Patricia Keltie

Angels in Adoption 2005 - New Jersey

Selected by Representative Frank LoBiondo

For over thirty years, Patricia Keltie has sleflessly and without seeking praise, dedicated her life to helping countless children from around the world find new homes. Before coming to New Jersey, Patricia was very active in the 1970s with adoption programs in Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh, where she helped to establish lifesaving child welfare programs, two of which are still in operation today. She also spent time working with children in Seoul, Korea. Then Patricia came to New Jersey where she served as Branch Director for Holt International Children's Services. Patricia remained at Holt for 23 years and just retired in June 2004. Under her tenure as director, she oeversaw more than 2,600 adoptions of children from overseas coming to New Jersey and made it a point to become personally involved with each one of them. Over the years, Patricia came to be loved by her colleagues at Holt and by all the families and children she brought together, many of whom she has stayed in contact with over the years. Patricia has also been a tenacious advocate for finding homes for those children with special needs and those labeled as hard to place.

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