Hi! We are Ned and Jackie from sunny California. We have both been fortunate to come from close-knit and loving families and we are excited to expand our family through adoption to provide the same for your child. We know that families are created in many ways and we look forward to learning more about you, your family, and what is important to you in this adoption. We know that we can provide an amazing home to your child, one that is filled with love, support, and life experiences. We hope that we have the opportunity to connect and learn more about you. Family is very important to both of us, and we know that adoption is the right option to expand our family.

We met online (thank you, Bumble!) right before the pandemic. One of our early dates was ping pong in San Francisco (Ned won!). We quickly discovered that Jackie is highly competitive, so we haven't been back since :). Our courtship was unconventional due to the pandemic, but we quickly joined each other’s social pods, cooking together, taking long drives, and discovering our strong connection, shared values and goals. This made it easy to move to Washington, DC, for 18 months for Jackie’s job, where we lived together, explored the city, and ultimately decided to get married. We continue to embrace new opportunities, challenges, and adventures, which we believe will serve us well as we grow our family and build a life together.

I grew up in Eastern Europe - in a small country called Bulgaria (Greece’s neighbor to the north) in a tight-knit family environment. I moved to Connecticut for college and spent my first 13 years in the US in the New England area and New York City before moving to San Francisco in 2011. I enjoy both outdoor and indoor activities - from tennis, running, hiking, skiing and taking walks around the neighborhood to reading, cooking, working on projects around the house. My friends would say that I am a loyal friend who is always there to help in need and someone who is good-natured with a very dry sense of humor. I love being around children and have always wanted to be a parent - children bring a tremendous amount of joy to me (I feel that the excitement kids have about exploring the world around them with a smile on their face is so contagious), and I am so excited to be a part of that and raise our children with Jackie.

My favorite thing about Ned is his genuine optimism, with my second favorite thing being his love for his mother (and family). I love his willingness to take on new adventures, which often has the same level of excitement as a great dinner plate (both make me have a huge smile). In the pandemic, I had a difficult time because I was unable to see friends and family. I approached Ned about moving to Washington D.C. where I could grow my career and introduce Ned to the friends I made while living there after college. He did not even hesitate in responding; he was up for the adventure and knew it was the best thing for me and my mental well- being. I believe that is why he has been successful in his career and been able to have long term friendships despite moving to the United States for college and then staying for career opportunities. He sees the positive at every turn, and he makes sure that we enjoy all that life has provided both of us.

I grew up in Eastern Oregon, where my dad farmed cash crops, and my mom taught elementary school. I loved picking fruit, feeding calves, and playing with my sister. After getting early admission to the University of Oregon, I went to Eugene for college. An internship in Washington D.C. led me to move there post-college for nearly a decade. Missing family, I returned to the West Coast and now work as Government Affairs Director at The Clorox Company. I’ve built a great circle of friends, joined a running club, and volunteer regularly. My friends describe me as authentic and kind-hearted. I enjoy supporting them, especially with their kids - my book reading receives rave reviews! I am fascinated with watching our friends kids' personalities develop, and to watch a child go through first experiences (for example, the first time they eat a fruit, or see an animal, etc.). I am excited to bring a child into our family so we can experience that together.

My favorite thing about Jackie is that she is a caring and loving person to whom the happiness of the people closest to her is deeply important (I am the lucky recipient of much of that love and care!). I love that our weekends are filled with adventures, which are often wonderful surprises - she once planned, while keeping it a surprise, an entire weekend to a small town in Nevada decorated for Christmas, because she knew I would love it. I also love how close Jackie is to her family (we have that in common) and how incredibly attentive she is. I mentioned this as part of our wedding vows, but it took Jackie one quick glance at my fridge the first time I hosted her at my place to notice that I had a particular fondness for a type of avocado salsa, and she made sure she had stocked up on that salsa for the first time when she hosted me at her place - it may feel like a small thing, but to me it meant the world. She noticed and remembered. Jackie challenges me (and us) and pushes me (and us) to expand our horizons and keep growing as individuals and as a couple, loves hanging with and around children, reading and playing with our friends little ones, and I can’t wait to bring a child into our world.

Both of our employers have very family-friendly policies to ensure we can be active and engages parents. Jackie works in government affairs for Clorox. She enjoys her work in advancing policies to ensure that Clorox’s consumer products have a positive impact on communities throughout the country. Ned works in product marketing for Microsoft. He joined the company through the Skype acquisition and is motivated by Microsoft’s focus on empowering individuals to be more productive in their daily lives.

We live in northern California, which affords us the ability to do things year-round, from visiting the Exploratorium or going to the ball park in San Francisco to going to a show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. We live close to many interesting destinations like Yosemite National Park (~3 hours driving) and Lake Tahoe (~3.5 hours driving). This would enable us to expose our child to wonderful and unique experiences close to our home. When we moved back from Washington, DC, we landed in Oakland, which is where Jackie works. We currently live in a 2-bedroom apartment, which is a block away from the Oakland farmers market. We are currently house-hunting and looking to purchase a single-family home nearby (e.g., in the towns of Berkeley, Alameda, or Albany) focused on settling down in an area with great schools and plenty of opportunities for our child to grow, learn, and play.

We both grew up with very close-knit families and continue to be very close, despite the location distance. Jackie’s family is in Oregon, with her mom in the Eastern side and her sister in the Portland area with her husband and adult-aged step-kids. Ned’s mom is in Bulgaria and lives with her sister. We are fortunate to be able to spend major holidays together as a family either in Oregon, California, or abroad in Bulgaria. Our moms get along so well, they travel together and communicate using Google Translate. When together as a family, we like to cook, put together puzzles, go on walks, and/or watch movies. And when we are unable to be in person, we utilize our family text thread or FaceTime to stay in touch. Both of our dads have passed away, which always reminds us of the importance of family and connection. Our family is eager to support us as we welcome our child into the family.

Having moved away from home for school, our friends have become our extended family and support system. In California, we have a lot of close friends with young kids, including some children who have been adopted. Watching our close friends become parents has been an amazing experience as we have had the opportunity to observe different parenting styles and watch these children grow. We are excited to have our child become a part of this village. Our friends say that we are genuine, thoughtful, and fun! These qualities are the result of a strong family foundation that gave us the necessary support to take on new adventures and explore the world beyond our home towns. Having the variety of experiences we’ve enjoyed as well as interacting with different people throughout our lives thus far has made us deeply value the friendships and relationships we have. We prioritize continually invest in these relationships to ensure we have a strong support structure as we look to grow our family. We believe these are important values that we will also instill in our child.

Family support, love, and guidance have been the foundation for our success both personally and professionally. We want to share that foundation with our child and build off of that foundation to ensure our child knows that they are loved by us as well as the birth family. Jackie’s mom is a retired schoolteacher, and Ned’s mom is a pediatric ophthalmologist; as we were growing up, both of our moms provided us a greater understanding of how children develop and have shown us ways to leverage our abilities while also preparing us to overcome obstacles. We believe in being lighthouse parents to our child, which means we would provide guidance to our child while ensuring they have the confidence and freedom to learn and grow in ways they feel most comfortable with. We are attracted to this parenting style because we experienced it as children, benefited from it throughout our lives, and we want to pass that on and model it as parents to our child.

First and foremost, we want to thank you for taking the time to read our profile and learn more about us, why adopting is important to us, and how we intend to parent our child. We hope we have an opportunity to meet you and take this journey together, in whichever way that is comfortable for you. We are beyond excited to grow our family and we promise to provide the right environment for our child to grow and thrive while surrounded by supportive and loving parents (and extended family).