Maris H. Blechner, M Ed, LCSW
Maris is an adoptive and birth parent, an educator, a social worker, and an internationally respected speaker and trainer on child welfare issues, with more than thirty-three years of professional experience in public adoption. She was one of the founders of FAMILY FOCUS ADOPTION SERVICES, the high energy level New York State adoption agency that she has directed for the last twenty-five years. She has been the Vice President of the North American Council on Adoptable Children and the New York State Adoption Action Network. She is a Board member emeritus of the New York State Adoptive Parents Committee, also sitting on a variety of work groups dealing with the improvement of adoption. Maris is a seasoned keynote speaker and conference presenter throughout the U.S. and Canada. Most importantly, Maris defines herself as a child advocate, well trained in grass roots community activism
