In our Staff Spotlight Series, we catch up with the talented, dedicated and compassionate individuals who help make everything our organization does possible. This month we are featuring Jennie Kopietz, intake and outreach coordinator and FCA program specialist. Read more about Jennie’s work and life below!
Jennie with her daughter
When did you join CH/LSS, what is your current role, and what are some of your primary responsibilities?
I joined CHLSS in September of 2024. Over the past year, I have evolved in my roles, and I am currently an intake/outreach coordinator as well as a FCA program specialist. In my coordinator role, I help guide families through the first steps of the foster care or adoption process providing information, resources and support. In my program specialist role, I work on a variety of things including database support within our department and administrative tasks.
What originally drew you to the field of foster care and adoption?
As an adoptee, this work is personal and close to my heart. Growing up without my biological family, but in a loving adoptive family shaped who I am and my perspective. Working in this field allows me to be a part of the history of adoption work — a moment of time where I can help make a difference for children and families.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my work is being a part of someone’s journey. Whether that means walking them through the first steps in getting started as a foster or adoptive parent or spending time with the kids at Adoption Day Camp, every interaction is a chance to make a positive impact which makes the work less like work and more like purpose.
Based on your experience working in the field of foster care and adoption, what is something everyone should know about foster care and/or adoption that they might not?
Birth family connections matter. When appropriate, supporting adoptees as they explore their roots at their own time and pace can help them build a stronger sense of who they are. It’s also a way to show your commitment to embracing them fully — their history, heritage and who they are as a whole person.
Jennie with her family
What advice would you give to families thinking of beginning their adoption journey?
Listen to adoptees. Seek out their stories and hear directly from them their experiences. Know that each adoptee story is unique and cannot be replicated.
Switching gears to life outside of work – what does an ideal weekend look like for you?
Spending time with my husband and kids, specifically during the brief window in Minnesota when the air is cool and crisp and the sun is warming and shining bright. The rest of the year, I hit up thrift stores with friends, crafting with my kids and allowing for down time to recharge.
If you could travel anywhere in the world in the next year, where would you go and what would you do?
I would absolutely go to Korea. After reuniting with my biological family in 2019, it’s the only other place I want to be besides home with my family stateside. Besides being with my bio family in Korea, I love spending time on the land, breathing the air, listening to the sounds and learning more about the country that I missed growing up in. During a visit with family in Korea, it would be all about the simple things such as sharing a meal together, experiencing time together and making memories.
What is the last book, movie, or TV series you loved?
I love a good K-drama and the best ones in my opinion are Replay 1988 and Let’s Eat.
What is something that always brings a smile to your face?
Always good for a smile and laugh is spending time with my daughter and her best friends — a mixture of nostalgia, pride and joy all wrapped up in one!
