JaeRan Kim PhD, MSW, (she/hers) was born in South Korea and adopted to the United States in 1971. Prior to completing her doctoral degree, she worked with foster and adopted children and families and with adults with disabilities in residential care. JaeRan’s research is focused on the wellbeing of adoptees, exploring disability, race, and transnational experiences for adoptees. Her research includes the racial, ethnic, and adoption socialization practices of Korean American adoptee parents, the use of out-of-home care (residential treatment, group homes and foster care) for adoptees, and the experiences of adult intercountry adoptees who with adoption displacements in their childhood. JaeRan’s research also explores the preparation and training of professional social workers. As a public scholar, JaeRan is passionate about engaging in community-based projects; her blog Harlow’s Monkey, which focuses on the transracial/transnational adoptee experience, is one of the longest-running transracial adoption blogs in the United States.

Jae Ran completed her  PhD in Social Work at the University of Minnesota and was a Project Coordinator at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the School of Social Work. JaeRan is a recipient of the Title IV-E Child Welfare and LEND fellowships. JaeRan is currently Associate Professor and BASW chair in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington – Tacoma.