Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth, advocate and attorney Glenda Wright.Glenda recently graduated from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, where she received her Juris Doctorate in May 2022. Glenda has also earned her Bachelor of Science in Business with a minor in legal studies from Murray State University. While attending law school, Glenda participated in several extracurricular activities, including serving as senior editor of the Northern Kentucky Law Review and president of the Phi Alpha Delta: Hoffman Chapter. In August 2020, Glenda and her business partner, Tyler Hunter, launched Wright & Hunter Consulting, a firm focused on working with and strengthening all partners in the child welfare continuum. Glenda's passion for child welfare reform comes from her experiences living in the Kentucky foster care system. That passion has led to numerous policy and legislative changes, including two critical pieces of legislation that helped change the way foster care works for youth in Kentucky. For the past 10 years, Glenda has dedicated herself to improving the child welfare system so that other youth and families like hers don't have to experience what she and so many others do. In her "free time," Glenda loves giving back to her community in various ways and being surrounded by those who love her! 

TAY AmeriCorps Member
iFoster
Wright and Hunter Consulting

LinkedIn: glenda-wright-j-d-7781b4141/

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Jayne Amelia speaks with therapist Dr. Bruce Sogolow. Dr. Bruce has been a psychotherapist for nearly 40 years. He relates that “There was a kind of inevitability that led to my practice of specializing in ‘walking along side’ of families with children who suffered from attachment challenges.” 

His most valuable teachers along the way were children and parents whose trust in others was deeply wounded in their early lives: through a deep dive into non-violent communication, he discovered that their trust could be relationally developed through compassion, empathy, and curiosity. 

For over ten years in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Bruce served as executive director of RADical Healing, Inc.—“Healing Families, Training Professionals.” He is a specialist in treating families with foster/adoptive children with Reactive Attachment Disorder and is also a licensed Supervisor training new therapists—developing and offering workshops and CEU courses sorely needed in the therapeutic community.  

Dr. Bruce lives with his wife, Katherine—a writer and playwright—in California. He is available for consultations and  facilitates workshops for families and therapists.

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey
How To Know A Person: The Art Of Seeing Others Deeply And Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
The Anatomy Of Peace  by Emery Reves
Buck (film) by Cindi Meehl

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Jayne Amelia speaks with her friend and (very loving and proud) adoptive parent, Warren Press.Warren lives in Los Angeles with his wife Elizabeth Mestnik and their 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter. Their journey to parenthood was a tad unconventional and each child took longer to reach their home than the typical gestation period.  Warren and Elizabeth traveled to China to adopt their daughter while their 14-year-old son was born and adopted a little closer to home in Los Angeles.

Their family encompasses several ethnicities and cultures, all of which are enthusiastically celebrated. When not acting as an Uber driver for his children, Warren is helping corporate groups boost their morale as the Sales and Marketing VP for Feet First Events, a national team building events company.

AdoptUsKids.org
CCAI adoption services
CCAI parent training
Joyous Chinese Cultural Center
The Park Adoption Community Center
L.A.M.P.  Mentor Program
FEET FIRST Event Entertainment
Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio

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Jayne Amelia speaks with guardian ad litem and child advocate/attorney, Rachel Aliza Elovitz. Rachel  has worked as a family law attorney for more than 27 years.  In that capacity, she has represented fathers seeking to legitimate children (who were born out of wedlock), grandparents seeking visitation rights with grandchildren, third party relatives seeking custody of children who are being abused or neglected by their parents, parents hoping to protect their children from another parent's abuse - and parents who have been falsely accused of abuse in an effort to alienate them from the children who love them. 

Rachel also serves as a guardian ad litem and child advocate, roles she initially took on in 2001 and 2007, respectively.  As a GAL, her role is to be the eyes and ears of the Court and to make recommendations about what is in the child's best interest (in both custody and dependency cases).  As a child advocate, she represents children in abuse and neglect cases (children in the child welfare system). 

Rachel is also a trained mediator, arbitrator, and collaborative lawyer.  Over the course of her career, Rachel has mediated domestic relations cases (family law), domestic violence cases, dependency cases, and legal guardianship cases.  Rachel was a founding partner of Elovitz and O'Nan, LLC, and Elovitz, Edwards, O'Nan, & Buerlein, LLC, firms focused on family law in Atlanta, Georgia.  During the Covid Pandemic, Rachel decided to return to solo practice.   

Rachel is at her heart an educator.  Prior to practicing law, she taught children part time at various Jewish schools - one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and four in Georgia.  

Now 57, Rachel is still practicing law, but she enjoys spending time writing in the hope of sharing her knowledge and insights with others.  Her articles have been published in Family Lawyer Magazine, The Georgia Bar Journal, Jewish Women of Words, Divorce Magazine, The Atlanta Jewish Times, and The Jerusalem Post.

Rachel is also active in her community, serving on the Boards of the Atlanta Israel Coalition, the Atlanta Jewish Community Relations Counsel, and is part of Ahavath Achim Synagogue's chevra kadisha (“holy society”), a group of Jewish women who help care for and prepare the bodies of those who have died for burial. 

Rachel is active on social media, mostly Twitter, as "AmIsraelChai_", which is Hebrew for "Israel lives." She appreciates that her voice - by itself - has limited power, but she is part of a collective of people who are committed to doing whatever they can to dispel the lies that permeate the Web, to bust the myths to which people injudiciously cling, to call out those who engage in disinformation and propaganda, to report those who incite hate and violence, and to amplify voices of truth.  

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Jayne Amelia speaks with the powerhouse founder of Kids in The Spotlight, Tige Charity. In Tige's words:  As a visionary with a strong faith & a passion for serving others, I have devoted my career to empowering young people in foster care to address and overcome trauma through the power of storytelling. In 2009, I founded Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides year-round 10-week script-to-screen workshops to train youth in foster care to write, cast, & star in their own short films telling their stories their way. We provide an outlet & platform for these young people to be seen, heard, validated, celebrated, & employed.

I have a degree in Accounting from Oral Roberts University & an MBA in Nonprofit Management from American Jewish University. In addition, I have been a fellow in the prestigious City Scholars Fellowship Foundation's CEO Leadership Program since 2017 & a new member of the Women Presidents Organization. My board officers & I have also completed the Annenberg Alchemy for Black-led Organizations, the flagship Annenberg Alchemy, & the Alchemy+ nonprofit capacity building & leadership development programs.

Throughout my career, I have received recognition for my contributions to the community, including the Community Service Award from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles & the Ubuntu Award from The Africa Channel, inspired by the legacy of Nelson Mandela. I have also been honored alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by then Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich for our community service at the county's annual "All For The Love Of Kids" event. In addition, my work has been recognized by Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Mayor Eric Garcetti, & various government officials. I have also received several awards, including the David Lieber Leadership Award, the L.O.V.E Award, the Whispers from Children's Hearts Foundation Legacy Award, & the Vessels of Honor CODE of Honor Award.

