Every Child Deserves

Early on we realized that there were not many people telling the stories like our son's story and the thousands of kids in foster care whose lives never get fully lived. Every Child Deserves... will be the first in a series of books dedicated to honoring the lives and stories of youth in foster care and LGBTQ families. Written by Zaden and his two dads, this story is about the love, adventure and pure joy that every child deserves and gives voice, color and LIFE to the promise of foster care, LGBTQ families and the hope that Every Child Deserves...

Today, there are more than 400,000 children in our foster care system, with over 104,000 of them waiting for a permanent family. Often times LGBTQ  adoptive and foster parents are overlooked. Every Child Deserves... will be the first in a series of books dedicated to honoring the lives and stories of youth in foster care and LGBTQ families. Written by Zaden and his two dads, this story is about the love, adventure and pure joy that every child deserves and gives voice, color and LIFE to the promise of foster care, LGBTQ families and the hope that Every Child Deserves...

Dr. Philip McAdoo: Broadway productions of The Lion King and Rent, appeared in readings of The Book of Mormon and Wicked, and worked in television and film. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in communications studies, holds an MA in transformative leadership from The California Institute of Integral Studies, and earned a doctorate of education from The University of Pennsylvania in the Graduate School of Education. As an LGBTQ activist, Dr. McAdoo was invited to join politician and civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis speaking in support of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act to introduce legislation to Congress that would lower some of the barriers faced by same-sex couples who want to adopt children from foster care. Dr. McAdoo and his family have been featured in The Huffington Post, ABC News, and on the cover of magazines and articles advocating for the rights of LGBTQ individuals and families. Dr. McAdoo has worked tirelessly to combat homophobia in his personal and professional life by fiercely advocating not only for himself and his family, but for the rights of LGBTQ youth, families, and educators as well. He earned his doctorate from The University of Pennsylvania completing his dissertation titled, Out and Visible: A Study of Openly Gay and Lesbian Teachers in Independent Schools. He hopes to use his research to construct a theory of gay and lesbian teacher identity development as a model for advocacy for LGBTQ teachers and students. Philip currently is the Director of Equity, Justice and Community at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC.