KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Cindy (Champnella) Koenigsknecht

Author of “The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another.”

Cindy has turned her volunteer work into her life's focus. In addition to her “day job” as Executive Director of Human Resources for Schoolcraft College, she assists in international adoption efforts. She has worked as an adoption social worker and has her Ph. D. in psychology with a specialty in adoption issues. Cindy brings Jaclyn’s inspiring message of hopefulness, even in the darkest circumstances, to various forums.

Sponsored by Senator Stabenow, Jaclyn was honored for using her life to help other family-less children through the receipt of the prestigious Congressional Coalition “Angel in Adoption” award in September of 2003. She is the only child to ever receive this award. Fellow recipients included Bruce Willis and Mohammad Ali.

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"Keep Playing” is an inspirational message based on the true story of one four-year-old orphan’s relentless quest to find a family for another orphan for whom she cared in a Chinese orphanage. Abandoned at age two, Jaclyn formed a bond closely resembling that of mother and child with “her baby,” a young boy who she cared for while in the orphanage. Together, they learned to survive in a world where they spent endless nights cold, hungry, frightened and alone. Jaclyn was one of the lucky few that was adopted, but her adoption brought its own heartache—separation from the child she had given all her love. At age four, she found the power within herself to change this little boy’s life by finding him a new family in America. Join with us in hearing this account of the triumph of the human spirit over great adversity. This true-life story will forever change your beliefs about the human spirit and the power that even a child’s love has to change lives.