Joint Council Board of Directors

Stephanie Mitchell, Board Chairperson
Stephanie Mitchell is the CEO at MAPS Worldwide.   She oversees all aspects of MAPS Worldwide’s services including: Infant Mental Health Residential Programs; Family Shelter Programs for homeless mothers and their children; inter-country and domestic adoption programs; and humanitarian aid programs.

Ms. Mitchell is a licensed clinical social worker with an extensive background in international child welfare and children’s services.  Her humanitarian aid travels with MAPS have taken her to China, Guatemala, India, Nepal and Russia.

Jared Rolsky, Board Vice Chair
Jared Rolsky has been the Director of Golden Cradle Adoption Services in Cherry Hill, NJ since 1997.  He has been involved with domestic and international adoptions since the early 1980's and has worked to make adoption an accessible and client driven service.  Prior to coming to Golden Cradle, Mr. Rolsky was Executive Director or Jewish Family Service of New Haven, CT.  There, he expanded the adoption program to include adoptions from South America and Eastern Europe.  He has been associated with Council on Accreditation since the mid-1980's and is currently a team leader for COA.  Mr. Rolsky was President of the Council of Family Service Agencies of Connecticut, Treasurer of the United Way Executives of CT, board member of the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies and currently Membership Chair and webmaster for the Delaware Valley Adoption Council.  He chaired the Joint Council Ethics Committee that was charged with the recent Standards of Practice Statement.

Linda Brownlee, Secretary
Electrified by the images of Romanian children suffering in orphanages, Linda Brownlee was moved to change her career and join in the mission to make children’s lives better through humanitarian aid and adoption opportunities.  Educated in social work and through her experience as an adoptive parent, Linda established a non-profit licensed child placing agency and traveled to Romania. She has held previous Board of Director positions with organizations, including Resolve (long-term planning) and her church (liaison to school).  Linda currently serves as co-chair for Joint Council’s Vietnam caucus, as a Hague evaluator, and as the Executive Director of the Adoption Center of Washington.

Kristine Altwies, Treasurer
Kristine Altwies has been working in the field of international adoption and child and family services as the Executive Director of Hawaii International Child since 1991. Although initially educated in art history and education, her interest in adoption lead Kristine to complete a masters degree in counseling psychology. Kristine has spent time as a volunteer domestic violence, sex abuse, and marital counselor; has served on a number of non profit boards, and is working on a masters degree in business administration with a nonprofit focus. Kristine has been an active member of Joint Council since 1994, serving on various committees including Education, Ethics, and the China, and Kazakhstan caucuses. Kristine has one birth daughter, and is eagerly anticipating a daughter from China.  

Jane Aronson, M.D.
Dr. Aronson is a board certified general pediatrician and pediatric infectious diseases specialist, and has been a practicing adoption medicine specialist for the past 12 years. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and the director of International Pediatric Health Services (IPH), which she opened in 2000. Since founding WWO in 1997, Dr. Aronson has visited orphanages in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Latin America.

Nancy Fox
Nancy Fox has been involved in international adoptions for more than 30 years as the Executive Director of Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA),  one of the founding members of Joint Council. Previously having served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Board, Ms. Fox is strongly committed to professionalism and good practice in the field of international adoption. Over the years, she has been a birth, foster, and adoptive parent and, recently, an adoptive grandparent. She supports a strong spirit of cooperation between the placing and direct services agencies, adoptive and adoptee groups and medical experts. Ms. Fox believes that she can bring to the Board and the Membership of JCICS experience, vision, and a passion for the concept that children in need of families, anywhere in the world, must be the principle focus of our efforts. 

Dana Ernest Johnson, M.D., Ph.D.
Dana E. Johnson is Professor of Pediatrics, member of Division of Neonatology and Founder of the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota which is one of the largest adoption-related medical programs in the world. Over the past twenty-three years, information gathered through this clinic on the medical status of children adopted from dozens of countries and a wide variety of living conditions has helped establish the field of adoption medicine. His research focuses on the short- and long-term effects of early deprivation on child health and early development. Dr. Johnson is an adoptive parent, serves on the Editorial Boards of Adoption Quarterly and Adoptive Families Magazine and is a Senior Research Fellow in the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

Richard Pearlman
Richard Pearlman was elected to the Board in 2006. He is founder of the Family Resource Center (FRC), a Chicago based Illinois licensed child welfare agency since 1987.  During his tenure as FRC's Executive Director, Family Resource Center has participated in more than 2,500 adoptions.  Mr. Pearlman was first introduced to the field of child welfare as a student intern with a small Quaker college, Friends World College as he lived and worked with street children in Bogota, Colombia.  Mr. Pearlman has traveled to Guatemala, China, Ukraine and Russia.  Mr. Pearlman is the father of three children, one of whom is adopted.

Julie S. Tye
Julie Tye has been president of The Cradle since December, 1992.  The Cradle is an internationally-known, not-for-profit adoption agency, established in 1923.  It is the only agency in the country with an onsite newborn nursery which is a vital component of the agency’s ability to serve babies who have special medical needs. In addition to direct placement services, The Cradle is the nation’s leader in providing adoption preparation and education through its online program AdoptionLearingPartners.org.  

Prior to coming to The Cradle Julie worked at Lutheran General Health Care System in a variety of areas including business development for the addiction treatment division, group practice management and hospital administration. 

Julie received her MBA from the Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1978 with a concentration in Hospital and Health Services Management.

Julie is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and a current member of the Economic Club of Chicago.   Julie lives in Glenview, IL with her husband, Fred and their two children.

Marshall Williams
Marshall Williams has been with the Gladney Center for Adoption since October, 1998 where he serves as the Senior Vice President, Managing Director for Latin America and Eastern Europe adoption programs. The Gladney Center has been placing children for adoption since 1887.  In addition to one of the oldest and largest dormitories in the United States for women facing crisis pregnancies, Gladney holds adoption licenses in nine states as well as a full Hague accreditation.  

Marshall graduated from St. John’s University in 1980 with a degree in Nursing, and from Ottawa University with a degree in Healthcare Administration. His Master’s degree is from Southern Nazarene University in Management Science. Prior to his employment at Gladney Marshall spent many years in the healthcare field in positions ranging from bedside nursing to hospital administration.

Marshall is married to Marcie and they have one adopted son. They reside in Arlington, Texas.

Joint Council Grievance Board

The Joint Council Board of Directors appointed the following members to the Joint Council Grievance Board.   Joint Council extends its appreciation to the members of the Grievance Board for their service to Joint Council.  We remain confident that their individual and collective expertise will serve the goals of Joint Council and support its mission.

• Bert Ballard
• Gary Gamer
• Maureen Evans
• Chris Huber
• Margi Miller
• Kathleen Hogan Morrison
• Jennifer Peterson

In pursuing a goal of transparency and to avoid conflicts of interest, the members of the Grievance Board:

• are not employed by Joint Council,
• do not receive compensation for their service on the Grievance Board,
• are not an individual member of Joint Council,
• are not employed by any Joint Council Member Organization,
• serve in their individual capacity,
• and do not represent any organization with which they may be affiliated.

Please note that if an individual or organization chooses to file a grievance, they should do so in accordance with the procedures detailed in the Joint Council Grievance Procedure.  Individual members of the Grievance Board should not be contacted regarding any issue regarding a grievance. 

We again thank the members of the Grievance Board and look forward to working them in the coming months.