About Us
Welcome
First, let us congratulate you on taking one of the first steps in the exciting and sometimes complicated process of building a family through adoption. All Faiths Adoption Services provides comprehensive infant adoption services to all families seeking to build their family through adoption. We are fully inclusive and are proud to welcome all families. We believe that adoption is not a one-time event; instead, it is a lifelong process of growth, commitment, and development. We provide support to families during and after the adoption process.
Our primary goal is to help infants find permanent, loving, and safe homes within a family. We work with birth families to provide comprehensive options counseling to guide their decision making process. Our staff understands that adoptive parents have often experienced emotional and physical challenges prior to considering adoption. We educate and empower prospective adoptive parents on their journey to becoming a family.
Program Staff
Chelsea Pennington, LCSW, PMH-C
Director of Placement Services
Chelsea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Master’s degree in Social Work from New Mexico Highlands University. She holds a certification in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C), specializing in supporting the mental health needs of individuals during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Chelsea has a passion for supporting families in their journey to adoption and beyond, and she honors her role in supporting birth parents as they navigate their own journey and process.
Sonya Briones-Parks, LPCC
Placement Services Clinical Supervisor
Sonya graduated with a master's in Art therapy & Counseling from Mount Mary University, in 2009. She’s a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor dedicated to helping youth and families who’ve experienced trauma on their road to healing. She has worked with clients in outpatient, in-patient and community settings. She is the Placement Services Clinical Supervisor at All Faiths Children's Advocacy Center, where she supports the Placement Services team with their critical work with birth parents and adoptive families. Sonya believes in building community resiliency one family at a time.
Rebecca Rendon de Gonzales, LMHC
Adoptions Clinical Specialist
Rebecca finds serving others in a capacity that allows her to walk beside them on their path is humbling and rewarding. Being present as a witness, advocate, and a helping hand is a passion that nurtures her soul and spirit. The opportunity to serve families struggling with loved ones experiencing mental illness, through NAMI, fostered a desire to do more for her community. In her current capacity working with birth and adoptive families, she endeavors to offer choices, guidance, and education while genuinely providing support from beginning to end.
Julie Velazquez, LCSW
Adoption Therapist
Julie is a native New Mexican who has spent her career working with children and families who seek to strengthen community connections and heal from trauma. She believes that every child deserves a safe and loving home. She is honored to support birth mothers on their chosen path.
All Faiths Adoption Services is a program of All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center, which is the largest Child Advocacy Center in New Mexico, serving children and their families for 70 years. Based in Albuquerque, the mission of All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center is to be the trusted advocates for children and families affected by trauma - working towards creating a New Mexico where children are safe and families thrive. As the leading child welfare and advocacy agency in New Mexico, All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center has an informed understanding of the needs of children and families in our community. Creating All Faiths Adoption Services provides an opportunity to support the journey to parenthood in all forms of diversity, ensuring that children in New Mexico grow up in safe and loving households.