KITS has been featured in prominent media outlets such as "The Kelly Clarkson Show," "NBC4 Live", "The Jim Jefferies Show," CBS "Entertainment Tonight" & "The Insider," KTLA Morning News, Telemundo, & Wireimage.com., L.A. Times, Hollywood Reporter, Golden Globes, Vibe Magazine, L.A. Sentinel, Pasadena Weekly, Celebrity Society Magazine, & others.

My mission is to offer hope, healing, and a sense of accomplishment to youth in foster care throughout the country. I am passionate about motivating, educating, and leading a team of change agents who understand the power of teamwork, community, and giving back. I share my insights and experiences in my book, "Not Your 9-to-5 Girl," available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Kids In The Spotlight
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Romi Lassally and Patrick McCabe,  co-founders of Ready To Succeedwhich has supported college bound students impacted by foster care or “scholars” (as they call them which is fantastic!) by helping them get into school, stay in school, and flourish after school with resources, relationships with passionate professionals, career coaching, and more.

From the Ready To Succeed website:
“In January 2016, two non-profit veterans, Romi Lassally and Patrick McCabe, saw the opportunity to transform outcomes with targeted support—to take the foster youth that were motivated, ambitious, and tenacious enough to make it to college and ensure they had the resources, relationships, and opportunities they needed to succeed there and in all facets of life. Romi and Pat believed that if every college student impacted by foster care had the kind of support they needed, when they needed it, they could be successful and have a shot at pursuing a future brighter than their past. Initially leveraging their own personal and professional networks, they began to close the opportunity and network gap their students faced.

Encouraging others to start opening their own networks as well, the RTS network began to grow exponentially, creating a deep bench of caring and connected professionals across all industries and at every level of the career ladder.

In January 2022, RTS expanded to include low-income first generation college students. Along with students impacted by foster care, these first-gen Scholars have unique access to a diverse group of thought leaders, innovators and passionate professionals who offer advice, opportunities and a community of support.”

Ready To Succeed

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Jayne Amelia speaks with artist and animator, and former foster youth Chrisie Morris.  Chrisie  is a junior at Cal State University Long Beach pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration for Pre-Production. She’s currently working as a Visual Development Artist at Mr. Clown’s Productions through the prestigious Television Academy Foundation Fall 2023 Internship Program. Additionally, Chrisie has completed two internships at DreamWorks Animation this year working as a Production Assistant on Gabby’s Dollhouse, Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight, and Curses. Chrisie is an active scholar in the foster-youth professional development program, Ready To Succeed, and also volunteers her time as an alumnus with Better Youth, a foster-youth media art training and mentorship program. Experienced in leading teams, managing collaborative projects, and producing creative ideas, Chrisie’s goal is to direct her own animated feature film one day. She hopes to continue creating art, working within the Entertainment Industry, and giving back to her community.

IG@chrisie.creation

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisie-morris/

Mr. Clown Productions:http://mrclown.tv
KTLA morning news with Chrisie and Ready To Succeed

Ready To Succeed
Better Youth

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Jayne Amelia speaks with single foster dad and entertainment producer Gavin Glynn.  Gavin and his then partner fostered to adopt a young boy, then Gavin went on to foster a  foursome sibling set when he was a single dad. In order to keep all the kids in the house, Gavin gave up his lucrative but very demanding career as a producer in the entertainment business and became an educator. He says raising his family, in spite of the many challenges,  is the most rewarding thing he has ever done and would do it all again.

Potluck Club"an all-volunteer nonprofit, was launched and incorporated in West Hollywood. It began in 1998 with a group of gay men who wanted to be parents... though none of them were yet. Today the group includes about 300 families who altogether have about 500 kids."
Extraordinary Familiesworks with many LGBTQ+ parents and kiddos in helping to find safe and nurturing families for all children in foster care.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with  foster alum Elizabeth Garcia Herrera. Liz and her sisters (America's story is Episode 16 of Season 3) were placed in foster care when their mother could no longer look after them. Liz was 17 and spent several confusing years struggling to get on her feet but she put herself through college and now works as a supervisor in child welfare.  She's married with two small children and her mom helps to care for them. 

Elizabeth is a Program Supervisor for the Healthy Families America Home Visitation program at SHIELDS for Families. Before being promoted to a Supervisor, Elizabeth was a Family Support Specialist (Home Visitor) with the Healthy Families America program for seven years. In her role as a Family Support Specialist, Elizabeth promoted healthy and secure attachments between parents and babies, delivering in-home services to families with children from in utero to five years of age. Elizabeth attained her Certified Lactation Educator (CLE) certification in 2021, and remains passionate about promoting a secure bond and attachment and healthy babies by promoting and educating families on breastfeeding. She is planning to pursue the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) certification. Elizabeth currently works with families in supporting a team of Family Support Specialists in a Program which its mission is to help prevent child abuse by educating and helping families in attaining the needed protective factors that prevent the involvement of Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and support families with these cases as well. 

Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelors in Social Work at California State Long Beach in 2014, and is married and a mother of two boys ages one and six years old (and continues to breastfeed her youngest). Elizabeth is also a passionate Christian and is involved in her church as a Greeter, Leader and student Coach. Elizabeth hosts weekly Women's Bible Study Groups and supports and encourages women to grow in their faith and receive healing and freedom following her church's vision to "bring God's freedom to this generation."

Families Uniting Families
Shields For Families

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alum America Gutierrez. America  is a passionate advocate for mental health, firmly guided by the belief that our voices are our most potent tools. With unwavering determination, she fearlessly shares her personal journey, notably her harrowing experiences within the foster care system. Through her advocacy efforts, she aims to illuminate critical conversations surrounding the welfare of youth who, like her, have faced profound challenges.

Born to Mexican immigrant parents, America inherited a spirit of resilience from her mother, who instilled in her the unwavering strength to overcome any setback that life might throw her way. Actively engaged with organizations, she provides her lived experiences to contribute to discussions on topics such as homelessness, foster care, and mental health.

Currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology, America aspires to offer deeper insights into the long-lasting effects of childhood trauma, with a primary goal of reforming the foster care system. She is a dreamer who relentlessly strives to achieve her goals, even when they appear insurmountable. Her hope is to serve as an inspiration to those who have been silenced, showing them that their voices can be a catalyst for change.

