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Published on:

15th Sep 2026

301. Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao: "Long Views on Adoption Helps Our Community"

Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, Ed.D., LCSW, LMFT is a returning guest.

She was the Founder and CEO of Center for Family Connections, Inc. in Cambridge and New York, Founder and Director of Riverside After Adoption Consulting and Training, PACT (Pre/Post Adoption Consulting and Training, and Pavao Consulting and Coaching. Dr. Pavao has done extensive training, both nationally and internationally. She is a lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and she has consulted to various public and private child welfare agencies, adoption agencies, schools, and community groups, as well as probate and family court judges, lawyers, and clergy. Additionally, she has worked closely with individuals and families touched by adoption, foster care, and other complex blended family constructions. She has developed models for treatment, and models for training, using her systemic, intergenerational, and developmental framework, The Normative Crises in the Development of the Adoptive Family. Her book, The Family of Adoption, has received high acclaim. Dr. Pavao has received many awards and honors, including the Children’s Bureau/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Adoption Excellence Award for Family Contribution (2003) and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption award for Angels in Adoption (2000).

Music by Corey Quinn

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About the Podcast

Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland
Adoptees and other members of the constellation share their perspective about adoption.
Through an audio drama and episodes of thought-provoking conversations, the listening audience can learn some of the issues faced by those affected by relinquishment and adoption. The adoptee is at the center of all conversations had with other members of the adoption constellation.
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About your host

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Jennifer Dyan Ghoston

Hi, I'm Jennifer who is an adoptee in reunion with both sides of my birth family. I have been formally connected with the adoption community for over a decade and am always interested in hearing the personal stories of adoptees from all over the globe. We all have a "Once upon a time". If you wish to share your story please go to www.jenniferdyanghoston.com