Our Story

Our Mission: We empower adoptees and their loved ones through transformative heritage experiences that deepen cultural connections, nurture a sense of belonging, and honor individual adoptee narratives.

Since 1994, The Ties Program has guided adoptees and their loved ones through some of the most meaningful journeys of their lives, returning to the countries, cultures, and communities that are part of who they are. It remains the first and longest-standing heritage travel organization of its kind. More than 9,000 people have traveled with the program - and it is just getting started.

Ties Today

Today, The Ties Program is adoptee-owned and led. Tanya Kaanta, a Korean adoptee and former academic, holds a Ph.D. in Sociology specializing in intercountry adoption, identity formation, emotion work, and advocacy. Her own experience returning alone to Korea in 1999 - before she knew Ties existed - shapes everything about how the program designs these journeys. She knows firsthand what it feels like to make this trip without support, and she has dedicated her life to making sure no adoptee has to.

Ben Kaanta brings more than 20 years of chief-level leadership experience, along with certifications in project management and coaching. Together, Tanya and Ben are avid travelers, parents to two adult children, and a partnership in which adoption has always been at the center.

The team reflects the community it serves. Core team members are adoptees and/or specialists in post-adoption services, and the in-country travel teams include adoptees, therapists, social workers, counselors, and post-adoption professionals who provide emotional support and coaching throughout every journey. The program serves adoptees and their loved ones — parents, siblings, partners, spouses — from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.

Ties brings over 100 years of combined experience to this work.

The Ties Program was founded as Adoptive Family Travel in 1994 by Becca Piper and Bea Evans, long before heritage travel for adoptees was widely recognized and understood. Bea and Becca built the program from the ground up with the belief that adoptees deserved the opportunity to experience their countries of birth in a thoughtful, supported, and intentional way. Over the years, they witnessed how  the connections formed on these journeys — to place, to culture, and to fellow adoptees — continued long after the trip ended. Those lasting connections remain at the heart of everything The Ties Program does today.

Today, The Ties Program has had active programs in 18 countries across Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. It remains the first and longest-standing heritage travel organization of its kind and continues to be deeply committed to the adoptees and loved ones who trust the program with these journeys.