California Youth Connection
iFoster

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth and now child advocate Georgette Todd. Georgette is a speaker, author, and a foster care and child abuse prevention advocate. Georgette spent her teenage years bouncing around from home to home in the broken foster care system before she emancipated at age 18, with no safety net or anyone to depend on. Through sheer determination, Georgette went all the way with her education and graduated at the top of her class, serving as the commencement speaker at her college graduation. She is the first in her immediate family to get a college education and nationally, and represents the less than 4% of former foster youth who obtain a college degree. Georgette is the author of “Foster Girl, a Memoir.” She has worked in the social services field for over twelve years. Her personal stories and perspectives on foster care have been featured on NPR, CBS Radio, KPBS, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, and other media outlets. Georgette received her Master of Fine Arts in English, Creative Writing Nonfiction from Mills College, BA in journalism from CSU, Sacramento, and a Grant Writing Certificate from San Diego State University. She now lives close to the ocean in San Diego and is working on other book projects. The 10th Anniversary Edition of her debut book, "Foster Girl, a Memoir," will be available on October 1, 2023.

She is an advisory Board Director for Angels Nest, which supports the Toros Guardian Scholars, former foster youth as they complete their higher education at Cal State University Dominguez Hills.  She also works as an outreach coordinator for Connect Our Kids which creates innovative software that finds families and supportive networks for youth in foster care. 

To learn more, visit the author's official website at www.georgettetodd.com. If you are a child welfare professional or CASA interested in Connect Our Kids, you can email Georgette at georgette@connectourkids.org

Foster Girl - A Memoir
Angels Nest
Connect Our Kids

If you or someone you know is harming themselves, or thinking about harming themselves please please go to: crisistextline.org

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with child advocate and mentor Ron Jenkins. Ron is a former foster youth who along with his siblings was placed in foster care after his mother died of cancer when he was two years old. He bounced around in foster care for several years until he  was adopted by a friend of his mom, but that didn't turn out well for any of the kids in that home. His foster mother was a cruel and abusive drug dealer, and Ron was sexually abused but two women before he was in his teens. At the age of 13, Ron was thinking of taking his own life.  A stranger's good will and mentorship allowed Ron to see a way out. He was a talented athlete and focussing on football helped him heal too,  and he ended up playing football at Fresno State and studied to be a social worker, and then worked with youth in the juvenile justice system for the next 30 years.  By age 23, Ron had lost four brothers, three to violent deaths related to drugs and another murdered, but still has his sister who he calls "his world."  After two failed marriages, Ron got into therapy and worked through his childhood trauma and says he is now a better man because of that. He's now a football coach at Southwest College, and continues to be a youth advocate and volunteers helping kids get through trauma just like he suffered.

If you or someone you know is harming themselves, or thinking about harming themselves,  go to:crisistextline.org.
or call 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.

A great article about Ron is in his college newspaper is here.
And the Carissa Phelps and Ron Jenkins story in film is here.

Check out Wake Up the movie about what's happening to kids in foster care.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Dr. Lorry Leigh Belhumeur,  a renowned leader in the field of mental health and wellness, with over 30 years of experience serving children and their families. Dr. Lorry’s unwavering commitment to empowering young individuals and the adults who care for them, along with her exceptional leadership skills, has positioned her as a highly respected figure in the field. She's a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. from UCLA, author, speaker, trainer, and long-time CEO of a nonprofit where she's a driving force behind evidence-based strategies for toxic stress. Dr. Lorry is a subject matter expert on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and her innovative approach reexamines mental health in the context of childhood experiences and toxic stress. Dr. Lorry is a walking example of resilience, helping others master their mindset and build strength for the future. Her new book Mastering Resilience is just now out and she says: “You didn't choose your childhood, but you CAN heal the child that lived through it.”
If you or someone you know is harming themselves, or thinking about harming themselves,  go to:crisistextline.org.
or call 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.

Mastering Resilience Dr. Lorry's website
Mastering Resilience: Transforming Into Your Purposeby Dr. Lorry
Super Resilient Youth
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with advocate Paul L. Freese, Jr. Paul has worked as a public interest attorney for more than 25 years and provides consulting on holistic innovations and solutions to poverty, with special focus upon traumatized populations.   He specializes in strategic project development to achieve upstream early intervention impact.  He has devoted his career to humanizing our child welfare, health and corrections systems by applying emerging insights from neuroscience on trauma informed care promoting emerging evidence based best practices to integrate and apply such insights. His work is guided by the core principles that 1) poverty and homelessness stem from the corrosion of the ties that bind our families and communities with connective care, and 2) the most pernicious form of poverty is that which erodes our collective spirit vis-à-vis the growing empathy divide between those suffering oppressive conditions in our inner cities and detached rural areas from those living in privilege, protected and ever more gated communities.  Accordingly, he promotes ‘proximity projects’ that connect these worlds, with the specific goal of increasing the presence of caring protective adults in the lives of our most invisible and detached households and individuals through outreach, peer supports, mentoring engagements, community engagement and utilizing emerging technology to achieve this connectivity in care.

Paul’s career includes twenty-five years as a legal aid attorney developing programs to prevent and end homelessness and to protect and engage our most isolated and vulnerable youth – those experiencing homelessness, immigration distress, foster care and justice involved youth. Paul currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Law Center, whose attorneys represent youth in dependency proceedings;  the Advisory Board of Angel’s Nest TLP, a transformative opportunity housing nonprofit for former foster youth. Paul is also Board Chair of the Human Trafficking Legal Network (Foster Are Legal Network).

Simply Friends
Angel's Nest
Human Trafficking Legal Network
Adaptation To Life by George Valiant
Harvard Study on Happiness
The Good Life by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz
Change Reaction 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with creative and foster care alumni Jeremy Buchanan. Jeremy  was raised in Illinois, Georgia, and California. He moved around a lot as a kid and attended more elementary schools than he can even count. He was first placed in foster care as a young boy and then again as a teenager when he became a "runner" as he says. Not one of his many foster homes were good to him… or for him…but by sheer will and determination, and with good mentors he eventually found for himself, Jerremy  developed his talent as a rapper and a musician, and he’s now a filmmaker too. Out of Focus is the newest release from Jeremy aka  turnupwater, a rising hip-hop artist who is making waves in the rap indie scene. With a strong devotion to God and a lot of musical talent, turnupwater is growing in popularity and reaching more people everyday.

