Meet our Staff

Richard Pearlman,  Executive Director

Richard Pearlman founded Family Resource Center (FRC) in 1987. He earned his undergraduate degree from Friends World College, an experimental Quaker school that celebrated diversity and acceptance. He then went on to receive a Masters in Social Work from George Williams College. After working in a variety of social service settings in the early 1980’s Richard became a supervisor at a local adoption agency. He found the prevailing ideas and philosophies surrounding adoption to be limiting and exclusionary. Most agencies were rigid in their belief that “closed” adoption was always best for all parties, they had specific approval criteria in terms of age, religion or length of marriage, and most took a psychoanalytic approach to screening adoptive parents.

Richard decided to create an alternative agency, founded on the premise that people are best able to manage their own lives and should make their own choices based on their individual circumstances. He brought together a team of concerned professionals who developed a “down-to-earth” no nonsense approach to adoption. From the very beginning they took the position that birth parents and adoptive parents would want to cooperate with one another and did not need an agency to tell them what to think or how to feel. The result was Family Resource Center.

"The topic of adoption is complicated and while it certainly includes its share of joy and celebration, for many it involves loss and sadness and emotional intensity. The act of adoption does not stop at the moment of placement. For all members of the adoption triad it is a life long journey. FRC was created as a place where there could be a free and open discussion about adoption and its meaning in people’s lives, throughout their lives.”

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BIRTH PARENT COUNSELING STAFF

Pamela Brown earned her degree from the University of Iowa where she studied psychology, child development and social work.  Pam has been working with FRC for over 14 years counseling birth parents in central Illinois. One of the things that Pam loves most about her work is hearing from birth parent alumni. “It’s really heart-warming to talk with a woman who placed her child five or ten years ago, hear how well she's doing now, and then have her tell me that making an adoption plan for her son or daughter was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but that it was the best decision she ever made.” 

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Dannah Hill earned her degree from Indiana University where she studied Criminal Justice and Psychology.  She started at FRC in March of 2006.  Dannah works with birth mothers that live in the north and west suburbs of Chicago, as well as some live in the city.  Dannah says she is  amazed at how much she learns everyday about the adoption process.  "When I started at FRC, I was a blank slate.  What I have learned over the past year has been remarkable.” Dannah feels honored to be able to work with amazing women that show her what it is to love a child.  "I respect and admire birth mothers and the choices they make, whether that is to place their child or parent their child.  I am lucky to be able to say that I love my job.”

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PROGRAM COORDINATORS

Ben Friedman, Coordinator of Adoptive Parent Services

After earning advanced degrees in social service administration, Ben worked in the private sector for almost 20 years.   His passion for adoption began in the early 1990's with the adoption of his son through FRC.   He joined our staff several years later.   Ben coordinates the initial intake and assessments of adoptive parents, administers our education and training programs, and manages our team of home study workers.   "I consider myself lucky that a significant part of my job involves talking to people from a variety of backgrounds about real issues that continue to effect my life as an adoptive parent.   I am in a position to constantly challenge my views and continually learn from others.   I love that we have created a strong sense of community among our families at FRC, one that stretches across states and extends across continents."

Jane Turner, Coordinator for International Adoption

Jane has been with Family Resource Center since the agency's earliest days, starting as a phone team volunteer in 1989 and a home study worker in 1990. She began her career as a medical social worker after graduating with a Master's Degree from the University of Chicago in 1980. After her first trip to China with FRC Group #3 in the fall of 1995, Jane became committed to focusing on International Adoption. She has been the Program Coordinator since February of 1998. "Assisting families as they navigate through an international adoption is a never-ending journey filled with joys and challenges. When the children return home and I have the opportunity to see the family evolve and blossom, it is a wonder to behold. My job is a true privilege."

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Angela Bartle, Director of Development

Angela moved to Chicago in 2000 after graduating from Northern Michigan University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She planned to use her degree to secure a job as a probation officer, until she arrived at FRC and fell in love with the agency, the people, and the process of adoption. She loves planning the spring picnic, every year seeing all the children and parents come together to celebrate being a family. "It is amazing to watch them grow year after year! I love going to work every day and knowing that I am helping to make a difference in families' lives." In addition to planning the picnic, Angela is responsible for, the annual Spring Gala, the production of our newsletter "small steps," coordinating our phone team of volunteers, and managing our two birthmother apartments.

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