Rhonda M. Roorda.
Author. Speaker. Storyteller. Cultural Voice. A powerful perspective on adoption, identity, race, family, belonging, and the stories that shape us.
Stories That Shape Identity.
Voices That Transform.
For more than two decades, Rhonda M. Roorda has brought lived experience, scholarship, advocacy, and storytelling to some of the most important conversations surrounding adoption and identity.
A National Voice on Adoption, Identity, Race, Family & Belonging
A Voice for the Conversations That Matter.
Rhonda M. Roorda brings more than three decades of professional experience and more than two decades of scholarship, advocacy, storytelling, and public engagement to conversations about race, adoption, identity, family, and belonging.
Her work reaches across academia, adoption agencies, family-support organizations, advocacy communities, and the entertainment sector—connecting lived experience with research, professional expertise, and an unwavering commitment to honest conversation.
Where the Conversation Comes Alive.
Rhonda's perspective has reached audiences through television, print, podcasts, interviews, and national conversations about adoption and identity.
This Is Us
Rhonda's work and expertise became part of the broader cultural conversation surrounding the Emmy-winning television series This Is Us, helping bring questions of adoption, race, identity, and family into millions of homes.
CNN
A voice bringing lived experience and expertise to national conversations about adoption, race, family, and identity.
Good Morning America
Bringing important conversations about adoption and family to a national morning audience.
ABC Live
Insightful commentary on the complex intersections of race, identity, family, and adoption.
People Magazine
A national platform for stories that illuminate the human experiences behind adoption, family, identity, and belonging.
Podcasts & Interviews
Rhonda is a compelling guest for conversations that go deeper—bringing warmth, insight, candor, and lived experience to every discussion.
When the stories we tell become the stories we see.
Rhonda's work has contributed to broader conversations about adoption, race, identity, and family—including her connection to the Emmy-winning television series This Is Us.
Her perspective represents something increasingly important in popular culture: the opportunity to move beyond simplified narratives and listen to the people whose lives are actually being portrayed.
A Career of Impact & Influence.
Rhonda's work has been recognized for her contributions to children, families, adoption, advocacy, and meaningful conversations about race, identity, and belonging.
Judge John P. Steketee Adoption Hero Award
Adoption community recognition
Friend of Children and Youth Award
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Richard K. Ransom Award
Adopt America Network Gala
Vanguard Adoption Award
Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
A voice that brings lived experience.
Rhonda doesn't simply talk about adoption, race, identity, or family from a distance. She brings professional expertise together with lived experience and decades of engagement with adoptees, families, professionals, researchers, and organizations.
That combination allows her to make complex subjects accessible, human, and deeply relevant to audiences across disciplines and generations.
- Television & national media interviews
- Podcasts & long-form conversations
- Keynotes & conference presentations
- Academic & professional audiences
- Adoption & family conversations
- Race, identity & belonging
- Organizational leadership & executive audiences
The Book Tour Archive.
From Washington, D.C. to Cambridge, Grand Rapids, and Cleveland, the launch of Torn from the Root has created space for powerful conversations about adoption, identity, race, family, and belonging.
Official Book Launch
Politics & Prose · Washington, D.C.
Official launch celebration for Torn from the Root, moderated by Jelani Freeman.
Harvard Book Store
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Book signing and author conversation.
Schuler Books
Grand Rapids, Michigan
A conversation with Rhonda M. Roorda celebrating Torn from the Root.
Torn from the Root
Coventry Village Branch · Heights Libraries · Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday, September 26 · 2:00–4:00 PM
Sponsored by Adoption Network Cleveland
and Mac's Backs.
Let's Start a Conversation.
Are you a journalist, podcast host, producer, conference organizer, or media professional looking for an insightful and compelling voice? Rhonda is available for television and radio interviews, podcasts, magazine and newspaper interviews, keynotes, panels, moderated conversations, and professional audiences.
Request an InterviewStories Shape Us.
Rhonda M. Roorda continues to create space for the conversations that matter—one story, one voice, and one audience at a time.