Jeremy is currently based in Los Angeles and is creating and promoting his music, but more than that, he's working on a whole movement based on his religious philosophy and approach to song creation. He is not just a singer and songwriter but also a creator of visual content and photographer with his own company focusing on this aspect of his talent. The newest release is a mixtape featuring Out of Focus, a fresh and funky track from producer Zion Williams and featuring old-school sounds with  a lot of meaning. Unlike many other hip-hop tracks that center on the material, turnupwater puts his faith front and center and makes it a huge part of his music’s message. With this, the song becomes more accessible and interesting to people who want to put their faith at the center of their lives as well and who are looking for music that celebrates this aspect rather than offers conflicting content, focusing on the material or the shallow. With a new proposition,turnupwateris likely to reach a lot of rap fans who want more meaning in their music and especially those who want spiritually strong tracks. Out of Focus is a freestyle track with a lot of ’90s, old-school-style vibes that make it a bit nostalgic and add an interesting and distinct style to the song.  The song and the artist have already drawn quite a bit of attention from hip-hop enthusiasts, as well as those looking for new spiritual music across different genres. 

turnupwater on Soundcloud
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Jayne Amelia speaks with Reverand Barbara Lane. Rev. Lane is the  author of "Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story."

Barbara is the ninth of eleven sisters, abandoned by their birth parents, who were all placed in St. Dominic’s Orphanage in St. Louis, then eventually separated into different homes and finally reunited 43 years later. Her book tells the powerful true story of her journey through the many years she spent trying to reconnect with her long-lost sisters and solve the intriguing mystery of her family of origin – all while surviving and eventually healing from the life-threatening abuse she and one of her sisters endured in the home of their  foster father: a mafia grunt. 

Rev. Lane integrates her life experiences of being a foster child, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, speaker, child advocate, educator, ministerial counselor, and author into her writing. By sharing her own personal journey, Barbara destigmatizes the fate of child abuse survivors, leading her to write "Broken Water." In addition to her 25-year service in private practice as a ministerial counselor, Barbara’s educational background in human development, social sciences, and family psychology with a focus on child abuse, inspires her to share her expertise on interrelated issues: the family, family separation, the foster care system, attachment and bonding, child maltreatment, relationship formation, the resilience of the human spirit, healing from trauma, and the power found in having faith in something greater than the self. When not writing, you will find Barbara enjoying nature, reading, swimming, playing sports, and people watching. She especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Barbara lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband, Jim, who remains her childhood sweetheart.

Learn more about Rev Lane and her work here: barbaralane.info
Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story

"I was three years old when I entered the orphanage.  Here is a picture of me with a sister's arm around me. I wasn't unhappy. I didn't miss my mother. I was surrounded by the love and nurturance of my sisters. But, as is the case with most abandoned children, we were eventually separated and placed into foster care.

I was traumatized by the separation from my sisters. I would carry that within my broken heart for forty-three years. Until...

'Broken Water' is a memoir that tells the true story of my journey to survive  child abuse in a foster home while seeking to reunite with my sisters. It invites the reader to journey with me through a miraculous reunion followed by a fifteen-year effort to learn my family's history and to write each sister's heart-wrenching story of abuse and abandonment. It shares our experiences while living in orphanages, foster care and adoptions. Sadly, the stories of children in the system today are hauntingly familiar.

'Broken Water' is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the strength of a bonded sisterhood, and the power found in having faith in miracles and something greater than the self."

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Charity Chandler-Cole. Charity is an author, scholar and activist and "... the CEO of CASA of Los Angeles, Court Appointed Special Advocates for youth impacted by the Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems. Born and raised in Los Angeles and having harshly endured its child welfare and juvenile justice systems, she has spent over a decade helping to influence and impact social structures, policies and systems that have negatively and disproportionately impacted and oppressed foster youth and vulnerable communities. Charity works passionately to address the issues and challenges plaguing our communities, women and youth and uses her powerful story of redemption and triumph to inspire people under the mantra, 'If Charity can do it, then so can I.' Charity believes strongly in changing the narrative and outcomes surrounding system impacted individuals and uses her many platforms to engage, educate, develop and empower people from all walks of life to be change agents, visionaries, and successful agents of society, regardless of their upbringing or past.
In addition to leading CASA of Los Angeles, Charity serves in several highly impactful positions, including her role as Commissioner with LA County Children & Families, where she is co-chair of its Racial Justice Committee; African American Advisory Board to District Attorney, George Gascon; and is currently pursuing her Doctorate’s Degree in Educational Leadership for Social Justice at her Alma mater, Loyola Marymount University. Charity is one of the original founding board members for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a non-profit that works to end mass incarceration in California, where she served the board for eight years, four of which as board chair. Charity was also one of the first people with lived experience to serve California’s Board of State and Community Corrections’, Juvenile Justice Standing Committee. Charity is a wife and mother to four beautiful children and was, until recently, a relative caregiver and legal guardian to her nephew for 12 years."

CharityChandlerCole.com
and her new book Stranger Danger 2023
IG@charity_chandlercole
CASAla.org

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Jayne Amelia speaks with award-winning musician and adoptee Mike Wiskar.Mike is a Leo-nominated composer, songwriter, independent music producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He was also adopted as a baby and raised in a caring home by a family who loved him very much. Even so, he longed to know his birth family and finally met his bio mom and his extended family only recently.

A graduate of the Music Program at MacEwan University as well as Langara's Digital Music Production Program, Mike began his music career in his teens as a singer/guitarist in rock, country, and jazz bands before working as a songwriter for various artists in Montreal, Quebec. While there he worked closely with Myles Goodwyn of legendary Canadian rock band April Wine, among other top-level songwriters and producers.  

Mike has since written and produced songs and music scores for projects as diverse as corporate branding, theatre, short films, full length and series documentaries, choirs, contemporary artists’ repertoires and numerous television series'. 

Recently, Mike has devoted his song writing skills to “Math Musicals” for Big Ideas Learning. A supplement to their public school math textbook, Math Musicals helps kids from kindergarten through grade five learn math through fun songs and engaging stories.

Go to  Mathmusicals.com to hear his terrific work.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with adoptive dad to one and foster dad to many Peter Mutabazi. "As a child I ran away from an abusive home and was helped by the kindness of strangers. As an adult I found myself in a position of being able to help foster children, so I began taking children into my home years ago to give back what was so freely given to me. It's my mission to give back as much as I can to the vulnerable among us. That's what drives his foundation Now I Am Known: to bring a message of hope to the hopeless---the same message I needed so badly to hear as a child. That is why we will be partnering with foster care agencies to give away a plush puppy with the message "Now I Am Known, Seen, and Heard" to at-risk children across the country."

"At age ten, Peter Mutabazi ran away from home. For five years he survived on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, a city of 1.5 million, until one man saw potential in him. This man not only supported Peter through school but forever altered Peter's outlook in every possible way. Since then, Peter's turnaround story has been remarkable. He served as a relief coordinator during the Rwandan genocide, worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross during the Sudan conflict, emigrated to the United States, fostered countless children, and became a single adoptive parent. He speaks seven languages and has traveled to more than one hundred countries as an international advocate for vulnerable children. In his new book, Now I Am Known, Peter reveals the transformational power of taking risks, learning to forgive, overcoming self-doubt, breaking negative patterns, and believing in a better future marked by optimism and purpose."

