International Adoption Update
Herbie and Rick are joined by Karla Thrasher and Jana Lombardo to discuss the state of international adoption.
GUESTS
Karla Thrasher, Director of International Adoption, is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a licensed social worker. She is also a TBRI® Practitioner, certified by the TCU Karen Purvis Institute of Child Development. Karla has been on staff at Lifeline since 2001 and currently serves as the Director of International Adoption. In her role, Karla is privileged to manage the day to day of Lifeline’s International Department and provide leadership to the international team. She coordinates with other Lifeline departments and outside ministry partners to better serve waiting for children and families. Some of the specific focuses in Karla’s role at Lifeline are government compliance, customer service, and quality assurance. She considers it a great honor to share the gospel through the gift of adoption! Karla lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband Jamie. They have three adult children. Karla’s family are the biggest cheerleaders in her ministry at Lifeline.
Jana Lombardo, Senior Program Director of International Programs, has been with Lifeline since 1992 after she graduated from Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She worked for six and a half years as a domestic social worker/ birthmother counselor until the birth of her first son Eli. She became a TBRI Practitioner in 2017. Jana and her husband, Luke, are also proud parents of another son, Gideon. Jana has been serving Lifeline for over twenty-two years and serves Lifeline as our Senior Program Director on the International Team.
HOST
Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.
CO-HOST
Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline Children's Services.
RESOURCES
Lifeline is assisting partners in Ukraine and surrounding countries who have been displaced or are providing support for those who are. We are working with partners to provide food, housing, fuel, utilities, and more care as displaced families seek refuge from war. Click here to learn more.
Karla Thrasher, Director of International Adoption, is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a licensed social worker. She is also a TBRI® Practitioner, certified by the TCU Karen Purvis Institute of Child Development. Karla has been on staff at Lifeline since 2001 and currently serves as the Director of International Adoption. In her role, Karla is privileged to manage the day to day of Lifeline’s International Department and provide leadership to the international team. She coordinates with other Lifeline departments and outside ministry partners to better serve waiting for children and families. Some of the specific focuses in Karla’s role at Lifeline are government compliance, customer service, and quality assurance. She considers it a great honor to share the gospel through the gift of adoption! Karla lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband Jamie. They have three adult children. Karla’s family are the biggest cheerleaders in her ministry at Lifeline.
Jana Lombardo, Senior Program Director of International Programs, has been with Lifeline since 1992 after she graduated from Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She worked for six and a half years as a domestic social worker/ birthmother counselor until the birth of her first son Eli. She became a TBRI Practitioner in 2017. Jana and her husband, Luke, are also proud parents of another son, Gideon. Jana has been serving Lifeline for over twenty-two years and serves Lifeline as our Senior Program Director on the International Team.
HOST
Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.
CO-HOST
Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline Children's Services.
RESOURCES
Lifeline is assisting partners in Ukraine and surrounding countries who have been displaced or are providing support for those who are. We are working with partners to provide food, housing, fuel, utilities, and more care as displaced families seek refuge from war. Click here to learn more.
LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES
The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children. Our vision is for vulnerable children and their communities to be transformed by the gospel and to make disciples.
Creators and Guests
Host
Herbie Newell
Herbie Newell serves as the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services, holds an MBA in Accounting from Samford University and brings years of experience from his work as an independent auditor at WAKM Companies, LLC. Serving as Lifeline's Executive Director since 2003, Herbie has significantly expanded international outreach, obtained licensure in 17 states, and led the establishment of the foster care arm. A passionate advocate, he co-founded (un)adopted in 2009, focusing on equipping orphaned children with life skills for community transformation. Herbie, also the author of "Image Bearers: Shifting from Pro-birth to Pro-Life," emphasizes that being pro-life extends beyond opposing abortion, urging a broader ethic that includes fighting for racial equality and embracing every individual with the love of Christ. Herbie and his wife, Ashley, reside in Birmingham, Alabama, and are the parents to three children.
Host
Rick Morton
As Senior Vice President of Engagement, Rick Morton shepherds the ministry’s outreach to individual, church, and organizational ministry partners as well as the ministry’s commitment to publishing resources that aid families and churches in discipling orphans and vulnerable children. Prior to Lifeline, Rick served for 15 years as a college and seminary professor, and he also served local churches in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi. He is an accomplished writer and sought after speaker. Most notably, Rick is the co-author of the popular Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-centered Adoption and Orphan Care and the author of KnowOrphans: Mobilizing the Church for Global Orphanology. Rick and his lovely wife Denise have been married for over 32 years, and they have 3 children, all of whom joined their family through international adoption. God has continued to grow their family, and he now enjoys the role of “Doc” to his precious granddaughter!