We are Experienced specialists with the goal of
connecting children with their new families.

Andrea Stawitcke
Executive Director

Janet Shirley
Overseas Program Coordinator

Janet Shirley has been working as the Overseas Program Coordinator for BAAS since 1990. She has assisted hundreds of families in choosing the best country program for their adoption and follows the families as they continue on in their adoption process.

Janet has lived and worked extensively in Central America and is currently involved in volunteer work in Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa. In 1988, Janet and her husband adopted their son, Miguel, from Honduras, thanks to BAAS' help and assistance. Since that time, Janet and family have returned to Honduras so that their son could meet his birth family and become familiar with his birth country. Miguel is now 18 years old and attending junior college in the north bay.

For Ms. Shirley, there is nothing more satisfying than to assist singles and couples in building their families through international adoption. "For me, adoption has been the greatest gift and joy of all. It gives me great satisfaction to help others now in their adoption journey."

Nikki Lazo
Document Specialist

"I am very fortunate and extremely appreciative to have the opportunity to work here. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a minor in Child Development. I’ve always had a passion to work at non-profits, especially on behalf of children and families. I’ve worked at a homeless shelter for families for over three years and truly enjoyed it. Now, I’m happy to say that I’m part of a great team that helps bridge orphaned children to loving parent’s. This job definitely keeps me busy as I learn something new everyday. It’s exciting to meet new families starting the process and just as exciting that at the same time there’s another family traveling home with their child. I enjoy being the person families talk to when they first start and the person they talk to when they arrive home. The best part is meeting a child for the first time, face to face – my face to their adorable face. Their innocence and their smiles are PRICELESS! My husband and I have a two-year-old son who we absolutely delight in, and I can honestly say that being a parent is joy unspeakable."

Darian Stawitcke
CIS Coordinator & Homestudy Specialist

"Just like my sister before me, I’ve followed in my mother’s footsteps here at BAAS. I started helping out in grade school, putting together Initial Orientation (IO) packets and then compiling the binders for the Pre-Adopt classes. After graduating with a BA in Communication Studies and a Minor in Anthropology from San Jose State University, I worked part-time, helping out at BAAS, eventually moving into the CIS Coordinator & Homestudy Specialist role. You could say it’s a “family business”… after all, we’re in the business of families!"

"With so many changes to international adoption recently - particularly with the Hague - this job has been a challenge but keeps things interesting as processes are constantly changing and evolving. Whether it’s answering clients’ questions about the immigration process or coordinating with liaison agencies, I love knowing that what I’m doing is ultimately leading to one of the most incredible things: building families!"

Sharon Bosley, MSW, LCSW, MFCC
Social Worker Supervisor

Sharon is a graduate of the Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan. She has worked in a number of venues including mental health, adoptions and maternal/child health settings. She is married and has three step sons, two of whom are married. There are two grandchildren, and a new baby is expected in September ’07.  Sharon very much appreciates the work accomplished at BAAS and enjoys working with adoptive couples through the process.

Xiaoqing Cai
China Program Coordinator

"I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to do this work – to have this opportunity to help build families. It is the perfect work for me- I can use my language ability and knowledge of two cultures. I love the children and I love to work with the families.  They are wonderful and appreciate what I do.”

Sharmeela Shah, MSW, LCSW
India Program Coordinator

Sharmeela is a highly experienced social worker having worked extensively with families and children in a variety of mental health and community settings over the past twenty years.  She has her Masters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and from Columbia University, New York. 

She joined the BAAS social work staff in 2006 and has been developing and coordinating the BAAS India program since June 2007.   Having grown up in Mumbai, Sharmeela is fluent in three Indian languages.   She communicates and transitions with ease and familiarity between the work culture in India and USA.

“Coordinating the India program is an exciting and immensely satisfying opportunity for me.  I have a great deal of respect for the families I work with; their patience and determination in overcoming the many challenges of international adoption are truly impressive.   Being a part of their journey as they open up their hearts and home to a child in need is a gratifying experience.”

Akihiko “Aki” Speed
Office Manager

“I became involved with Bay Area Adoption Services in December of 1996 when my wife and I attended an initial orientation. We decided to adopt through Bay Area Adoption Services because of the sense of community that Bay Area Adoption Services gave us. Even before we brought our daughter home from Japan in March of 1999, I became a parent volunteer, as an Initial Orientation Presenter and eventually as a Pre-Adopt Class Instructor. Being an adoptive parent, I can appreciate the anxiety and emotions that comes with adopting internationally and do my best to encourage the families who are now embarking on their adoption journey. Knowing how much of an impact having my daughter in my life has had on me. It truly is an honor and a privilege to somehow be able to help a child find a loving family that will love and take of him/her for the rest of their lives.”

“I see my role as the office manager at Bay Area Adoption Services as one of support, that brings together my background in Operations, Human Resources, and Information Technology. Bay Area Adoption Services has been able develop and maintain a team of fantastic and dedicated parent volunteers and staff who all work towards fulfilling its mission statement of finding and supporting loving, able parents for orphaned, abandoned or relinquished children; while keeping the child's welfare as their primary concern. I look forward to coming to work everyday and I am constantly thinking about how I can somehow be of more assistance to the parent volunteers, the staff and the families we are all trying to help. It is a pleasure to be able to work for such a wonderful organization."