AAI Staff

Merrily Ripley is founder and director of Adoption Advocates International. She has worked in the field of adoption for over 30 years. She and her husband, Ted, adopted 17 children in addition to the 3 born to them. They have many grandchildren and live near Olympic National Park, above Port Angeles.

Kathy Sculley has worked for AAI since 1986. Kathy handles the bookkeeping and assists with the foster/adopt program for Washington families. She and her husband, Richard, have three children, two grown and on their own, and one in high school.

Gay Knutson has worked for AAI from the beginning as an Adoption Counselor. For many years she has also led our social work team. Gay talks with adoptive families who are having adjustment issues, selects educational materials that are provided for AAI families and staff and assures that AAI practices meet Hague standards. She has grown sons and lives with her husband on acreage near Port Angeles.

Ky Bower has worked for AAI since 1996. She is in charge of our Thailand and China Adoption Programs. She and her husband are parents to two boys.

Susan Holmgren has worked for AAI since January 2006. She assists families with travel arrangements to Ethiopia and coordinates the volunteer program. Susan also enjoys completing home-studies and post-placement visits for Washington State families. Susan is in the process of adopting a girl from the Washington State Foster Care system who has been with her for two years.

Linda Lyver has worked for AAI since 2005. She maintains the Ethiopian children's files and assists families with the referrals. She has one grown step son and lives with her husband in Port Angeles.

Yvette Nichols has been with AAI since June 2006. She assists with answering the phones and sending out waiting children DVDs, and other information including information on adoption grants. She also assists with ther Washington State Foster/Adopt program. She lives in Port Angeles with her husband and two teenage daughters.

Erin Henderson began working for AAI in January 2008 and now serves as our Special Needs Adoption Coordinator. She will assist families interested in adopting children who are HIV+ or who have other special needs. She lives in Wyoming with her husband and 12 children. They have children from Vietnam, Korea, the U.S. and Ethiopia and have adopted two HIV+ children from AHOPE through AAI.

Anita Gillispie joined AAI in April 2007 as our Ghana Program Coordinator. Anita has been involved in adoption and humanitarian initiatives since 2000. She stays actively involved in the adoption community as both a parent and professional. Anita works as a satellite staff member from her home in Oklahoma. She and her husband have 4 children, including a daughter from Cambodia, a son from Vietnam, and a son and daughter from Ghana.

Susan Poisson-Dollar joined AAI in April 2008 as our Director of Fundraising. She coordinates all fundraising and other events from her home in Troy, New York where she lives with her husband and three daughters, including one adopted from Ethiopia in 2004.

Brooke Cole works from her home in Bellingham, WA arranging for volunteers in Ethiopia and handling AAI’s sponsorship program. Brooke is also a yoga instructor.

Amanda Rexford is the most recent addition to the AAI staff. She has a degree in social work and will be learning more specifically about adoption through her work experience. Amanda will hand post-placement reports among other duties. She and her husband recently purchased a home in Port Angeles.