As an Adoption Expert
Mardie has graciously provided her knowledge, experience, and caring heart to media requests from across the country and around the world. Many people were first introduced to Mardie through one of her appearances in the media as one of the most experienced adoption experts in the United States.
Mardie has more than 150 media credits to her name, including: Larry King Live, The Ricki Lake Show, Marie Osmond’s show “Marie”, ABC News, NBC’s The Today Show, CNN Headline News, CNN’s The Campbell Brown Show, CBS News, NBC News, KGO Newstalk Radio, CNN’s Black in America II, MSNBC, Fox, PBS, BBC, Dr. Laura, and is widely sought for print articles and speaking engagements.
As a Certified Open Adoption Practitioner
Mardie Caldwell is the Founder and CEO of Lifetime Adoption Center in California. Facilitating more than 140 adoptions each year, Lifetime has become one of the largest adoption centers in the country. Working nationwide, Lifetime’s caring staff supports each woman as they consider their pregnancy choices, while encouraging waiting adoptive families throughout their adoption journey. In 2014, Mardie was honored with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Woman-Owned Business of the Year.”
Mardie has designed an adoption program that is personalized for each individual that contacts her center, and provides around-the-clock availability for any birth parent considering adoption. She designed the program after her own adoption struggles, and prides herself on the caring, compassionate support that is offered to each birth parent and family who works with her center.
After so many years of assisting with adoption, Mardie saw a need for birth parents and founded Lifetime Adoption Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit adoption charity. Lifetime Foundation was established to assist birth mothers in fulfilling their dreams through providing college scholarships for women who have chosen adoption. It has grown to now include offering grants to assist with special needs adoptions and provide more immediate assistance (such as maternity clothes or household items) for birth mothers through the new Birth mother Blessings program.
As an Adoption Author
Mardie has had the opportunity to reach out and share her adoption experience with others around the world. Two of her books for adoptive families, AdoptingOnline.com and Adoption: Your Step by Step Guide have won awards, including the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award. They are both widely recommended by many, including Dr. Laura Schlesinger who hailed Mardie’s book as the “ultimate guide to adoption”.
Her book So I Was Thinking About Adoption… was written specifically for women considering adoption for their children, has received much media attention. It is now considered the finest book of its kind and is available nationwide. In addition, Mardie offers it as a complimentary download for women who need the information as they consider the best decision for their child.
Additionally, Mardie has written The Healthcare Professional’s Adoption Guide, geared toward educating doctors, nurses, social workers, and anyone working with women in the healthcare industry. Many times, these professionals are working directly with women who are making the difficult decisions about their child’s future, yet there is little training to bring them up-to-date on the best practices in open adoption. This guide, along with the opportunity for in-service trainings has made a huge difference with adoption education for healthcare professionals.
Her most recent book, Called to Adoption: A Christian’s Guide to Answering the Call, is a straightforward guide that offers tips and up-to-date, relevant information every parent considering adoption should know. Readers will identify with Mardie’s personal and professional experiences, making this a vital handbook as parents take steps to adopt. This book aims to help couples with God’s plan for their family.
– See more at: MardieCaldwell.com
As an Adoptive Mother
Mardie finds her role as an adoptive mother to be the most important. The path that led Mardie to her son more than twenty years ago is one that was life-changing, as she often shares through her own testimony.