Joi R. Fisher-Griffin

ADOPTION ADVOCATE, EDUCATOR, AUTHOR, ENTREPRENEUR

I am an educator with 25 years of experience, an adoption advocate, as well as an author sharing my life's journey as an adoptee in a world where people are afraid, ashamed, and embarrassed to talk about adoption. Why is it when we talk about adoption... WE whisper? It's time folks... Stop Whispering, Let's Talk Adoption.

After over 45 years of not talking about being adopted, I debuted the story of my adoption journey in my memoir Finding Joi: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Love in 2019. I started “The Belong Project” as an adoption awareness campaign and I recently launched Choosing Joi and Singing with Joi. I am on a mission to bring awareness to the general community to normalize the conversation, heal hearts, bridge gaps, help people find their community, identify resources, and erase adoption shame.

We all know someone who is adopted and if your organization is ready find out how they can help adoptive and foster families I'd be honored to help start the discussion. My vision is for every adoptee to reach their full potential to be whole, healed, and knowledgeable of available resources.

Our challenges are layered and bringing awareness to the hidden impact of adoption, foster care, abandonment, and trauma can shift the world’s views. The good, the bad, and the ugly… let’s talk.
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Outside of all things business, I volunteer as the Adoptee & Survivor Advisory Team Coordinator for Miriam's Heart and as an Ambassador of NJCARE. I enjoy the arts. I love to sing, dance, and laugh. I enjoy doing voiceover work and creating t-shirt designs .

Finding Joi: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Love, centers around one woman’s plight to connect the dots to find her birth parents after being adopted at two months old by a loving family in Plainfield, New Jersey. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the NJCARE Team, Governor Chris Christie signed the Adoptee Birthright Act (P.L. 2014, C.9), which became the law on January 1, 2017. Joi was present at the New Jersey State House to witness this historic legislation take effect, and gave her hope for a new chapter in her life. Now, adopted New Jerseyans born between 1940 - 2015 can access to their Original Birth Certificates without a court order.

Furthermore, Joi R. Fisher is a teacher and life long learner determined to share what she's learned about adoption. Joi obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and is a doctoral candidate in pursuit of a degree in Educational Leadership. She leans on the words of John Lewis and starting some "Good Trouble" creating safe spaces to talk about a tough topic. She believes that each of us can directly impact the lives of adoptive and foster families. She truly believes that "Finding joy is possible!"

Joi is ready to talk to you, your class, your school, your organization, or your church about overcoming obstacles and finding joy.

We all know someone who is adopted. Stop Whispering - Let's Talk Adoption.