NowIamKnownFoundation.org
Now I Am Knownon YouTube
Now I Am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worthon Amazon

IG@Fosterdadflipper
TikTok@nowiamknown

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alumnus Steve Pemberton.Steve is a best selling author, philanthropist, businessman and acclaimed speaker. Steve's "story is about defying seemingly insurmountable odds to become a trail-blazing corporate executive, enlightened diversity leader, visionary youth advocate, and acclaimed speaker. His best-selling memoir,A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, A Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home , recounts his triumphant life journey and drive to become a man of resilience, determination and vision. Now an upcoming major motion picture, A Chance in the World further amplifies Steve’s highly motivational messages: Believe in your dreams, rise above obstacles, create opportunities for others, and most of all, persevere."

A Chance in the World (Young Readers Edition): An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home "This new youth adaption, written for 8 to 12 year-olds, shares Steve's journey with sensitivity, honesty, and hope. Adapted from the USA Today bestselling memoir, A Chance in the World."

A Chance In The World  the movie

The Lighthouse Effect "In this stirring follow-up to his memoir, Steve Pemberton gives practical encouragement for how you can be a 'human lighthouse' for others and through these inspiring stories will renew your hope for humanity."

Find about more about Steve and his work here: StevePemberton.io

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Dr. Noah Nash. Noah is a foster care alumnus from very early childhood, as well as an educator and creative web designer-developer who is amplifying stories, products and projects with people, for people — as he says. His portfolio includes work in international children's rights, emerging technologies, social impact and philanthropy. Noah's ethos is empowering more people to mindfully leverage technology en route to materializing the world we all wish to see. As a co-host of the Revolution of Care (ROC)  podcast (a media initiative of Peace4Kids.org a community organization which has served thousands of kids of youth in care in Los Angeles for the past 25 years), Noah broadens public perceptions of the foster care experience. Noah's joy for collective growth led to co-creating Garment Learning Studio in 2022, a digital membership for emerging fashion entrepreneurs to upskill and excel. As a longtime advocate, Noah deeply relishes relationship building to unearth new perspectives, reframe barriers, and strategically tackle challenges. His proudest accomplishments are being a loyal brother, a cool uncle and generous home cook. Oh and he loves animals!

Peace4kids.org
The Pointless Forest - a children's book honoring the foster care journey
Revolution Of Care Movement (ROCMove)
and the ROCMove  podcast
Extended Foster Care (California AB 12)

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Jacqueline Robles, a former foster youth, and a relentless determined powerhouse of a young woman who aged out of the system and made her own way... jumping through hoop after hoop with the hoops always changing and ever higher.

Identifying as both Indigenous and Latina, Jacqueline is set on a career to “level the playing field” for communities of color. Jacqueline’s expertise lies in community engagement, policy, and working with historically disadvantaged communities to make the world a better place. Jacqueline is now an Inclusive Economic Development Advisor at a national non-profit that supports local organizations focused on community and economic development with intentions to create more equitable cities. Prior to her current role, Jacqueline served as a project manager for a Los Angeles consulting firm focused on engaging communities with lived experience and proposing policies to build more affordable housing. In addition, Jacqueline has served on various boards and commissions, including the Youth Commission for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Lived Experience for Affordable Housing, and is a volunteer math tutor for inner city high schools. In addition, Jacqueline is a child welfare expert and often sought out by government agencies and organizations to provide her insights from personal and policy experience. When Jacqueline is not making cities more equitable, you can find her hanging with her German shepherd and husky, traveling to a new country, or hanging with friends. Jacqueline holds a Master of Public Policy degree from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from California State University Long Beach.

Please call 988 or text 741741 for help if you're in crisis. 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alumnus and abolitionist, Regina Louise.Regina is a sought-after speaker, teacher, coach, and author. Recently she was the recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award, given to producers for stories that “affirm the human spirit.” In 2019 she received the Jordan Award for service in transforming foster care through advocacy and the arts; the Community Service Award for Children and Families from the Seneca Foundation; and the NAIMC Vision Award for original programming that “reflects the lives, spirit, and contributions of people of color and represents the ethnic and cultural diversity of the viewing audience.” She is the author of the bestselling memoirs "Somebody’s Someone" and "Someone Has Led This Child to Believe". A Lifetime movie, "I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story," is based on her life and was nominated for a 2020 NAACP Award for Best Director.

Her new work is out now: "Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love" and "Hands On Heart A 60-Day Self-Love Guided Journal."

In 2011, wanting to honor a pledge she made to herself as a young foster child and to support her son who was struggling in college, Regina returned to college. She graduated summa cum laude from the California Institute of Integral Studies and then went on to the University of California, Riverside, to earn an MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts. 

Regina’s work in the theater was nominated for two NAACP Theater Awards. Currently a Hoffman Process teacher, she also leads workshops and has speaking engagements around the country. She is often featured in magazines and on news out- lets, including Good Morning America, PBS, BBC, NBC, CNN, NPR, HLN, and many others.

www.iamreginalouise.com
IG@therealreginalouise
FB@regina.louise.5

Books by Regina Louise:
Somebody's Someone: A Memoir
Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love
Someone Has Led This Child to Believe: A Memoir

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Jayne Amelia speaks with artist and foster sibling, Elle Fox.Elle, a high school student, has been sketching for as long as she can remember. Growing up in a family that fostered children, Elle draws on her experience of life, love, and loss while sharing her heart and home for a period of time with numerous babies and children. As an author, illustrator, and entrepreneur, Elle launched Elle Fox Art to showcase her illustrations and share the aspects of life that Inspire her. 

"Hello, I'm Elle Fox and I love to create! I first declared my passion for making art at the age of three, then at five I received my first sketchbook and decided to become an artist! Since then, I've been busy developing my skills in various mediums and cultivating my own artistic perspective. ​I was born in Buffalo, NY but moved to South Australia after preschool, where my experiences at the beach, markets, parks, and art classes inspired me to draw. I've always been ambitious, and with the influence of my grandmother and various other mentors, I decided early on that I would be an art teacher. When I was eight, my family relocated to the Philadelphia area and we welcomed the first of many foster children into our home the following year. The subject matter of many of my projects has been greatly influenced by the children that we've known and loved; they always seem to find their way into the meaning, story, or purpose of my art. Family is vitally important to me, and mine has enormously supported my creativity and allowed me to grow far more than I could have on my own.  Over the years, I have experimented greatly with how to share my work when I stumbled across an idea for a children's book that I couldn't let go to waste. Now, thanks to the goodness of God and the amazing people who've helped me along the way, I have been able to fully embrace this medium of storytelling."

ellefoxart.com
IG @ellefoxart
Meatball and Little Birdie available on Amazon and elsewhere.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth, Adisa.Adisa compares himself to a lion cub who had to fight for survival all his young life against the bigger badder lions all so hungry and looking to feed.  Born in Long Beach to a single mom who was declared unfit to raise her children, he grew up on the streets of Los Angeles. Adisa and his siblings were removed from her and placed in foster care. Adisa was only nine at the time (but already considered himself a "hoodlum" as he says) and was the protector of his youngest brother who was still in diapers. He became part of the foster care to prison pipeline and was incarcerated at 17 until freed at the age of 51.

