Iris is a speaker and proud mom to two adoptees born in China. She leads her consulting firm, IC Growth, which she founded after 20 years of experience in organizational communication and leadership roles across various industries. 

While working in leadership roles at American Airlines and Sabre, she was recognized for her success in leading multiple nationwide initiatives. She earned a master’s degree in adult education and holds varied leadership and training certifications.

In one of her professional capacities, she currently serves as the Director of Heritage Programs for Lotus Travel. She is a two-time published author, with a focus on how travel builds identity strength.  One of her areas of writing focuses on leveraging travel to achieve the maximum positive impact for international adoptees across every age span. 

While not working, you may find her fully “nerding out” on obscure data; or digging IN  a lot of dirt, as she finds it incredibly relaxing.  She openly admits to an obsession with coaxing flowering plants back to life from the brink of death, snatched from the clearance shelves at Lowe’s. She resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and considers her most important life achievement to have been involved in raising two daughters to adulthood, who are “kind and decent humans”. 

Join this seminar and you will get answers as well as learn what questions to ask for your return trip to China!   You will learn how to assess a potential travel organizer, how and when to choose to travel, as well as learn practical tips on budgeting, emotional and practical preparations for your family.  Procedures involved in arranging orphanage visits, discussion to have in advance, books and resources are all discussed.  Additionally there is a robust segment on how to leverage the trip for the maximum positive impact for your family, specific to age groups.   Practical aspects such as budgeting, timing, and a countdown checklist are included in this informative seminar. 

This seminar opens the subject for discussion that many China adoptive families have wondered for years.  Come and hear how some have begun to explore this adoption-specific consideration within the context of Chinese birth families.  Learn what others have done and are doing to pursue what was once thought impossible. Possibilities and pitfalls are explored and discussed. A primary emphasis of this workshop is to leverage tools available stateside to maximize opportunities for uncovering additional clues and insights while traveling in China. This session is designed to be highly interactive.