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Courageously Kind

@courageously.kind

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Liz & Maddie
💛 podcast - media that matters
🦁 follow to stay on the kind side of the internet

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Happy Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month!!! According to CDC, cleft lip with or without palate affects 1 in 1050 babies. This happens when the lip and/or palate doesn’t form completely in gestation. This can cause difficulty with eating, drinking, hearing, breathing, and speech. Throughout my journey I have had numerous surgeries and several speech therapy sessions to improve my ability to communicate and eat. But there was something I got later on in life that I didn’t know I needed… community! My first time ever interacting with others who were born with similar facial differences wasn’t until college. When I found them and started talking to them it was like meeting a family I didn’t know I had. I love my cleft and craniofacial family and the advocacy we continue to do for the community.

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happy Face Equality Week!🎉💛

been thinking a lot about all the effort that’s gone into making this face of mine!

from the doctors and nurses that have spent many hours in operating rooms!

to my parents who gave me these hazel eyes and thick (THICK) hair, thanks mom @jadams107 😉

I can’t help but feel grateful! And I can’t help but think of my favorite psalm🥰

if you’re struggling with self acceptance today, know you’re not alone 💛

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A little late in sharing this, but it’s such an important part of the journey we are on!!! So I wanted to make a post and reflect on what a powerful experience it was to attend the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association Annual Meeting in March.

It was a quick but brilliant trip and an inspiring few days, surrounded by so many people from across the cleft and craniofacial world;clinicians, surgeons, researchers, advocates, organisations and individuals all bringing their own experience, knowledge and heart to this work.

I felt truly welcomed. It was really like meeting extended family ❤️

And the response to the artwork was beautiful.

I was so proud to be able to take 12 portraits with me and share some of the stories behind these faces.

These portraits are not just drawings.

They are invitations. Invitations to pause. To look differently. To see the person, the story, the humanity, the beauty, the complexity, and the lived experience beyond the medical pathway.

I met so many incredible people doing powerful, compassionate, and deeply needed work in this space.

Conversations were had that I will carry with me for a long time.

And now, I am even more excited for what comes next.

This July and August, the 100 Cleft Portraits exhibition will be travelling across America, and I cannot wait to share even more of these beautiful faces and stories with communities across the country.

Each site will be creating something unique for them; exhibitions, galas, art workshops, educational opportunities, family events and ways for people to come together.

So, if you know your cleft team is involved, or you can see your city on the tour map, please reach out to them. Ask how you can support. Come along. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Come and say hello.

Let’s make this more than an exhibition.

Let’s make it a movement of art, creativity, lived experience, awareness and connection.

A chance to see cleft not only through the lens of surgery or treatment, but through the eyes of being human.

Because these faces matter.
These stories matter.
And the way we see difference matters too.

America, I cannot wait to bring this work to you.

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Connecting with friends & colleagues, and growing our network of those who care for and support the craniofacial community at the 2026 @americancleftpalate conference!

#cleft #cleftcare #craniofacial #craniofacialcare #plasticsurgery

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@ccakids is SO excited to be back interviewing at @americancleftpalate for the third year in a row with @aaliyah.booker, CCA’s Community Engagement Specialist!

Starting off the mini series with @liz.adams22 from @courageously.kind and @facescraniofacialassociation

Stay tuned for more interviews!

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It was amazing have Kindness Week Co-Founders Liz and Maddie Adams back on campus today! Thank you ladies for the legacy you’ve left and the impact you continue to make 💛

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As our 2025 Workshop Series comes to a close, we’re sending heartfelt thanks to our 6 incredible speakers who shared their experiences with honesty and vulnerability — helping create space for healing, confidence, and meaningful connection.

Our first 2:

✨ Liz & Maddie Adams — twin sisters and founders of Courageously Kind, who inspired young people with visibile differences & disabilities to lead with kindness and compassion.

✨ Vanessa Acero — licensed family therapist living with craniofacial differences, who shared practical mental health tools and insights to support both parents and children.

#ConnectMed #CommunitySupport #MentalWellness #VisibleDifferences #StrongerTogether

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The US tour dates and venues are confirmed 🇺🇸🖼️

The 100 Cleft Portraits US Tour presented by the ACPA is officially finalised....

This tour exists for anyone who was born with cleft and every parent and family raising a child who was born with a cleft.

Why this tour matters …

✅ Visibility & representation - positive, beautiful portraits that help people see themselves as whole humans (not a “before/after”).

✅ Education & awareness - for the cleft community and the wider world because you never truly know another person’s journey by looking at them.

✅ Connection & nervous system truth - cleft and the experiences attached to it can create trauma responses in the body naming that with care reduces isolation and helps those struggling to be seen.

We will be spreading these amazing messages and sharing these beautiful faces in these places ⬇️ this summer !!!

📍Philadelphia, PA
July 28-30, 2026

📍Salt Lake City, UT
August 1-2, 2026

📍Winston-Salem, NC
August 6-7, 2026

📍Atlanta, GA
August 8-9, 2026

📍Orlando, FL
August 12, 2026

📍Grand Rapids, MI
August 13-14, 2026

📍Indianapolis, IN
August 16, 2026

📍Chicago, IL
August 18, 2026

📍Madison, WI
August 20-21, 2026

📍Kansas City, MO
August 23 2026

📍Houston, TX
August 25-27, 2026

📍San Diego, CA
August 29, 2026

If you would like the full US Tour schedule, venues, dates and sponsorship information please
Comment “TOUR” and I’ll DM it to you automatically.

Thank for helping make this announcement post @courageously.kind
@groarkboysbbq @nashedpotato @emmirhodes

Be sure to follow us @100cleftportraits 🌟

Thank you to @smiletrain for being a national sponsor!!!

Let’s go!!!! 🙌🌟❤️

#cleft #cleftfamily #cleft100

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September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month! 🩵

Join FACES Communications Specialist Liz Adams as she celebrates this important month! A time to spread awareness, embrace differences, and advocate for acceptance of all of those with craniofacial differences. ✨

What are you accepting this Craniofacial Acceptance Month?

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Vibing into Craniofacial Awareness Month celebrating the things that make each of us one of a kind! Cheers to the things that make me… ME and the things that make you… YOU!

Let’s make some new friends! Comment where you live and what makes you uniquely YOU!!

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A former client of FACES will begin a career working for the organization that helped her gain access to the life-changing care she needed.

Elizabeth "Liz" Adams, a recent graduate, podcaster, and Face Equality advocate, is making a significant move. She is joining FACES as a Communications Specialist, bringing her unique perspective and personal experience to the team.

Liz was born with Goldenhar syndrome, a craniofacial condition that affected the growth and development of her face. She required almost 30 reconstructive surgeries for her condition.

FACES has provided financial assistance to Liz and her family, allowing them to travel to countless doctors' appointments and surgeries.

Liz is a recent graduate from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a degree in Multimedia Communication. She is the co-founder of Courageously Kind, a podcast and social media platform dedicated to inspiring courage and encouraging kindness. Courageously Kind has over 170,000 followers from around the world, a demonstration of Liz's ability to inspire and connect with others.

Through her work with FACES, Liz will work with the team to help families like hers get the care and comfort they need.

Liz's story is just one of the many that FACES has helped shape, and her new role with the organization is a testament to its mission and the impact it has had.

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We heard you were looking for people who get it. So hey 👋🏻— here we are!

#cleftstrong #cleftproud #differentisbeautiful #cleft #cleftlip #cleftpalate #cleftlipandpalate

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