Kassaye MacDonald: Editor 

Kassaye was adopted from Gondar, Ethiopia, in 1986. She started exploring her adoptee identity in 2012 after serendipitously stumbling on Outsider Within: writing on transracial adoption. This book had a tremendous impact on her because it was the first time she had thought about her adoption as being political. It also made her realize the importance of adoptees taking ownership of their experiences and telling their own stories.

Kassaye has written for Gazillion Voices and is a contributor to Lost Daughters. She has also presented at adoption conferences in Montreal, Boston, and St. Louis. In 2015, she co-founded Ethiopian Adoptees of the Diaspora, and hopes to work on future projects which would enable Ethiopian adoptees and non-adoptees of Ethiopian heritage to return to Ethiopia to volunteer, work, or study. Kassaye has a B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights Studies from Concordia University and she lives in Montréal, Québec.

Maureen McCauley Evans: Editor 

Maureen’s professional background is in child welfare advocacy. She was executive director of three nonprofits, and has written and presented extensively on adoption- and foster care-related topics. She blogs at LightOfDayStories.com, about art, about stories, and about adoption—sometimes about the three together. She is a freelance writer and editor.

Among her volunteer work is service on the Post-Adoption Advisory Board of Amara, a foster care/adoption agency licensed in Washington State. Maureen is also a longtime volunteer for Ethiopia Reads, helping to build children’s’ libraries in all regions of Ethiopia.

Maureen lives in Seattle, next door to her daughters and granddaughter. She has an art studio near Lake Union, for photography and collage. Her undergraduate degree is from Georgetown University, and her master’s degree in English Literature is from the University of Maryland—College Park. 

Aselefech Evans: Editor 

Aselefech Evans is an adult adoptee who arrived from Ethiopia in 1994 to the U.S. with her twin sister at 6 years of age. They grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, along with two brothers. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology. Aselefech is a founder of the Facebook group Ethiopian Adoptees of the Diaspora. She is a contributor to The Lost Daughters, an independent collaborative writing project by women who were adopted as children. She has spoken on numerous panels about issues of race and what it means to grow up in a transracial family. She has been an intern for adoption-related organizations, and presented workshops and webinars about identity, hair care, and other adoption matters. Aselefech promotes family preservation efforts in Ethiopia, so that all children can grow up in safe, loving families.

Nahosenay Negussie: Cover Artist

Born in 1987, Nahosenay Negussie is a young and emerging Ethiopian painter and graphic designer. He graduated with honors in 2013 from Addis Ababa University Alle School of Fine Arts and Design, majoring in Graphic Design.

Nahosenay is a founding member and the Director of Moged Fine Art Studio in Addis Ababa and is a 2012 recipient of the prestigious Japan Fellowship. In 2016, his work was part of a program presented by the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa. Nahosenay’s work can be found in public and private art collections in Ethiopia, the UAE, the United States, and elsewhere. He currently lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.