Meet the People of Baby Adoption Center

Dan Smith

Interim CEO

Dan is a seasoned executive known for successfully integrating people, processes and technology for mission-service organizations. In addition to his current role as Interim CEO, he serves as Holt’s CFO and VP of Finance and Administration. Dan spent four years in Tanzania serving as a missionary where he held the title of Finance Director for the Lutheran Mission Cooperation. Dan has effectively served in leadership positions for complex organizations in multiple capacities: CAO, VP of Finance and Administration/CFO, Interim CFO, VP of Program Development, Finance Director and Interim Executive Director. He has also served as Regional Director of Procurement and Logistics for a Fortune 100 company. Dan has a multifaceted approach for increasing revenue, expanding services and establishing long-term strategic visions. He and his wife have three adult children, the youngest of whom was adopted from China. Dan is a lifelong musician who has enjoyed a variety of roles on his church worship team. He is also a world traveler and avid cyclist. To learn more about Dan.

Jian Chen

Vice President, China Regional Programs

Jian has played a crucial role in expanding services to children and families throughout China, building and maintaining critical collaborative relationships with Chinese officials, and creating and training a highly dependable in-country staff. Through these efforts, Jian has helped grow the China program to one of Holt’s largest, serving thousands through child welfare programs and placing hundreds of orphaned and abandoned children in loving homes every year. Jian holds a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and cultural anthropology from Oregon State University, focusing on cultural differences between China and the U.S. A native of China, Jian raised her two children in the U.S. In 2005, she received an Angels in Adoption award from the U.S. Congress.

Rick Ericson

Vice President, Marketing and Development

Rick has over 15 years of experience as a fundraising professional, focused on empowering fundraising teams to grow donor pipelines, implement donor-focused strategies and communications, and leverage technology and digital mediums to fuel philanthropic growth. Before becoming vice president of marketing and development at Baby Adoption Center, Rick worked for a decade in higher education advancement, most recently as the director of annual philanthropy at his alma mater, the University of Oregon. Rick has served as a speaker and panelist at conferences and events including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, PNW Engage Conference and Pacific Northwest Annual Giving Consortium.

Sarah Halfman

Senior Executive, International Programs

Sarah is a compassionate international relief and development professional with more than 18 years of program management experience overseeing multicultural teams and navigating the complexities of working with stakeholders in a myriad of cultural and political contexts. Before joining Baby Adoption Center, Sarah served in a number of roles, including senior leadership roles in Latin America and East Africa where she was responsible for managing diverse and innovative portfolios slated for growth as well as supporting global, regional and country-level strategic planning processes from design and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. In her role at Holt, Sarah is responsible for program performance and quality, ensuring our teams implement high-impact programs that lead to transformational change for children and families in the communities we serve.

Jodi Miyama

Senior Executive, International Adoption

Jodi provides leadership and strategic direction for Baby Adoption Center intercountry adoption programs as well as clinical oversight for family recruitment and advocacy for waiting children. She is a licensed, master’s degree-level social worker with over 25 years of experience working in child welfare and over 22 years in the field of adoption — both in executive-level leadership and direct service roles. Additionally, Jodi holds experience in intercountry adoption program development and oversight, and has advocated for policy change that helps children join permanent, loving families through adoption. Jodi has also served as a speaker at local, national and international adoption conferences, and she is a certified Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) practitioner.

Lisa Vertulfo

Senior Executive, International Adoption

Lisa provides guidance and leadership for every step of the adoption process, and continually seeks creative ways to develop Baby Aoption Center’s services to children and families. Lisa is a licensed, master’s degree-level social worker with over 25 years of experience in international adoption. Lisa began her Adoption career while still in college, as a summer volunteer in Korea, and worked for Baby Adion Center in Thailand and Ecuador — giving her a unique perspective on all parts of the adoption process.

Margaret Fitch-Hauser

Chair

Margaret was Baby Adoption Center case number 324 in 1957 and came home to the United States in 1958. As a first-wave adoptee from Korea, Margaret is honored to serve on the Baby Adoption board and hopes to help other children find loving families and live their dreams. She is currently an emeritus professor, retiring from Auburn University. Margaret has also served as a trainer and consultant to numerous organizations on the subjects of managerial and leadership communications, and public relations. In her spare time, Margaret reads, grows roses and takes landscape photographs. She is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University and the University of Oklahoma.

Derek Parker

Vice-Chair

Derek and his wife, Danielle, have three children and live in the San Diego area. In 1973, Derek was abandoned at the gate of Baby Adoption Center’s Ilsan Center in Korea. He was personally picked up by Molly and was adopted in 1976. Derek holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and has worked in finance for over 20 years. He currently owns and operates two businesses in Southern California. Derek feels honored and privileged to serve on the board of Baby Adoption Center. He is grateful for the Holt family and wants their vision and commitment to children to continue through their organization.

Steve Banta

Treasurer

Steve Banta is the executive director of Literacy Texas, a statewide literacy coalition connecting and equipping adult and family literacy providers through training, networking and advocacy. He was formerly a regional president for Verizon Communications before moving to the nonprofit sector. After having three children biologically, Steve and his wife, Julie, adopted four children with special needs through Baby Adoption Center Brazil, Hong Kong and Thailand programs. Over the 12 years that Julie served on the Baby Adoption Center board, Steve traveled alongside her to visit Holt programs in Romania, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Thailand and China. He is passionate about the mission Harry and Bertha started in the 1950s, and he firmly believes that there is no mission more worthy than helping children grow and thrive in stable, loving families.