Kathleen Strottman comes to her role as the Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) after serving for nearly eight years as a trusted advisor to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and then as an associate at Patton Boggs, LLC. As the Senator’s Legislative Director, Kathleen worked to pass legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act, The Medicare Modernization Act, The Inter-Country Adoption Act, The Child Citizenship Act of 2000, The Adoption Tax Credit and the Family Court Act. Throughout her career, Kathleen has worked to increase the opportunity for positive dialogue and the exchange of best practices between the United States and countries such as China, Romania, Russia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ethiopia and India.  Kathleen regularly presents at national and international child welfare conferences and has appeared on CNN, FOX News, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, PBS and numerous other media outlets.  She is also a regular contributor to Adoption Today magazine. In 2010, Kathleen spearheaded The Way Forward Project, a project to stimulate dialogue among child welfare experts, government leaders, and investors on the need for family-based care, chairing the project’s Working Group on Legal, Government and Social Infrastructure. Kathleen attended Whittier Law School's Center for Children's Rights where she graduated with honors and received a state certified specialty in juvenile advocacy. A member of the Whittier Law Review, Kathleen published an article entitled "Creating a Downward Spiral: Transfer Statutes as Answers to Juvenile Delinquency.”  Kathleen received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross and went on to serve as a Jesuit Volunteer.  She and her husband, Matt, are the proud parents of three children, Grace, Noah and Liam.

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Allison joined CCAI in September of 2010,  having previously worked for Senator Don Nickles and then serving as the Associate Director of Marketing at a trade association based in Washington, DC. Allison started at CCAI as the Director of External Relations, and in her new role as the Director of Programs, she oversees CCAI’s core initiatives including the Angels in Adoption ^TM events and gala, the Congressional Foster Youth Internship as well as National Adoption Day efforts across the country. She graduated Oral Roberts University with a bachelor’s degree in Communications.

As the Director of External Relations, Elle is responsible for developing and implementing CCAI’s strategic communications plan, which includes managing media outreach and engagement, social media strategy and development of communications materials. She also oversees CCAI’s development strategy to facilitate and expand support of the Institute among individual, corporate and foundation donors.  Elle most recently volunteered as an Adoption Facilitator at an orphanage in Hong Kong and also worked in Ogilvy Washington’s Social Marketing practice. She graduated from Saint Louis University with a concentration in Journalism and earned her master’s degree in Health Communication from Johns Hopkins University.

Shari joined CCAI as a policy intern during her senior year in college. After graduating, she began her career as a contract specialist for the Department of Defense (DoD) and continued to volunteer at CCAI in her free time. Shortly after, she resigned from the DoD and embraced her love for children by volunteering full time at CCAI and attending a mission trip to Nicaragua. Through her internship and volunteer experience, Shari earned herself a spot on the staff and now assists the Director of Policy with the development and implementation of CCAI’s Congressional Resource Program and CCAI’s Delegation Program. She also supports the Director of Programs in the implementation of CCAI’s core programs and annual projects, including the Foster Youth Internship program, Angels in Adoption™, National Adoption Day and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Wish List Gift Drive. Shari received a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Legal Studies from Towson University.