sessions or mixed and matched for half and full day sessions) include the following list. The list, however, is not exhaustive and Pat customizes her presentations for each audience. Be sure to ask about other topics. Infertility: Issues and Decisions
Parenting in Adoption
And, for profressionals, The Family-Challenged Client in the 21st Century is a title encompassing a variety of topics pulled together in a half or full day workshop on dealing with today’s changing issues with a new generation of clients which is custom written for each workshop sponsor. Pat offers insights into what makes each generation so different with which to work, provides tools for engaging them, and presents materials professionals can use to help each client make his or her best decisions. For detailed descriptions of the above topics or to contact Pat Johnston about speaking for your organization, e-mail Pat at the office of Perspectives Press or call her there at (317)872-3055 between 8:00 and 4:00 Eastern time Mondays through Thursdays. |
