I am the co-founder and Executive Director of The Hope Effect, a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the way the world cares for orphans. I am a speaker with more than 25 years of experience in pastoral ministry, an advocate for children from hard places, and an adoptive dad.My journey into the orphan care world began more than 20 years ago when my wife Christie and I adopted our daughter Sydney from Korea. Sydney joined our family as an infant after spending the first few months of her life in foster care. Several years later, we adopted again – this time an older child from Thailand who spent the early part of her life in an orphanage. Every day, I see the difference between a child who was raised in a family and a child who was raised in an orphanage. I’ve seen firsthand that children develop best when they are in a family. That’s why I’m passionate about seeing orphaned and vulnerable children cared for – not institutions, but in families. Because every child deserves a family.