Pertman, Adam

Adam Pertman. A leading expert in the U.S. on adoption and child welfare. President and CEO of The National Center on Adoption and Permanency (NCAP). He was previously President of the Donaldson Adoption Institute, which he built into the preeminent research, policy and advocacy think-tank in its field.

He also was Associate Editor of the scholarly journal Adoption Quarterly and is a widely published author, including of Adoption Nation, which was reviewed as “the most important book every written on the subject.”

In a prior career, Pertman was a senior journalist with the Boston Globe, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his writing about adoption. He has delivered hundreds of keynotes, trainings and other presentations internationally.

His commentaries have appeared in scores of major newspapers in the U.S. and around the world, and he is interviewed by publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, as well as on national radio and television programs such as “Oprah.”

Pertman’s honors include a 2016 Adoption Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; an Angel in Adoption award from the U.S. Congress; the Special Friend of Children Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; and the Dave Thomas Center for Adoption Law’s first award for “the nation’s greatest contributor to public understanding about adoption and permanency placement issues.”