Denise is the proud mother of three adult children, including a daughter adopted as a toddler from China.  She is also an adoptee who has been reunited with her birth family for over fifteen years.  She served as the Adoptive Parent Liaison, Georgia State Representative, and Secretary for the American Adoption Congress from 2009-2014.  She is a founding member of the grassroots organization, Georgians for Equal Access to Records (GEAR), which was dedicated to restoring the right for Georgia born adoptees to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate.  As a former educator and home school mom, her passion for adoption reform and education also included facilitating a monthly education and support group for adoptive families called Hand In Hand where adoptive parents could learn how to help their child with the life-long journey of adoption.