Children’s Justice Conference
Event Details
Agenda
We’re currently working to build the 2026 Children’s Justice Conference agenda. This schedule is subject to change depending on presenter and venue needs.
Speakers
Monday, May 4
Opening Keynote
Gaelin Elmore is a former NFL athlete turned nationally recognized keynote speaker and belonging expert. He has worked with fortune 500 companies, state agencies, and small locally run non-profits, all with the same mission – to create environments where EVERYONE can thrive: teams, leaders, AND clients. And thriving is only possible when we belong. Gaelin’s keynotes are a perfect blend of humor, practicality, and hard truth that challenges, connects, and changes every audience he shares space with. Gaelin’s message, passion, and story has led him to stages in 39 different states and multiple different countries in the last calendar year alone. Even still, the most important stage where Gaelin gets to “practice what he preaches” is at home, with his superstar wife, Micaela, and their superstar children (depending on the day), Laniah, Gideon, and Tatum.
Official Welcome
Secretary Tana Senn
Tana is the Secretary of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). She served for more than 10 years in the Washington state Legislature and is now focused on helping children and families in a more direct way. As a State Representative, she led the Human Services, Youth, and Early Learning Committee for six years. She helped pass laws like the Fair Start for Kids Act and Equal Pay Opportunity Act. She also worked on issues such as gun safety, youth homelessness, developmental disabilities, foster care, and electric school buses. Before serving in the Legislature, Tana worked in government relations and communications and served on the Mercer Island City Council. Tana earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Washington University in St. Louis. She then earned a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Columbia University. Tana has served on several nonprofit boards, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue, Hopelink, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, and Mercer Island Youth and Family Services. Tana has two adult children. One is an officer in the U.S. Army and the other is in college.
Afternoon Keynote
Angela Tucker combines storytelling, research, and action to expose how stories — and systems — shape identity, family, and belonging. A nationally recognized thought leader on adoption, race, and identity, Angela has spent nearly two decades transforming how America understands the adoptee experience and its broader implications for justice and belonging. She is the author of You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption (Beacon Press, 2023), which was featured in The New Yorker, The Seattle Times, and Culture Study. Her life and work have appeared on Netflix, CNN, NPR, and Red Table Talk, and she has consulted for NBC’s This Is Us and the Tony Award–winning Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill. As the Founder and CEO of the Adoptee Mentoring Society, Angela leads the first research-informed mentorship program designed by adoptees, for adoptees. She also hosts the acclaimed podcast The Adoptee Next Door and serves as Executive Producer of The Adopted Life web series, amplifying diverse narratives that challenge mainstream understandings of adoption and identity. Angela’s expertise has shaped conversations across sectors — from keynote stages with the American Bar Association and Washington State Courts to dialogues alongside Jen Psaki, Marissa Jo Cerar, and Larissa MacFarquhar. Her influence bridges media, academia, and advocacy, making her one of the most sought-after voices at the intersection of storytelling and social change. Her work has been recognized with a Hedgebrook Writing Residency (2021), the Vanguard in Adoption Award (2023), and Puget Sound Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 (2024).