Melissa Guida-Richards

Melissa Guida-Richards is an author, adoptee, and advocate based in Pennsylvania. She was adopted in 1993 from Colombia to a family in the USA. She is the content creator behind the Adoptee Thoughts Podcast and Instagram that she founded to help elevate adoptee voices and educate adoptive parents on the nuances and complexity of adoption. She's recently had interviews on Good Day L.A., but she is most known for her viral essay, “My Adoptive Parents Hid My Racial Identity From Me for 19 Years.” Melissa has also had work in The Independent, Insider, Huffpost, ElectricLit, and is a contributing writer at The Everymom.