That little AdoptionLand songbird chirped in my ear that NCFA CEO Ryan Hanlon is movin’ on up. He will soon leave the comfort of National Council for Adoption lounge lizardry for a more lucrative and high-profile spot in the beltway where he can hobnob with notables. I am pretty sure I know where he’s headed, but I’ll wait for the official statement to be made. Bastardette is never wrong, but just in case my cryptesthesia is on holiday in St Barts, I won’t line jump. Besides…his departure makes way for my own job upgrade to bloom, and I must prepare.
Hanlon is the first adopted person (DEI hire?) to hold high office at NCFA, though I doubt that made a significant difference. He’s a card-carrying member of the child redistribution hierarchy, hovering high above his Class Bastard red-haired left-handed brethren and sisteren. Before he joined NCFA, Hanlon operated the weirdly named American World Adoption Association, a self-described Christian mission/adoption agency in McLean Virginia, that proclaims it’s “following God’ s call to adopt.” I am still waiting for Hanlon’s response to an email I sent to him months ago to clarify NCFA’s current position on adoptee rights and records access. It would be nice to have an official policy statement so we didn’t have to rely on media quotes that can be walked-back.
To give credit where credit due, though, NCFA has moved significantly away from dark Piercian obsession. It sits comfortably in the center/right of center–supporting both conservative and liberal legislation and policy while maintaining its supply side ideology. I mean, that’s why the non-profit was invented. so why jump off the cliff and go broke?
Since Bill Pierce’s passing, NCFA has become corpo button-down poker-up-the-ass boring. I don’t even recognize the names of its board members anymore. Its staff looks so…well…fresh-faced and bushy tailed, like they stepped out of a Chik-fil-A ad. Dr Pierce was such a great foil. He made activism fun. NuNCFA has not been fun! It should sell that boondoggle Alexandria building and move back to Dupont Circle next to the liquor store.
What’s next for NCFA? Who will be the new head-cheez?
DAY IN HISTORY: November 2, 2002: After a secret meeting in a secret room at the Capital University School of Law, Bill Pierce hands me his scepter and names me “the “future of adoption in the US.”
After his retirement from NCFA, Bill Pierce told me that I was the “future of adoption in the US.” Seriously! I grasped his scepter gladly and tightly and waited for my future to unfold. Bastards, you see, have turned waiting into an art.
The future is here–finally caught up to me. I am ready to take my rightful-place–and pay scale–in AdoptionLand. I will ascend to my position of NCFA CEO/President/Grand Master Flash/ Dear and Fearless Leader the day Ryan Hanlon leaves for his new prestigious port of call.
Who could be a better choice?