A Remarkable Life of Service to Children

Read about Holt board member Kristine Altwies, who was recently named Hawaii’s “remarkable woman of the year” — one of 125 women across the U.S. who were honored for making a difference in their communities.

Kristine Altwies has dedicated her life to serving orphaned and vulnerable children.  

As the executive director of Hawaii’s leading international adoption agency for the past 34 years, she has helped over 1,000 children join loving adoptive families. She is also a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in parenting, attachment and adoption, and in 2021, she founded the nonprofit organization PonoRoots Counseling Center, which provides trauma-informed mental health services in her community. Since 2022, she has also served on the board of directors for Holt International.

Recently, Kristine was recognized for her lifelong service to children when she was named Hawaii’s “Remarkable Woman of the Year” — one of 125 women across the U.S. who were honored by Nexstar Media Group for the difference they have made in public policy, social progress and the quality of life in their communities. After spending a week in L.A. with her fellow honorees, she came away inspired and motivated to do more.

“What was inspiring was all the women who are doing incredible work,” she says. “I came away with the idea that there’s more to be done and that there are people doing things in all kinds of ways.”

Reflecting on her own life’s work, she says she feels not proud, but grateful.

“I’m deeply grateful for being able to do meaningful work, which only happens because of all the people who participate along the way,” she says.

Kristine found her path in the early 1990s, when she first arrived in Hawaii from Michigan, where she had attended Kalamazoo College. Although she studied art history and education in college, she wasn’t sure where she wanted to focus her energy.

“I was doing a bunch of things trying to figure out who I was, and I met the founder of Hawaii International Child (HIC),” she shares. Inspired, she began working with the organization to unite children and families, and in 1991, she took over as executive director.

In the years that followed, Kristine significantly grew the small organization — opening adoption programs in several countries over the following three decades, including in China and Russia.

As Hawaii has a very large Asian population, she notes that many children placed through HIC were able to join adoptive families who shared their cultural heritage and identity. Kristine’s husband, Bruce Chen, is a Chinese American physician who joined Kristine to welcome their first daughter from China 15 years ago. Today, Kristine and Bruce are the parents of six children, including a son from China and a daughter from Vietnam.

As both an adoptive parent and long-time leader of an international adoption agency, Kristine brought extensive experience when she joined Holt’s board of directors three years ago. She also had a longstanding connection to Holt, having partnered with the organization to find families for children from Korea in the early days of her work with HIC.

“I was lucky enough to work with Holt in my early days, which gave me good insights into this incredibly ethical, compassionate work that Holt does,” she says.

I’m deeply grateful for being able to do meaningful work, which only happens because of all the people who participate along the way.”

Since joining the board of directors, she has become increasingly impressed with Holt’s ethical approach to adoption and dedication to ensuring stable, loving homes for children.

“It’s always been what’s best for the children, and that feels so good to be connected to,” she says.

Kristine also feels blessed to be a part of the dedicated group of individuals who make up Holt’s board of directors. While they bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives, they all share a heart for orphaned and vulnerable children and a profound commitment to Holt’s mission.

“I’ve been on many boards, and I have to say this board is my all-time favorite board because everybody there is so committed to seeing Holt succeed,” she says. “It’s really about the health of the organization and honoring our mission.”

Today, Kristine continues to lead Hawaii International Child, which rebranded as A Family Tree in 2020. With adoption in decline across the globe, A Family Tree discontinued its work placing children for international adoption five years ago and shifted to direct support services such as homestudies, adoptive parent training and post-placement reporting.

The following year, in 2021, A Family Tree expanded its services with the opening of PonoRoots Counseling Center. Like the name “A Family Tree,” the symbolism of a tree and its roots captured what Kristine hoped to convey about the organization’s approach to mental health.    

“PonoRoots just came to me. … Understanding people from the roots up made sense,” she explains. “And pono in Hawaiian means righteous, good or compassionate.”

As a licensed therapist and the clinical director at PonoRoots, Kristine specializes in parenting, attachment and adoption — and often counsels adoptees and their families. With her extensive background in adoption — and as an adoptive parent herself — she brings a depth of understanding to her work with adoptees and families.

“I don’t presume to understand everything, but at least I have time on my side that I’ve spent in the field,” she says, adding that her best asset as a therapist is having worked personally with thousands of families and adoptees in the adoption process over the years.

Holt will always have work to do because there will always be need. There will always be sadness. There will always be people needing education or housing or resources, and that was the Holts’ initial commitment.”

Although she has a unique awareness of trauma and adoption, she also approaches her therapy practice with humility and an open mind.

 “Somebody said … ‘If you’ve met one adoptee, you’ve met one adoptee,’ she says. “And so I go in with that attitude, and try and get to know each person as the unique individual they deserve to be seen as. …  I really let them determine they’re the authors of their own stories, or we want to get them to be the authors of their own stories eventually.”

Looking ahead, Kristine hopes to sustain her connections with her fellow “remarkable women” — and share about the inspirational work they’re doing on her podcast.

“I have 125 new best friends and I’m planning to switch up my podcast, which in the past was about parenting,” she says. “I’m going to launch a new podcast about remarkable women. Title TBD, but I’m planning to interview all 125 of my cohort.”

Through her service on Holt’s board of directors, Kristine will also continue to help guide the organization through the changing landscape of international adoption — and a deeper focus on in-country services that help families stay together and children thrive.

“I see intercountry adoptions continuing to decrease,” she says, “and Holt will always have work to do because there will always be need. There will always be sadness. There will always be people needing education or housing or resources, and that was the Holts’ initial commitment. In addition to helping orphans, they were wanting to help the places where they were working.”

All along, Kristine’s goal and the goal of others working in adoption has been to work themselves out of a job.  “That’s the goal in a dream world. We don’t have any more children in need of intercountry adoption,” she says.

Until that day comes, Kristine will continue her lifelong commitment to helping children, adoptees and families thrive.  

When asked what’s most memorable from her remarkable life and work, she has a very simple answer. “The children are the most memorable,” she says. “That goes without saying — the children who have touched me.”