Women Who Help People Who Have Discovered Misattributed Parentage

Right to Know (RTK) educates the public on the complex intersection of genetic information, identity and family dynamics. They advocate for Misattributed Parental Experiences (MPE, NPE), anyone who discovers the person who raised them is not their genetic parent. Their advocacy includes increasing awareness of misattributed parentage experiences (MPEs), promoting access to trained mental health professionals, and changes in the law to reflect the right to know one’s own genetic identity. http://www.RightToKnow.us/. RTK has a hotline for people who need help: (323) TALK-MPE.

Alesia Cohen Weiss is RTK’s CXO, Chief Experience Officer. Alesia is a retired RN, Army Veteran, and blog writer. She is a leader in networking for positive emotional support, genealogical research, and education for those impacted by a surprise in their DNA. Due to her own experience from an over-the-counter DNA kit in 2014, she was shocked to her core to find the man who had raised her was not her genetic father. It took Alesia four years of sleuthing to discover the identity of her biological father. Unfortunately, he'd passed years before. After connecting with her genetic family, she discovered four members had brain tumors just like she'd experienced. Had she known she had a genetic predisposition, her doctors could’ve diagnosed her tumor much sooner.

Kara Rubinstein Deyerin is RTK's Chief Executive Officer. She is a non-practicing attorney with an LLM in Taxation and a master's in Trade & Investment Policy. Two years ago, Kara wanted to see where in Africa her father's family came from. Her over-the-counter DNA test revealed she was 50% something but it wasn't African. This meant the man on her birth certificate couldn't possibly be her genetic father. She lost her bi-racial identity with the click of a mouse. Kara discovered she was 50% Ashkenazi Jew. The DNA Pandora's box she opened led to an identity crisis. She's a passionate advocate for genetic identity rights. Read her blog about being Unexpectedly Jewish in Seattle.