Encompass Adoptees Mentors & Interns

Heather Gonzales LPC (she/her/hers)

Mentor / Lived Experience- Adoptee

Program Director

Heather has a bachelor’s degree in Art Therapy from Capital University, and a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Pennsylvania Western University. In addition to being an adult adoptee, Heather has accumulated experiences as a Kinship Support Specialist, as a Mental Health Specialist doing Community Counseling, and as a foster parent. She has served in a variety of children’s educational and care positions including working with Transracial Journeys Summer Camp for several years in their art cabin. Prior to this, Heather had a small woodworking business for nearly ten years. As an artist, Heather’s work was displayed at the 2019 Indiana Adoptee Network Conference, and at the Annual Encompass Adoptees Art Show.

Heather is a domestic kinship adoptee, adopted with her twin sister, and is in reunion. In 2015 she became active in the adoption community and began working to process her individual experiences as an adopted person. She has a strong commitment to reading and self-education on relinquishment, adoption, attachment, grief, and other related issues.

Sunitha (Suni) Mahrajan (she/her/hers)

Mentor / Lived Experience- Daughter of an Adoptee

Since joining Encompass in 2024 Sunitha Mahrajan has been exploring her lived experience as the daughter of a Nepali Transracial adoptee to help others in the adoptive, fostered, and kinship community and constellation. She has other adoptees in her family and connections to the former nonprofit Coalition of Fostered and Adoptive Families. Sunitha graduated from Metro Early College High School and participated in the College Credit Plus program to attend classes at Columbus State Community College. Recently, Sunitha completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at The Ohio State University. Minored in Child Abuse and Neglect, a program in the School of Social Work. She plans to begin a Master’s of Social Work program at The Ohio State University in fall of 2025. 

Sunitha hopes to counsel the AFK+ D community, specifically children and adolescents, after getting her state license but, in the meantime, she is gaining experience as a mentor and working in the youth program. Currently participating as a mentor has been very fulfilling for her and a great experience. Outside of work and academia, Sunitha enjoys being outdoors, listening to music, and spending time with her friends, family, and dog, Misty.

Emily Cooper (she/her/hers)

Mentor / Lived Experience- Adoptee

Emily Cooper is a Chinese Transracial Adoptee from Westerville, Ohio.  She is entering her Senior year at The Ohio State University in their pre-vet program.  She hopes to one day attend Ohio State's vet school and become a mixed-animal veterinarian.  Outside of her academics, she is an avid reader.  She also enjoys spending time with family, listening to music, and traveling.

Caitlin Day LSW (she/her/hers)

Mentor / Lived Experience- Donor Conceived Person

Caitlin joined Encompass Adoptees in 2021 and in relation to her work with AFK individuals and families, prioritized exploration of her own identity as a donor-conceived person with same-sex parents. Caitlin has since discovered her own donor father and many donor siblings across the country. She uses her personal and professional knowledge to support the adoptive, foster, and kinship community, along with the donor conceived community. 

Caitlin received her Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University in 2024 and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wittenberg University in 2018. Caitlin also serves as a training coordinator, board member, and licensed therapist for Encompass Adoptees. Prior experience includes school-based counseling, case management in child welfare, client advocacy in a domestic violence shelter, and direct service promoting cultural literacy and community access to the arts. Caitlin takes a trauma- and relationship-focused, restorative approach. Caitlin is a strong believer in the power of play and the necessity of honoring all parts of ourselves. Outside of work, Caitlin enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, reading, trying new food, and gardening.

Kate Supplee (she/her/hers) 

Mentor /Lived Experience- Adoptee

Since joining Encompass Adoptees in 2023, Kate has used her lived experience as an adoptee to serve the adoptive, foster, and kinship community and is involved in several programs here at Encompass including mentoring, working with youth in the resilience building program, and helping with child care during the in-person parent group. You may also see her in the building throughout the week assisting in the office. Prior to this, Kate gained experience working with adoptee youth through Dungarvin Ohio LLC. as a direct support professional/youth mentor since 2021. Kate is currently finishing her Bachelor’s degree in psychology at the Ohio State University and plans to earn her masters in clinical counseling to continue supporting adoptees as a therapist. 

Kate is a domestic adult adoptee in partial reunion with some of her birth family and is still in search of her birth father. She strives to be her best self, a contributing member of the adoptee community, and has passion for helping others. Over the years, Kate has completed training, read books, and taken courses that have expanded her knowledge on adoption, trauma, and mental health. She actively seeks to be better informed on new research and takes the steps needed to apply it to her work. In her free time, Kate enjoys hiking, doing art, and indulging in a good book or movie. 

Angela Christianson MLIS (she/her/hers)

Mentor / Lived Experience- Adoptee

Angela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Knox College and a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Angela moved to Ohio in 1999 to become a children’s librarian in a local library system and spent 7 years working to inspire a love of reading in children from birth to teens. 

Angela is a domestic infant adoptee (DIA) and has always known that she is adopted. Angela was placed with her adoptive family at the age of 1 month old. Growing up, Angela did not know many other adoptees, other than her adoptive brother, and often yearned for other adoptees.

In 2016, Angela became active in adoptee-centered support groups in Columbus and finally felt seen by those that were also adopted. The adoptee-centered support groups were instrumental to her emotional healing process. Through the support and encouragement of fellow adoptees, she was able to search for her biological family.

Angela is in reunion with her maternal biological family. In February 2019, Angela and her first mom met in person on Angela’s 44th birthday. That year, her first mom signed the paperwork for Angela to get her original birth certificate (OBC). Angela’s reunion experience has been transformative and was instrumental in her decision to become a counselor. Angela is currently in school pursuing a second master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through Antioch University New England. Her concentration will be trauma and addiction therapy. Sober since March 2020, Angela’s goal is to work in the intersection of trauma and addiction, and help people work towards healing from internal pain instead of numbing thru addiction. Angela hopes to work with adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and anyone touched by adoption. 

Angela’s personal interests include reading anything she can get her hands on, as reading is how she makes sense of the world. Angela’s reading interests are wide and varied but center around neuroscience, brain health, trauma, healing, addiction, history, LGBTQIA+ issues, animal rescue, children’s books and anything dystopian fiction. Being an avid reader, she has hopes of writing a book someday that will help other adoptees, perhaps a memoir of her adoption reunion with her first mother. In her spare time, Angela cares for several special-needs cats and enjoys singing in the Columbus Women’s Chorus and finds singing essential to her well being, and good for trauma healing!