Staff

Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander (she/her), LMFT, is a Latina first mother and transracial domestic adoptee. A licensed psychotherapist specializing in the adoption and foster care triads, she joined Pact in 2016 as a parent consultant, first/birth family advocate, and coordinator of trainings for service providers. When Pact became a licensed adoption agency in 2017, Susan was appointed its founding Agency & Clinical Director. She launched Pact’s Center for Race & Adoption Focused Therapy (CRAFT) in 2021, and was selected as Pact’s second Executive Director in 2025. An experienced educator and presenter, she previously served as Board President of MPower Alliance. She is raising two sons and is on an ongoing journey of reunion with her first families and the daughter she placed for adoption. Email: susan@pactadopt.org

Deanna Matthews (she/her) is a multiracial (Black/white) single parent who has found great commonality between her own experience of racial ambiguity and that of many adoptees of color. She brings that understanding to all her work at Pact, as well as a passion for educating adults and supporting children in defining their identity in positive ways in a racialized world. She has been involved in organizing Pact Family Camp since 2009, and became Camp Director in 2011. In 2025 she was appointed Pact’s Deputy Director. Email: deanna@pactadopt.org

Raquel Vivanco (she/her) is Director of Pact’s Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative (APCC), which serves BIPOC adoptive and foster parents and their families, a group traditionally underserved in adoption and child welfare. Raquel is also Pact’s Events and Parent Programs Manager. The adoptive mother to two Latin@ persons, Raquel previously worked for a national nonprofit as a project manager and HR manager. She has a BA in International Relations from Stanford. Raquel has been an active member of the Pact community for over twenty years and is deeply dedicated to ethical adoption reform and family preservation. Email: raquel@pactadopt.org

Nataya Bassett (she/her), MSW, is a multiracial (black/white) transracial domestic adoptee, adopted from the foster care system. Originally from Del Norte County, CA, she brings a social justice lens to her work in behavioral health and child welfare, supporting children and families with a focus on family preservation. Nataya was a youth participant in Pact’s adoptee programming, giving her a deep personal connection to this work. The oldest of four siblings, Nataya is in reunion with her first family. Email: nataya@pactadopt.org

Beth Hall (she/her) is the white adoptive mother of a Latina daughter and an African American son, both now adults, and grew up with an adopted sister. She co-founded Pact in 1991 to combat the discrimination she witnessed against adopted children of color and their birth families. She is the co-author, with Gail Steinberg, of the book Inside Transracial Adoption (Perspectives Press, 2000, 2nd edition, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2013), as well as numerous articles on adoption and race, and has served as President of the California Adoption Agency Association. A nationally known advocate for adopted children of color, she served as Pact’s Executive Director from 1991 to 2025. . Email: beth@pactadopt.org