Our Staff

Meet Our Social Workers

Anita Stevens – Founder and Executive Director

I am married, the mother of three children who are grown and married and the grandmother of five. I have a Bachelors Degree in Social Work. I worked for another adoption agency from 1987 to 1992 when I decided to begin Family Connections. So I have over twenty years of experience in the adoption field. This experience has included domestic adoption placements in New York and in many other states, placement of children internationally from the United States to other countries and from other countries to the United States, and the preparation of home studies for twenty-one different countries. I have worked with families who have adopted new born infants to teenagers. I have traveled to Guatemala, Vietnam, Russia, and Kazakhstan and helped hundreds of families prepare their international dossiers. I am truly passionate about helping families and available children find each other, fall in love and work through the attachment process of adoption.

Susan Becker-Weidman, LCSW – Adoption Social Worker

Serving Western New York

Susan is a Master Clinical Social Worker who has devoted her career to children and families. She is an adoptive mother and has been supporting adoptive families for many years.

Mary Capocefalo, L.C.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving Central and Southern New York

Mary Capocefalo is a licensed social worker with a degree from Syracuse University. She and her husband are the parents of three children. Their son was adopted from Russia when he was four years old. Mary has worked in the adoption field for the past twelve years. In addition she also works as an adjunct professor at Crouse School of Nursing and LeMoyne College in Syracuse, and is a therapist in private practice.

Beth Glass, L.M.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving the Hudson Valley Region

Impressed by Family Connection’s Home Study process in preparation for adoption of her baby girl, Beth pursued her desire to help others adopt. Beth has most recently worked as a therapist for children in need and their families. She currently volunteers for the Mental Health Association of Orange County, Inc.’s Compeer Program, which matches persons with mental illness in a friendship with volunteers. Beth has worked in the field of social work since 2002 and received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University in 2005.

Renee Hettich, L.M.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving Central and Southern New York

Renee is the mother of two daughters who were adopted from the People’s Republic of China and a son adopted from Guatemala. After her first daughter arrived home, Renee decided to dedicate her life to finding forever families for children throughout the world who have no families. She made a promise to the hundreds of thousands of children she had to leave behind in orphanages that she would work diligently to find them a mommy and daddy. She chose to leave behind her career as a school administrator and became a professional social worker in the field of adoption.

Renee earned a Master of Social Work degree from Marywood University in 2005. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Audiology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor’s Degree in speech/language pathology from Ithaca College. She is currently an adoption social worker with Family Connections, Inc. and supports families who are adopting domestically or internationally with home study and post-adoption support services. In addition, Renee is known for her professional lectures on “Ethics in Adoption”, “Risk & Resiliency of Children Adopted Internationally”, “Transracial Parenting,” "Adoption and the Schools" and for her presentation on the “Joys and Challenges of International Adoption”. Renee has also published articles in Adoption Today (an adoption magazine).

Toni Kapen, L.C.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving Long Island and New York City

Toni Kapen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Masters of Social Work from New York University in 1978. She has worked in the fields of Chemical Dependency, Mental Health and Adoption. Toni has also worked as Adjunct Professors at Adelphi University in the School of Social Work and at Farmingdale University in the Psychology Department. Adoption is very close to her heart as she has three wonderful adopted children.

Michelle (Shelly) Morgan, L.M.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving the Rochester area

Michelle (Shelley) Morgan, LMSW is a grduate of Syracuse University. She has worked as a contracted social worker for adoption since 2000. Adoption social work suites Michelle both professionally and personally as she has three internationally adopted children (Cambodia, Korea and Vietnam).

Julia Werman, L.M.S.W. – Adoption Social Worker

Serving Long Island and New York City

Julia Werman, LMSW has been involved in Permanency Planning for several years as a Social Worker and Consultant. After graduating from Hunter College School of Social Work, she embarked on a career in Adoption for hard to place children. Most recently, Julia worked as an Adoption Specialist and Case Expeditor on New York’s Longest Waiting Children Project, an Adoption Opportunities grant. The project created a model for child care workers to actively plan for the hardest placed and longest waiting older children in the foster care system. Julia also began working as a contract worker for private adoption agencies to help families grow through domestic and foreign adoption. For the past four years she has had the privilege of working with a number of families through the home study and post-placement process. Julia is dedicated to helping the families with whom she works feel comfortable through what can be a challenging time in any families life.

Julia brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to her work.