He is now employed with Urban Alchemy in San Francisco’s Tenderloin cleaning up the streets and saving the lives of vulnerable people every night.

Urban Alchemy

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Jayne Amelia talks with therapist Dr. Mimi Savage.
In this episode Mimi describes her upbringing: "My parents are not who I am. My mother's a white woman, my father's a black man. I am born of the two of them, a melange, a mixture. But I had to find my way. And it's not just about race. As I say this to your listeners, everyone needs to find their way. And it's foster care, it's psychiatric units, it's the world, it's the women on skid row whom I've become very close to, many of those women. It's all of us finding our way.  We have to have empathy, but we have to be careful about owning other people's stories. So that's what I mean about I have my biases and to check myself to do my own work around that. I usually do it through some sort of art practice. And how is it that I can be of assistance to others? There was a point in my life, it was a difficult point in my life where things just were all falling apart. And I remember I made a promise to the gods that if I could get through this and I've never really shared this with anyone publicly that I really, please help me get through this. And my goal is to just be of service. And also trauma. Trauma from foster care, trauma from wherever the trauma comes from. When I was on skid row, everyone there had trauma. And I thought at first that I wasn't as connected to homeless folks, but it turns out I found out I had a lot in common with them. Really? Again, I wasn't conscious. So I think part of this is also becoming conscious. Becoming conscious and being authentic to oneself and how all of that is part of healing. Yeah, that's what I discovered on skid row that I was very much akin to all the women that I was working with there."

Myriam Savage, Ph.D., RDT/BCT is a registered drama therapist and board-certified trainer. Her alma maters include Lesley University, Cal State University LA, Princeton University and The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, NYC. She has developed drama and expressive therapy programs in acute inpatient units for children and adults for several years and facilitated neuro-diverse populations, homeless women, adolescents in residential rehabilitation and children in educational settings. Dr. Savage is a core faculty member of Counseling & EXA and founding faculty of  UCLArts and Healing Social Emotional Arts (SEA), a manualized professional development program that instructs on therapeutic uses of the expressive arts. She is founder/director of SoCal Drama Therapy Center, mentoring an international student body of professionals earning RDT credentials.

Serving as Education Chair for the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) (2019-2021), she devised the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative, coordinating NADTA outreach to HBCU’s in order to positively affect Black diaspora inclusion and education within drama/expressive therapies fields.

A recipient of a Drama Therapy Fund Professional Research Grant, her published work and conference presentations focus on adoption from foster care and intersections of identity using narrative inquiry and novel narrative arts-based digital media interventions.  

http://www.SoCalDramatherapycenter.com

LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mimi-savage-phd-rdt-bct-b0179931/

Credly:  https://www.youracclaim.com/badges/1771757

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth Jeremiah McWright. Jeremiah is from Sacramento, California. At 15, his four siblings and he were removed from their family and put into the system. After two years and 15 placements, Jeremiah was shipped to a low-level group home in San Francisco. He started his career at 17 in San Francisco as a cinematographer for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. He's since spent over 2000 hours behind the camera in situations of every kind; find his work here. Soon after moving, he joined the San Francisco chapter of California Youth Connection, a rather large (30 chapters in CA) non-for-profit responsible for the top foster care legislation in California. After graduating from San Diego State University, he moved to Los Angeles to work out of the Wolf of Wall Street's mansion. Now a recruiter for Amazon Prime Video, he's managed  - at the ripe age of 24 - proven himself to be a successful  statistic. To connect with Jeremiah regarding interviews, business, or general questions, reach him at jeremiahwm@protonmail.com. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahmcwright/

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster and adoptive mom, Jennifer Stern. Jennifer and her husband decided to become a foster family after realizing their dinner table was too quiet and knowing they had space in their home and hearts to welcome more children. They wanted to foster after learning how great the need is for foster families who can provide a safe and loving home for children in the system. They are grateful every day for their non-traditional path toward expanding  their family. Jennifer is a mom to two daughters; when she isn’t being a mom, wife, daughter, sister and friend, she enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, and watching reality tv.

​​Jennifer has spent almost  20  years working in roles to address the educational inequities in our K-12 education system. She is currently the CEO of a non-profit organization working to ensure all students have access to a great school.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Kendra Lukens.In her words:  “My name is Kendra, I spent my entire life going in and out of the foster system after the death of my father in 2012. This started a spiral of abusive homes, and losing hope in a lot of people. After recently aging out at 18, I started a podcast of my own, HEAR US YELL, where I’m able to bring more people together through a common factor of the foster system. I will also be going to college to study criminal justice and social work to go deeper into the system and help to fix the flaws.”

 Hear Us Yell podcast

Social Media Links:chttps://linkin.bio/kendralukens

@hearusyellpodcast

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Emi Nietfeld. Emi is the author of the memoir Acceptance,published by Penguin Press. A former foster youth, she graduated from Harvard in 2015 and worked as a software engineer at Google and Facebook. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vice, and Slate, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and noted in The Best American Essays. She lives in New York City with her family. Emi is now a full-time writer and speaker. 

https://linktr.ee/eminietfeld

Book link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692775/acceptance-by-emi-nietfeld/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eminietfeld

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eminietfeld/

Website: https://eminietfeld.com/

Newsletter sign up: bit.ly/eminewsletter

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Breyon Johnson. Breyon is a former foster youth and now a student at Santa Monica college studying to be a storyboard artist and writer. She’s currently working as an intern at Better Youth,  a nonprofit that helps youth who face adversity get their foot in the door in entertainment to work in film, video games and animation; and she's also working at Skydance. Breyon worked at other internships making films and creating content that can help former foster youth just like her. She’s also written a film called “System Failer” that won second place in the film festival that partnered with Kids in the Spotlight and Warner Brothers.

BetterYouth.org
Independent Living Program
Skydance Media

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Jayne Amelia talks with activist David Ambroz.David is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate, and author of a new memoir “A Place Called Home.”  He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member.

