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 The Ties Program began offering birth country travel programs in 1994, the core mission has always revolved around connection: to one's country, heritage, past, family, other adoptees, and self. This foundation was reaffirmed in 2023 when the organization became Adoptee owned and led as Tanya and Ben Kaanta took over the reins.
Tanya, a Korean adoptee and former academic, holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and an M.S. in Student Affairs in Higher Education, specializing in intercountry adoption, identity formation, emotion work, advocacy, and agency. Tanya's own experience returning alone to live and work in Korea in 1999 was extremely difficult as a solo adoptee traveler, leading her to wish she had known about The Ties Program at the time.
Ben has been Tanya's partner since 1998, and together they are avid travelers and parents to two adult children. Adoption is a core element of their relationship and family, which is even more pronounced now that they are leading The Ties Program mission. After being drawn to human interaction and the importance of connection, Ben pursued a coaching certification. This followed his previous experience in biotech and the corporate world.
Ties brings over 100 years of combined experience and knowledge to our work. As professionals in post-adoption and homeland journey services, we offer adoptees, their families, and loved ones a curated, seamless, and supportive way to connect with their country of birth. In addition to our core team, our travel team are adoptees, therapists, social workers, counselors, and/or post-adoption specialists who provide emotional support and coaching to adoptees and their families while traveling.
Comprised of adoptees, parents, siblings, partners, and spouses, we humbly serve adoptive families from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia, traveling with adoptive family groups to Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.
Today, Ties has programs in 18 countries, although not all are active every year. We are the longest standing adoptee focused homeland journey organization in the world.