April Dinwoodie
SHE / HER / HERS
April Dinwoodie is an accomplished corporate marketing and branding professional turned nationally-recognized thought leader and speaker on identity, adoption and foster care. As a Black/bi-racial, transracially adopted person, she is devoted to elevating our shared experiences of humanity through coaching, consulting and workshop facilitation.
Encouraging growth while honoring our collective humanity.
Popular Talks
What Adoption Can Teach Your Organization/School/Agency
Developing healthy identity, building strong relationships and navigating differences of race, class, culture, and gender – Your 12-month Playbook.
Born in June, Raised in April: Adoption, Identity, and Family Throughout the Year
With the calendar as a guide, April takes participants on a personal and practical journey through the months of the year leaving them with real tools and concrete ideas for how to have a healthier identity, stronger relationships, and more tools for facing differences and difficulties.
What My White Parents Did Not Know & Why I Turned Out OK Anyway
Navigating differences of race, culture, and class through the lens of transracial adoption – April paints a personal and practical picture of differences of race through the experiences of a Black-bi-racial person raised in a white family in a majority white community.
Speaking, Workshops, Consulting, & Coaching
Workshops
April leads groups that help open critical dialog about adoption, identity, and family at schools, foster care/adoption agencies, and professional organizations.
- Affinity group facilitation
- Parent Engagement/Support Group Facilitation
- Faculty training
Consulting
April combines her personal experiences of transracial adoption with over 20 years of corporate marketing and branding to provide consulting/coaching services that build stronger bonds inside and outside an organization.
- Cultural Competency
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Marketing/Branding/Publicity
Coaching
April combines her personal experiences of transracial adoption with over 20 years of corporate marketing and branding to provide consulting/coaching services that build stronger bonds inside and outside an organization.
- Cultural Competency
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Marketing/Branding/Publicity
“Thank you for a wonderful presentation yesterday evening. The message and tone were fantastic and we greatly appreciate your willingness to share deeply personal stories about your upbringing. We’ve received positive feedback from many of the participants already and expect more to come. I’ve seen many people speak. There are some who have it, and others who wish they had it. You definitely have it! I loved the message and delivery very much.”
– Mick Janness, CEO of Oakpoint
“April is an amazing presenter whose won authenticity laid the groundwork for the panel’s comfort level to do the same!”
– Amy Bielawski-Branch, LCMHC at University of Vermont
From creating a mentoring program for youth in foster care to becoming the CEO of the Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI), April is fiercely dedicated to creating connections—insisting on a more transparent conversation about healthy identity development as well as recognizing the power of more integration of systems that support children and families. As such, she is a dynamic speaker on identity, adoption and foster care.
During her tenure at DAI, April launched “Let’s Adopt Reform”; an initiative to spark a national conversation about adoption and foster care that included a Town Hall Tour, a large-scale public opinion survey and a comprehensive professional qualitative report.
For over fifteen years her specialized mentoring program, Adoptment, has been creating lifelong bonds with adopted adults and young people in foster care.
April has multifaceted skillsets, making it second nature for her to engage audiences, connect to consumers and better any environment.
April’s corporate experiences working with high profile companies, including Nine West Group Inc., Kenneth Cole Productions Inc., J.C. Penney Company Inc., and JetBlue have shaped her into a branding, marketing and communications powerhouse. She has brought to life large-scale activations, including the 84th Annual Academy Awards fan experience, a “Joining Forces” event for teens with Michelle Obama and The Ellen Show, as well as the launch of JetBlue’s A321 Aircraft.
Let’s collaborate to ensure a transformative experience.