After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

davidambroz.com
A Place Called Home

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Jayne Amelia talks with Syd Stewart.Syd is a poet, actor and filmmaker, and the author of two books of poetry, A Rock and A Hard Place (iUniverse, 2010) and Babylon Graffiti (Zeitgeist Press, 2019). Syd was featured in films Hughes’ Dream Harlem and Everyday People, and has appeared in The New York Times, Variety, and People Magazine. Most recently, Stewart’s work was selected by the National Endowment For The Arts’ 50th Anniversary. Just recently, she was a staffed television writer on the dramedy series Johnson, that aired on Bounce TV and produced by Cedric The Entertainer. Notably, she was a 2020 BIPOC Justice For My Sister Fellow, 2019 Indie Memphis/Barry Jenkins Black Filmmaker Finalist, 2017 New York Stage and Film filmmaker fellow, Austin Film Festival Second Rounder and a 2016 semifinalist for Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Program. Syd's literary works are published in the following publications: Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora, African Voices, Zone, The Lasting Joy, America at the Millennium, Signifyin’ Harlem, and Under a Quicksilver Moon. Stewart is the founder of Better Youth, a nonprofit organization which uses mentoring and media arts to equip foster and community youth with creative confidence.

betteryouth.org
sydsteword.com
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @sydsteword

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Ångela Quijada Banks. Ångela is a former foster youth and  an NAACP Image Awards Nominee and American Award-winning author of the Black Foster Youth Handbook.  As a certified holistic health coach she supports women impact leaders to get re-energized for life and reconnected to their purpose, passions and personal relationships. She is the founder of Soulful Liberation, a movement to liberate oneself and also  the community. As a transformational speaker and artist, she has impacted thousands with a message to alchemize pain to purpose and power through holistic health and healing trauma with coaching, workshops, training, and programming. As a nationally recognized community leader and philanthropist, Ångela started the Soulful Liberation movement, impacting over 30,000 people to revolutionize historically oppressive systems through holistic health and healing trauma with coaching, workshops, training, and programming.

Learn more at
Angelaquijadabanks.com
Black Foster Youth Handbook

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Jayne Amelia speaks with filmmaker Akhim Dev. Dev has over 20 years of experience in broadcast television and digital content. His credits include writing and directing on "The 3G of US" for SBS, "Storm Surfers" for Firelight Productions, and "The Final Sacrifice" for Discovery and National Geographic. His new film "The Children In The Pictures" takes us inside Task Force Argos, a renowned Australian-based police investigative team, as they go undercover to rescue children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Since 2009, Task Force Argos have identified and rescued over 1100 children from their abusers. Dev says: “For those children in the pictures and the extraordinary police officers trying to rescue them, I knew this story had to be told.”

Learn more here: The Children In The Picturesand join the fight against online child sexual abuse. 

IG@Dev1
IG@TheChildrenInThePictures

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Jayne Amelia Larson speaks with adoptee and survivor Kimberly Bell. Kimberly is an inspirational speaker, minister, mentor, and the author of "The Epitome of Kimmy: Accept & Embrace It All” an eye-opening memoir depicting her true story of a life of abandonment, sexual and physical abuse from a very young age, and her healing journey that followed. She’s originally from Salisbury, Maryland, and holds two degrees; one in Human Growth & Development/Psychology and the other in Theology. She has served on the ministerial staff at St. James A.M.E. Zion Church and completed four years of conference studies. Through her book and talks, she shares her life story and personal experiences to inspire others to never give up hope while raising awareness of societal issues.

The Epitome of Kimmy: Accept and Embrace it All

Website:https://kimberlyannebell.com

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/kimberlyannebell

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21705865.Kimberly_Anne_Bell

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Jayne Amelia talks with Jeffrey Jamerson. Jeffrey has over 25 years of experience in the public sector serving at-risk youth and families in various capacities, most recently as the Vice President of Programs and Services at Aviva Family & Children’s Services in Los Angeles, CA. Over the past few years Jeff has created a shift in how therapy is conducted with foster children, he has integrated Narrative and Expressive Arts modalities with Digital Media Art, which he calls Expressive Remix Therapy. Jeffrey has a BS in Human Services from the University of Phoenix, a MA in Counseling Psychology from National University, and a PhD in Transformative Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

Expressive Remix

Aviva Children and Family Services

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Jayne Amelia talks with Sana Latrease Cotten, who was trafficked by her mother and grandmother as a young child, put in foster care and was then adopted but even so never really felt she belonged with her new family. Later, when she learned of her own mother's traumatic past, Sana learned how to forgive her and also to advocate for others in need.
 
"Sana is the Founder of Unashamed, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which fosters emotional health in disadvantaged families that have experienced incarceration, foster care, and teen pregnancy. Through various initiatives, Unashamed, Inc. is equipping families with the tools they need to dismantle unhealthy generational patterns, and transition from surviving to thriving.

At the tender age of 4, Sana and her twin brother were removed from the care of their drug-addicted mother and grandmother and put into the foster care system. Despite these early setbacks and emotional traumas in her life, Sana has emerged as a whole woman, unashamed of her past and boldly sharing her story. By the grace of God, Sana has impacted hundreds of women all over the United States by sharing her personal journey of denouncing shame and becoming healed and whole in Christ.

Sana has a passion for advocacy work and youth within the foster care system. She has worked alongside the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in the state of Connecticut in various roles including as a QPI Champion (Quality Parenting Initiative) and as a speaker and advocate for the Queen Esther Initiative, a faith based, foster care and adoption recruitment and support program designed to increase the number of licensed foster and adoptive families in the state of Connecticut. 

In 2020, Sana published “Everyone Will Know It Was God,” a memoir which chronicles her life story of early childhood molestation and sexual abuse, and growing up in the foster care system to become who she is today—a powerful, anointed, healed and whole woman of God.

Sana has been featured in numerous media outlets including Sheen Magazine, Voyage Dallas, the Moments of Joy podcast, Willie Moore Jr.’s Lunch Time Link Up, AOL.com, and CBNs the 700 Club. In 2019, Sana was named a 100 Women of Color by June Archer & Eleven28 Entertainment which recognizes the contributions of people of color in business, education, entrepreneurship, entertainment, government, service and the impact they have made on the lives of people throughout the State of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts communities.
 
Sana is the wife of Reverend Joshua E. Cotten and the mother of her two greatest gifts, Jamir and Janai. She currently resides in Middletown Connecticut."

UnashamedInc.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with Jordan Bartlett who was adopted at birth by a loving family. As a young college student, Jordan met his biological sister (for the very first time) who'd been placed in foster care, bounced from home to home, and had a very rough time. As a young businessman, he committed myself to helping kids in care as they age out, and he's a CASA too! 

Jordan is the Co-Founder and Director of Good at Doing Good Works, a certified B-Corporation that provides resources and opportunities for young people aging out of foster care. It is a business built on being kind, loving more, and doing good, proving that you can be profitable for shareholders and stakeholders at the same time. Jordan is an example for those that have been willing to give up traditional executive payouts to dedicate their lives to building businesses that support all levels of employees and the community around them.

