Meet Laronda Southworth, our Adoption Coordinator and CEO.
Laronda never set out to work in adoption. In fact, before this chapter of her life began, she was part of the leadership team at a telecommunications company. But when she and her husband decided to grow their family through adoption, her path—and her purpose—changed forever.
Their journey started in 2004 with confusion and uncertainty. “We knew nothing about adoption,” she recalls. “We went to a training class twice… then all of a sudden, we handed these people $8,500 and basically, our life was in their hands.” The experience was isolating. There was little guidance, and a lot of silence—something she now works hard to ensure no other family has to go through.
Despite the early challenges, their match with their son’s birth mother was one of those moments that just felt right. But despite the joy of meeting their son, even the time spent in the hospital was complicated by the confusion of the adoption process:
“When we were at the hospital [for our son’s birth], I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, all of that lostness is what I could see: so many loopholes and gaps. Just because of my background being in management and operations, I thought, ‘this could be way easier’. This lack of information and lack of education, people don’t have to experience that. So why are these things happening to people?”
In the year following their son’s arrival, Laronda took the time off to focus on bonding with and caring for her son – but her relentless drive to make a difference in the adoption world wouldn’t let her rest for long.
What began as volunteer help, speaking with other adoptive families, quickly transformed into a full-blown career. She trusted her instincts and found herself stepping into a life she never expected but was unmistakably drawn to. “After that, I was like, wow, I really want to do this type of work.” Laronda spent the next 17 years immersed in adoption work—developing processes, creating policies, and most of all, walking alongside families and birth parents during one of the most emotional journeys of their lives.
“I just felt like I could offer a lot to people,” she says, “to give them that comfort level that someone has been in the same shoes that they’re in.”
Eventually, Laronda made the leap to Courageous Hearts Adoptions, drawn by a vision to work with an agency that was, in her words, “simple, honest, and straightforward.” That ethos guides every interaction, every decision, and every family served. “You’ve got to give people some not-so-good news sometimes,” she says. “And I find that if people just tell me straight up, I can handle it better than if you beat around the bush.”
Why does she stay in adoption after all these years? The answer comes quickly: “Because it’s where I’m supposed to be.” For Laronda, adoption is more than placement. It’s about persistence, education, and heart. She reminds families every day that “it’s not if you’re going to adopt—it’s when.” And when that moment finally comes, she’ll be the one walking alongside them, just like she’s done with hundreds of others.
“I always tell people not to lose the faith in adoption—because it works.”
Post originally developed and written by Harness
