Susan Friel-Williams, CEO, Case Manager and Lead Investigator

Susan lives in sunny Cape Coral, Florida. She is a licensed investigator in Florida and has been working in the research field for over 20 years. She is a reunited adoptee, well versed in reunion issues, with over 5,000 successful solves. She is a California specialist and her favorite part of reuniting clients is "healing hearts, answering lifelong questions, and finding out the 'rest' of the story."

Susan is the Designer and Administrator of ReunionRegistry.com and Troy's List.org. She is also a former search coordinator for Adoptees in Search in Denver, Colorado, and a former adoption forum leader for America Online. Currently Susan is an active member of Troy's Angel Team on The Locator TV Show.
 

Lane Williams, Chief Technology Officer

Also from Cape Coral, FL, Lane has been working in his field for 27 years. His background is extensive; aside from being a licensed private investigator, Lane received his education through the U.S. Air Force and ITT Technical Institute, and then worked for the Idaho State Police and Hewlett Packard.

Lane is a devoted husband and father, and enjoys photography and community service. His coworkers call him the technology "wizard" because he single-handedly designs, maintains, and dreams up new projects, including this website and several others, like www.reunionstories.com. Lane enjoys working in partnership with his wife, Susan Friel-Williams, to reunite people and says his favorite part is "seeing the joy people feel when they find the truth."  Lane is also a member of Troy's Angel Team on The Locator TV Show.
 

Mica Burton, Administrative Team

Mica is 23 and lives in Bradenton, Florida. As Media Director, she maintains SQA's sister website at www.ReunionStories.com. Every day she speaks with several recently-reunited clients and helps them write about their reunions for the website. The website features a new reunion story every Wednesday and Friday. "I love writing about client's success stories—it keeps me motivated to work harder every day!"

Mica received her bachelor's degree in Communication from Brigham Young University-Idaho and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University. She is bilingual in English and Spanish after spending 18 months as a missionary in the Dominican Republic.
 

Chris Tangedahl

Chris lives in Cape Coral, Florida and is the Office Administrator for the team. He handles consumer requests, and is working on a training program for consultants. He also does 'double duty' as a Search Consultant.

Like many SQA employees, Chris is drawn to the reunion field because he can relate personally to clients. "I listen to them, I share in their plight. I too felt first-hand the misery of not knowing who your parents are, first with my mother's search for her father, then my own. I met my father for the first time when I was 12. Since then, I have I spent many years trying to find a connection with my birth father's family. I know how hard that is—it takes work to connect to a family you never grew up with."

For Chris, the best part of working in this field is helping clients take the first step toward reunion and sharing in the excitement they feel when their cases are solved. "It brightens my life," he says.
 

Amy Wallum

Amy is a family-oriented; as the oldest child of 7 she has made it a lifelong habit to take care of those around her. She has worked in this field for 12 years and loves helping reunite families.

As a search consultant for Search Quest America, she speaks with new clients on a daily basis, answering their questions and helping them take the first steps towards reunion.
 

Andy Rosenbaum

Andy hails from Phoenix, Arizona. He spends his time assisting hundreds of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and other family members who are searching for lost loved ones. His favorite part of working with Search Quest America is being able to give hope to these individuals and watch as their reunions unfold.

Previously, he attended college and managed a limousine company for 12 years. He is a comedic, caring, competitive person who loves good food and spending time with his family. He's a great brother, father, and friend.
 

Linda Rasmussen

Linda is one of our most experienced search consultants. She lives in Cape Coral, Florida and has been working in the reunion field since 1994. "This is the most rewarding job anyone could ever even wish for. I love what I do!"

Linda has been married for 27 years. They have 18-year-old twin boys. Linda's husband played professional baseball in the Major Leagues, Linda has traveled all over the US with her husband including the Dominican, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Yucatan of Mexico.

"The best part of my job is finding out the person I spoke to as little as 2 weeks ago or 2 or 3 months ago has been reunited. I love it when they write me a letter or send an email telling me how grateful they are that we have solved the greatest mystery of their lives. I love what I do!"
 

Cindy Wakefield

"I believe that everyone, whether adopted or not, deserves to know their heritage." Cindy lives in Hoquiam, Washington. She attended college and worked previously as a police/fire dispatcher. She has been helping reunite people for 14 years.

Cindy's favorite part about researching is "helping individuals fill the void and stop wondering about their heritage. I love to solve cases and find answers."

She lends her professional assistance to several groups, but particularly enjoys helping individuals. Cindy loves giving direction and hope to new clients, and promises, "I finish what I start and give each case everything I have."
 

Jennifer Lengyel-Royal

Jennifer first became involved in adoption search and reunion in November of 2000, when her closest childhood friend asked for help in finding out the fate of her relinquished first-born child. That search led Jennifer to MichiganSearching, an online adoption search and reunion support group, where she has since provided nearly ten years of volunteer service, supplying research assistance and serving as a co-moderator. In 2005, she completed Confidential Intermediary training in her home state of Michigan and, in August of 2009, she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work from Eastern Michigan University.

