Courtney Humbaugh was born on Christmas Day, 1978, in Augusta, Georgia and adopted five months later in Atlanta. She graduated from Lakeside High School in Decatur and earned her communication degree from Florida State University. After graduating she was as a television news reporter for WFXL in Albany, covering government matters. Mrs. Humbaugh has more than 20 years’ experience in public relations, media and marketing. 

In 2010, she began her journey to discover her roots and birth story. In 2015, she met her biological maternal side in Augusta and in 2019 found her paternal side in Douglasville, and Warrenton. In 2020, she petitioned the court system in Georgia for her adoption records and was successfully given her information, including her original birth certificate, just before Christmas 2020 (10 years after starting her search for information and 42 years after her adoption).

Courtney Humbaugh and Jamie Weiss formed Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights in early 2021 because they believe that all adult adoptees should be able to obtain their original birth certificate just like non-adoptees. It’s a basic human right.

Jamie Weiss was adopted at five days old in 1979 through a privately arranged adoption between her biological and adoptive families. She grew up in Clayton County, Georgia and graduated from Jonesboro High School before heading off to Berry College in Rome, GA to study business marketing. Jamie later went on to use her entrepreneurial skills to open a successful small business, working as a professional photographer and photography teacher.

While away at college, with access to the internet, she began using any online resources she could find to learn about her origins. However, without any knowledge of names, place of birth, or even if her birth date was correct (due to sealed records), her search was practically impossible.

After 12 years of searching, Jamie eventually was able to gather some information that allowed her to connect with her biological family. Despite being in reunion for over a decade, she is still not legally allowed to obtain her original birth certificate according to Georgia law and hopes to change the laws to give all adult adoptees the same rights as any other non-adopted adult in the state. This desire led her to begin Signed, Sealed, Adopted., a place for elevating adoptee voices, to help educate the public about the experiences of adopted persons and to join Courtney Humbaugh in forming the Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights.

Stuart Watson was born “Baby Boy Bowen” on April 8, 1959 in Macon, Georgia. He was immediately separated from his mother and placed in foster care by the Georgia Department of Public Welfare. He was adopted four months later by loving parents, Nell and Stuart Watson, Sr. in Albany, Georgia. 

Stuart spent his first career as a distinguished investigative reporter at WKRN Nashville, WRAL Raleigh, and WCNC Charlotte, winning ten Emmys and three Peabody Awards as well as the Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard. 

He is now the author of a memoir What She Said & What I Heard and an upcoming children’s book Sofia Loves Tortillas, podcaster with a show called “Man Listening”, public speaker, and entrepreneur.

Nikki Barker was born in Rochester, New York in January 1969. After spending a few months in foster care, she was adopted in June 1969. A year later, her adoptive family temporarily moved to Dallas, Texas and in 1972, they ended up settling in Dunwoody, Georgia. She graduated from Georgia State University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video Studies. For over 27 years, Ms. Barker has worked in various areas of marketing, communications and administration.

In 2000, three years into her search for biological family, Ms. Barker hit a brick wall. While attending an adoption conference at St. John’s University in New York, she met Betty Jean (BJ) Lifton. BJ advised her to hire a little-known investigation company called Kinsolving Investigations, based out of North Carolina. She took BJ’s advice and four days later, she found her maternal side.

During her search and reunion, Ms. Barker’s passion grew for adoption education and reform efforts. She served as Georgia State Representative from 2009-2013 for the American Adoption Congress (AAC) and the AAC’s Board of Directors as Communications Chair from 2010-2014. In 2011, she co-founded the adoptee rights group, Georgians for Equal Access to Records (GEAR), who led the previous original birth certificate legislation efforts from 2012-2014.