Shogren Consulting | Heritage, Museum & Cultural Planning

From Susan Tompkins, Executive Director

Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services, Hillsboro, Oregon

Sam stepped into a pressure-filled position where the accreditation process for two different accreditations needed to be completed within a certain time frame; without the Hague accreditation JOH would be out of business, end of story, hence the pressure. Sam had an excellent background with museums which added to his ability to be detail oriented, yet see the large picture at the same time. He did the day to day work of writing policy/procedures and helping staff do the same, delegating what needed to be completed, and reviewing and analyzing all of it, as needed to meet new standards. In a short amount of time Sam absorbed the culture of adoption and JOH, the adoption process, and COA and Hague standards.

Sam had to develop solid relationships with COA as well as with JOH staff (remote and at the home office) in order to successfully get the job done. He pushed when he needed to without offending.

Going through a last minute cancellation of the peer reviewers coming to JOH was ghastly for all of us, especially for Sam, whose job it was to prepare JOH for the three days when JOH would be reviewed. We were all left reeling from that setback.

Once we had all recovered from that disappointing setback Sam was able to step in and use that time productively to improve what had been already accomplished.

Sam has met all our expectations for an excellent employee and I would rate him with all 4’s.

Dr. Emerson Baker, Chair, Department of History, Salem State College

Former Executive Director, York Institute Museum and Dyer Library, Saco, Maine

Sam did an excellent job directing historical archaeological projects, organizing the archives, and supervising the Maine history collection. He was particularly effective in working with volunteers, and was also a leader in the Maine museum community. He brought a high degree of enthusiasm and professionalism to the position, and was a pleasure to work with.

Virgina Bruce, Web Designer and Publisher, Cedar Mills News

Volunteer Committee Member with Sam Shogren

John Quincy Adams Young House (preservation planning) Tualatin Parks and Recreation Department

Sam brought knowledge and experience to the JQA Young Ad Hoc Committee, and raised interesting issues about the archeology of the site. He understands group dynamics and was a good team member.

We are pleased to announce that Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services located in Hillsboro, Oregon joined a distinguished group of Hague Convention certified international adoption agencies on Febuary 29th! (see www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_4169.html# for a complete list)

Sam has worked with the Journey’s staff and Board for the past 14 months on the Agency’s challange of facing a dual accreditation crisis. Not only did Journeys need to be reaccredited by the governing authority, the Council on Accreditation (COA), during 2007, but it faced the need to achieve a higher, potentially agency closing benchmark.

2007 marked the move by the US State Department to enact the rules need to comply with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions to fully implement the Convention on April 1, 2008. All American adoption agencies that wanted to continue to work internationally are required to meet new tougher standard and achieve a certification by COA and the US State Department as “Hague Accredited.”

Sam’s leadership and work with Journeys on both accreditations included:

• Coordination of staff efforts
• Coordination of leadership team effort
• Internal auditing of Agency compliance with policy
• Review, clarifying, streamlining and updating of all agency policies
• Review and completion of two 430 page internal self-studies
• Coordination of Stakeholder surveys
• Coordination of the On-Site visit by the COA Review Team
• Writing the agency’s new Hague Policy Manual
• Board briefings
• Agency Liaison to the accrediting body - the Council on Accreditation