Jennifer resides in the Detroit metropolitan area with her husband and son, and has solved hundreds of cases, both in Michigan and across the nation. “As the granddaughter of a late-discovery adoptee, wife of a reunited adoptee, and close friend of a now happily reunited birthmother, I understand the anguish of not knowing, and have seen firsthand the peace, healing, closure, and even joy that can result from reunion.” She is an active supporter of Open Records legislation and encourages all members of the adoption triad to share their stories, in hopes of bringing greater understanding about adoption to the general public.
 

Julie Jones

Julie is from the greater Cedar Rapids, Iowa area, but she is proud to be a Seattle native. She is a private investigator and is licensed in several states. For the past 16 years she has worked coast to coast locating missing or separated family members and facilitating adoption search and reunions. She also has experience with missing and abducted children, workers compensation fraud, spousal and custody surveillance, and white collar crime.

She loves reminding people that being a private investigator isn't a job—it is her passion. She discovered her talent for finding people at an early age and feels she was destined for this line of work. Her favorite part of the process is "watching as the weight lifts from people's shoulders as they realize that no matter how far the distance or how many years have passed, they were never forgotten, but always wanted and very much loved." Julie says that "being a part of someone's healing and sense of serenity is a privilege that I appreciate every day."

She loves getting to know new clients and to those considering their own searches, she says, "I know what an emotional rollercoaster ride this can be and I dedicate myself to performing the search with compassion and understanding. Together, we will find the answer and the sense of peace that comes along with it."
 

Kristin Bodendorfer

Kristin is a member of our research team and specializes in Ohio and Illinois searches. She has been working in the reunion field for 18 years. Previously, she attended YSU and Ricks College and worked for myfamily.com in the media and historical research departments.

Her favorite part about her job is "bringing families together and getting to know my clients". She is a pit bull when it comes to searching, and we at Search Quest America are happy she has joined our team.
 

Laura Bartling

Laura has lived in Cape Coral, Florida for over twenty years. She is a licensed private investigator as well as a licensed recovery agent. In the last 30 years she has solved thousands of cases, ranging from adoption-related to missing persons and collections.

"I've been in this business such a long time that it has become a hobby. I love the excitement involved in solving cases and the feeling of satisfaction I get when I am able to find the person I am looking for, whether for good reasons or bad. There's never a dull moment and every day is different!"

Some of the highlights of Laura's career have been helping her sister-in-law and another close friend find their birth families. "They approached me and asked me to help, so we worked together and found the answers they were looking for. I treat every client as a close friend, and strive to put myself in their shoes and understand their feelings."

Laura has 2 children, Brittney and Karl. She loves spending time with them, playing with her dogs, meditating, and practicing Yoga in her spare time.
 

Pam Kish

Pam lives in Lenoir, North Carolina at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She received an accounting certificate and also worked as a CNA for hospice patients before finding her passion as a researcher seven years ago. During that time she has solved over 700 cases. She is an expert in Kentucky, Ohio, and Texas searches and loves a challenge.

"I enjoy being able to put the pieces of a puzzle together and have it end in a reunion. My husband and my mother are both adoptees and I helped solve both their cases." Pam also enjoys spending time with her three grown children and helping her 12-year-old granddaughter figure out life and the world.

"My goal is to reunite as many people as I can and give them what I have always taken for granted—a heritage. I will work tirelessly to assist clients in finding the person they are searching for."
 

Patricia Lawrence

"We all have a right to know who we are and where we come from. No matter what we find, it's better than never knowing," she says. SQA researcher Patty is both an adoptee and an adoptive parent. She has 2 natural children and 5 adopted children—all adults now. She began searching for her own birth family when she was 27 years old, but didn't find them until she was 43. "It was well worth the wait," she says.

Her personal experiences motivate her to work hard for the benefit of her clients. She sees each new case as an opportunity to put all the pieces of the puzzle together for another successful reunion. Patty lives in California and she is affiliated with a group called Reconnections of California. She received a college degree in education and has been working in the research field since the early nineties.
 

Roger Smith

Roger Smith is a native Californian and currently lives in Visalia, CA with his family. He was adopted at 2 weeks old. When kids would ask him what it felt like to be 'adopted', he would ask what it felt like to NOT be adopted. Roger found his birth family in 1994 and the reunion was, and still is, a good one.

He was a member of the original Adoptees Internet Mailing List and started the California Adoptees Mailing List. He also was a member of Reconnections of California. He is still the moderator of record for the soc.adoption.adoptees newsgroup. He has helped adoptees and birth families find each other over the years with both emotional and technical support.

Roger hopes to help all members of the triad to have the possibility of being reconnected.
 

Rosemary Harklerode

Rosemary lives in Roseville, California and is an experienced adoption and public records researcher. She specializes in reuniting family and friends that have been separated for various reasons. Her main focus has been in California adoption search with some additional experience in the state of Ohio and Illinois. Rosemary has been helping people find their lost loved ones for the past 16 years.

She says it has been a great joy and very rewarding to know that she has been able to be a part of someone's reunion. Rosemary has been able to see first hand what it means to those loved ones to see each other sometimes for the first time in their lives.

Her purpose is to gently guide others to have complete fulfillment by helping people put the pieces of their life's puzzle in place. Knowing there is a piece of you missing is hard, but not knowing how to find it is harder still.