The Adoption Project Receives Angels in Adoption Honor
Michelle and Jeremy Harrell recognized by CCAI for making extraordinary contributions to adoption, permanency, and child welfare
NASHVILLE, TN – The Adoption Project's Michelle and Jeremy Harrell have been named Angels in Adoption honorees by the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute (CCAI). They were nominated by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (Tennessee) for making extraordinary contributions to adoption, permanency, and child welfare.
“Michelle and Jeremy Harrell’s unwavering dedication to Tennessee’s children and adoptive parents and their tireless work to improve the adoption process has made a profound difference in our state,” said Senator Hagerty. “I couldn’t be more pleased that they have received this well-deserved honor and recognition for their commitment to adoption-friendly public policy and improving the system.”
Jeremy Harrell is president and CEO of The Adoption Project and Michelle Harrell serves on its Policy Committee. The adoptive parents founded The Adoption Project to create and drive public policy to make Tennessee the most adoption-friendly state in the country.
“We are grateful to be honored as Angels in Adoption, and thank Senator Hagerty for recognizing and supporting this work to make impactful change to the system,” Jeremy Harrell said. “Michelle and I were inspired by our own experience navigating through the complicated private adoption process to advocate for public policy changes that will make it easier to build families through adoption and improve the foster care system.”
“Michelle and Jeremy launched The Adoption Project because they truly believe every child deserves a family. They are very deserving of this recognition from Senator Hagerty and the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute,” said Brad Turner, board chairman of The Adoption Project and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. “Our board is proud to support their vision to help make Tennessee a national model in the area of adoption and foster care.”
The CCAI's annual Angels in Adoption program honors child welfare advocates from across the country who have made an impact in the fields of adoption or foster care. CCAI also honors national Angels in Adoption who have made an impact on a national level.
The Harrells are the 2022 Angels in Adoption honorees from Tennessee. They will represent the state September 20-21 at the Angels in Adoption Program and Gala in Washington, D.C. The Harrells will also visit Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress, share their experience and advocate for federal legislative and policy changes. Previous honorees from Tennessee include Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson (2004) and The Adoption Project Founders Committee members Jerry Caldwell (2020) and Suzanne Mayernick (2014). Previous national award winners include Laura Bush (2005), Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman (2001), and Hoda Kotb (2021).
The CCAI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that serves as a resource for members of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption caucus and their staffs.
More information on the CCAI Angels in Adoption program, including a complete list of honorees from across the country, can be found here.
ABOUT THE ADOPTION PROJECT
The Adoption Project is a non-profit 501(c)4 organization focused on adoption-friendly public policy. We are working to build a policy model which destigmatizes placing a child for adoption, streamlines the adoption process, fosters strong bonds and permanence for families, and encourages support for birth parents so that every child finds a family. Visit AdoptionFriendly.org.
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