Board of Directors

Mary Anne Wylie is a clinical nurse and clinic manager at Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Psychiatry; Division of Geriatric and Neuropsychiatry in Baltimore, Maryland. ““My sons, Gill and Henry, were adopted from Korea and we have been involved with ASIA Families since its beginning. ASIA Families has been a place for my sons to learn about and develop pride in their Korean heritage and explore their identity.”

NaDa Shoemaker is a first wave Korean adoptee who arrived in the US in 1957, grew up with a loving family in a Mennonite community in Newton, Kansas. She attended Bethel College and Friends University studying both secondary English education and business administration prior to moving to PA 30 years ago. NaDa is currently the Advocacy Partnerships Manager and lead for Indiana County work for Voices for Healthy Kids, the policy initiative of the American Heart Association, to create healthier lives for children.

Leigha Basini is an adult adoptee who was born in Jeju, South Korea. She is an attorney and works in health policy to improve the quality of the U.S. healthcare system. When not working or spending time with her two toddlers, she enjoys traveling the world, creating art, baking, and eating Korean food.

“ASIA Families has been an integral part of my journey as an adult adoptee and lifelong quest for greater self-awareness. It is energizing to connect not only with my Korean heritage, but also with adoptees of all ages and their families.”

Valerie Fleming (JaeSook Park) was adopted from Gunsan, South Korea in 1976 from a wonderful American family. She has a son named Joshua, Family and friends, who have supported her through her journey of searching for her biological family. She hopes to visit Korea coming up in the near future.

Her compassion started early in life through nursing but lead her into 26 years of Makeup Artistry and event planning. She ultimately got into this world because she wanted to make a difference in somebody’s life always knowing where she came from. Her true passion in life is to make an impact on adoptees and to be a part of an organization that promotes enriching identities through the mini programs at Asia Families offer.

Dae Sung Batoff was born in Seoul, Korea and works for the US Federal Government in the Department of Transportation. He lived in Inchon with his two older sisters for the first five years of his life. The three of them were then adopted and raised in northern New Jersey. Growing up, he had some experience with Korean culture, primarily through food and friendship. When he and his wife adopted their children, See-Eun and Jaeyoon, from Korea, they were determined to provide them with as much exposure to their birth culture as possible. Joining ASIA Families has gone a long ways towards meeting that goal. Not unexpectedly, attending the culture school has awoken a renewed interest in Korean culture in Dae Sung as well. He is satisfying that interest by indulging in Korean dramas and reading fiction and non-fiction about his birth country.

Julia Whitelock is an adult adoptee who was born in Seoul and grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. She is an attorney who litigates on behalf of businesses in the consumer financial services industry. Julia has been volunteering with ASIA Families' Korean Culture School since 2020. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Sarah works in public policy at a biotech company where she advocates for access to potentially curative gene therapies for people living with rare genetic diseases. As proud parents of two Korean American children, Sarah and her husband, Justin, began participating in ASIA Families programs as a way to help their children understand their Korean heritage, appreciate the rich history of their birth country and connect with other adoptees. Sarah holds a bachelor of arts in journalism from The University of Oklahoma and a master of public Administration from Syracuse University.

Patrick was born in Busan, South Korea and raised in Buffalo, New York (Go Bills!). He joined Asia Families' Board in 2022. Patrick works in the federal government supporting foreign language study programs. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, reading, and working out.

Emily Schifrin has spent her career working to improve health care quality, with a focus on performance measurement and accreditation. She is currently the National Director of Accreditation and Evaluation at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where she is responsible for the review and evaluation of PPFA’s nationwide member organizations. She and her husband John have a teenage son, Milo, who was born in Incheon and joined their family when he was six months old. She feels privileged to serve on the board of ASIA Families, an organization that has broadened her family’s perspective in ways they could not have imagined, and has provided a community they could not have found anywhere else. The whole family is eager to do their long-awaited Bridge Tour. In the meantime, Emily and Milo are trying to master Korean cooking, but find braising beef a particular challenge.

Ashley Skyrme is a Senior Managing Director at Accenture leading the Global Cloud First Strategy and Consulting business. She is a senior strategist advising global Fortune 500 clients on cloud first technology strategies to increase profitable growth customer experience, and innovation. She has worked across a variety of industries including life sciences, travel, consumer products, government, and high tech and telecommunications. Prior to joining Accenture, she held executive leadership roles with large, global consultancies including Capgemini and Booz Allen Hamilton where she built and led digital, innovation and technology advisory businesses, and led ventures and acquisition to drive inorganic growth.