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HON. MARK H. BRAIN is a Superior Court Commissioner assigned to the Juvenile Court in Maricopa County, Arizona. Prior to taking the bench in 2006, Commissioner Brain was a practicing attorney for 18 years. He also served as special counsel for the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. He earned his B.S. degree in physics at Iowa State University and his J.D. degree at the University of Michigan Law School. MICHAEL J. HERROD is managing director of the law firm of Schmitt, Schneck, Smyth & Herrod, PC in Phoenix, Arizona. He concentrates much of his work in adoption and juvenile law, including private placement adoptions, contested adoptions, interstate adoptions, termination of parental rights and private dependency. Mr. Herrod represents birth parents, adoptive parents and agencies. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and was named an Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in 2001. Mr. Herrod was appointed by Governor Hull to the Adoption and Foster Care System Review Committee on which he served from 2000 through 2003. He was appointed in 2005 to the Adoption Promotion Study Committee by the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives. Mr. Herrod earned his B.A. degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. DEBORAH MAYHAN serves as the training coordinator and birth parent counselor for Aid to Adoption of Special Kids in Phoenix. Since 1972, Ms. Mayhan has concentrated her professional emphases in the administrative aspects of foster care and adoption. She has worked for state, county and non-profit agencies in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Ms. Mayhan earned her bachelor's of social work degree at Penn State University. PHILIP McCARTHY JR. is a partner in the Arizona law firm of McCarthyWeston PLLC, where he practices in the areas of adoption and family law. He is the recipient of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division 2000 Child Advocacy Law Award. Mr. McCarthy is admitted to practice law in the states of Arizona, Nebraska, Missouri and Alaska, and he also is admitted to practice in the Navajo Nation, White Mountain Apache, Hopi and Yauapai-Apache Tribal courts. Prior to locating to Flagstaff, he was the deputy director of the State of Alaska Office of Public Advocacy. Mr. McCarthy is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, the National Association of Counsel for Children and the North American Counsel on Adoptable Children. He earned his B.S. degree from Northern Arizona University and J.D degree from Creighton University. RITA A. MEISER is a nationally recognized attorney practicing in the area of private placement adoptions. She provides a full range of counseling and representation on legal issues associated with adoptions on behalf of prospective adoptive families, birth parents and adoption agencies. She is experienced in relative adoptions, including step-parent and grandparent adoption, as well as single parent and foster care adoptions. Ms. Meiser's practice includes a special emphasis on interstate adoption. She has been practicing for 30 years. Ms. Meiser is a fellow and past president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and has served on the Board of Trustees. She served as chair of the Arizona Supreme Court Confidential Intermediary Advisory Program from 2004 - 2007. Ms. Meiser currently is serving as the president of the Board of Directors of Aid to Adoption of Special Kids and serves on the Board of Directors of Childhelp, USA. She received an Angel in Adoption Award presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in 2004. SCOTT E. MYERS is a sole practitioner in Arizona where he has been practicing law for more than 30 years. He limits his practice to adoptions and adoption related matters. Recently, he also began representing intended parents in egg donation, embryo donation and surrogacy matters. Mr. Myers is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and has participated in more than 900 interstate and intrastate private placement adoptions. He regularly participates in continuing legal education programs on adoption. He earned his B.A. degree from MacMurray College and his J.D. degree from Louisiana State University Law School. KATHRYN A. PIDGEON's private practice emphasizes on adoption law and dependency law. She handles newborn adoptions as well as grandparent, step-parent and agency adoptions. Ms. Pidgeon also represents foster children in the DES system as well as families who are adopting children from the DES system. Additionally, she serves as executive director of Phoenix Suns Charities. Ms. Pidgeon is a charter member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, has served on the Board of Trustees and was chairman of the Foster Care Committee for the Academy. She also is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association (Juvenile Section) and the Arizona Women's Law Association. Ms. Pidgeon was very active in drafting the Arizona birth father legislation and testified before the legislature on adoption and foster care issues. She is past president and has served for more than 25 years on the Board of Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation. Ms. Pidgeon is past president of the Board of Directors for the Brophy College Preparatory's Mother's Guild and on the Board of Directors for Catholic Social Services. She has co-chaired the National Adoptions Day Celebration for Maricopa County since 2003. Ms. Pidgeon is on the Board For Adoption Foundation. She currently serves on the board of NOTMYKID and is a founding board member of the Family to Family Foundation. Ms. Pidgeon received the Congressional Award in 2004 for her work and devotion to adoption of children and she received the Angel in Adoption Award in Washington, D.C. In 2007, Ms. Pidgeon received the Family Building Hero Award from Resolve, a National Infertility Association. She co-wrote the Adoptions Chapter of a national treatise published by Clark Boardmen entitled, "Children and The Law: Rights and Obligations." Ms. Pidgeon has written numerous articles on adoption and teaches several seminars each year on the topic of adoption and foster care to lawyers, judges and prospective adoptive parents. She also appears routinely on radio, television and in print media regarding adoption and foster care. Ms. Pidgeon earned her B.A. degree from the State of New York, SUNY Plattsburgh and her J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law. BEVERLY A. QUIDORT is an adoption specialist and has worked in the social service field and in adoption for more than 20 years. She is in private practice and does contract work for several adoption agencies. Ms. Quidort focuses on facilitation and counseling of the adoption process for both birth parents and adoptive parents. Her expertise includes international adoptions, past adoptions, search, preparation of certification studies and other reports for the court, facilitation and counseling for hundreds of adoptions, as well as being an adoptive parent herself. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers. Ms. Quidort was recently awarded the Angels in Adoption Award by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. She earned her master's degree in social work from Arizona State University and is a licensed certified social worker.
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