Jordan is dedicated to supporting the world around him while leading a brand that supports the lives and livelihoods of its employees, just the same. When you do more good, love more, and guide with kindness as your compass, your business can truly be a force for meaningful, intentional transformation across communities.

Jordan Bartlett holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Rollins College.

DGW motto: "Be Kind. Love More. Do Good."

Twitter: jb_DGW
IG: jb_dgw
Website:dgwbranded.com

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster parent, Mary Rathbone. Mary, her husband Alan and their daughter Chloe started their foster care journey in 2017. Their very first placement was a sibling group of four, aged 6, 4, 3 and 1.  Mary admits that after a month she nearly had a nervous breakdown with the adjustments in lifestyle and mindset fostering requires. Having worked at top hotels in NYC and Chicago before spending ten years in technology in Seattle and seven years working overseas, she believes she could do all her previous jobs blindfolded easier than it has been to take on one, much less four, foster siblings. 

In the past five years Mary and Alan have been foster parents to ten different children, the sibling group of four being back with them now for the second time. Mary sees a deep need for changes to the foster care system to prevent good foster parents and case managers from throwing in the towel and, more importantly, sweeping changes in the biological family unit to stop kids from entering care in the first place.

And to find out more about fostering, adopting or supporting families
who want to adopt please check out:
Fostering Families Today
Raise A Child
ChildNet
All4Kids
AdoptTogether.org
AdoptUskids.org
KidSave.org

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Jayne Amelia Larson speaks with former foster youth and survivor, Lisa Marie Arnett.Lisa Marie endured 36 placements and horrific abuse from the age of 2 on until she aged out of foster care at 18. She was then homeless for 3 years but even so, she managed to put herself through college and then joined the Army. She's now a helicopter mechanic, and raising a beautiful young daughter and practicing 'gentle parenting' which she never had but has learned to practice to raise a happy healthy daughter. She has a background contributing to and collaborating with the work of non-profits, schools and philanthropies around foster care advocacy and awareness raising. Her experience includes technical inputs to programming and advocacy efforts; public speaking on topics of foster-care, homelessness and sexual violence: as well as implementation of social media awareness campaigns from design to execution. Lisa currently serves in the National Guard as a Non Commissioned Officer. She was recently highlighted in a video produced by the Army recognizing her for her foster care advocacy. She/her siblings experienced foster care and homelessness as a child and young person; she/her siblings are survivors of abuse and childhood sexual abuse and her sister is a survivor of sex trafficking. Lisa has critical insights into the experiences of children facing the risks of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking, understanding of processes and protocols within government systems that serve youth and youth victims, as well as identification of key limitations and opportunities from a crucial lens for this issue.

IG@misslispisa
TikTok@misslisapisa
linktr.ee/Misslisapisa

NEST Foundation
TogetherWeRise
DoGudCollective
Kids to Love
Atlantic Counter Trafficking (ACT)

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Jayne Amelia talks with Raquel Wilson,  a former foster youth and now advocate from Compton. Raquel is the the program manager for the Fostering Media Connections Youth Voice program, and has been an advocate for youth affected by the foster care system, juvenile justice system, homelessness, or coined “at-risk” and has dedicated over 10 years to empowering youth and helping them develop both personally and professionally. She holds a master’s degree in Grant Writing, Management, & Evaluations and recently earned an MBA in Nonprofit Management from Concordia University of Chicago. 

Raquel is in her 3rd year as the program manager for Fostering Media Connections Youth Voice program. She provides Youth Voice program participants the platform to empower themselves through written opportunities, where they share their experiences while in foster care. “My proudest accomplishment has been the ability to garner support so that with every opportunity that we offer any foster youth, it is now paid (i.e., written submissions, internships, program contributors, webinar panelist opportunities).” 

Raquel plans to use her experiences from being in the system to help connect and build relationships with other systems-experienced youth to encourage storytelling through journalism training, empowerment, and creative expression. Raquel also enjoys writing and performing spoken word, she loves to read, listen to music, and helping others grow their network.

IG@youthvoicefmc
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071009246096
https://linktr.ee/youthvoicefmc
imprintnews.org

The first few lines of Raquel's poem "The Skin I'm In": 

I remember I use to think my mama didnt love me 
Cause I was ugly
This a true story 
I use to think I wasnt good enough 
Like maybe I was too dark
Maybe I was too black ass fuck 
Like maybe I was pretty but not good enough to date
This a true story I remember I use think my momma use to hate 
Hate me cause I was ugly
I remember I cried in the 7th grade to her 
Like is it cause im dark skin I was almost sure
She loved me so much she lefted me in foster care 
No wonder why I grew up so insecure
The boys use to like me but they was not sure
They was embarrassed to date a dark skinned girl 
Youre pretty for a black girl 
What the hell does that mean?

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Jayne Amelia speaks with CASA Cathy Horan Walker. CASA Cathy Horan Walker is from Monterey, California. She promised herself she would become a CASA after her two sons graduated highschool and that’s what she did. Cathy believes it was her calling to become a CASA and her CASA kiddo Ryan Moses says she saved his life many times over. 

“I was a middle school math teacher for 26 years before I moved on to become a Financial Advisor 25 years ago. I have been married to my husband for 45 years and have three boys including Ryan. I met Ryan just after my first Casa child graduated from High School. We believe that a good education is a path that opens doors. All children deserve love and support and that is why I became a CASA.”

CASA of Monterey

@casamonterey 
@fiscalmoses 
@thedugudcollective 
@casamonterey

#CASA #fostercare #adopt #fostertoadopt #volunteersmatter

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth Ryan Moses.Ryan went into foster care when he was a small child and had 12 placements in 8 different school districts. At 10 he advocated for himself, called the Monterey CASA office and got himself a CASA who changed his life. But he still had to overcome massive challenges including substance abuse that almost took his life; he continues to advocate for himself, and now he does so for other foster youth as well. He’s the Founder and CEO of DoGud Clothing, a streetwear clothing brand that gives back to foster children. “We do this by giving back 10% of the proceeds to foster children through partnering with the organizations that had a huge impact on my life.”

Instagram: @fiscalmoses / @thedogudcollective

www.thedogudcollective.com

National CASA/GAL Association

#BecomeACASAVolunteer
#CourtAppointedSpecialAdvocates
#HelpFosterChildren
#HelpAFosterChild

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Allison Lieberman. Allison is a licensed marriage and family therapist, postpartum anxiety expert, mom of 2, and 2x postpartum anxiety survivor. Part of Allison's early training including treating foster kids at emergency shelters and crisis centers where many of the young women and men are very vulnerable to being sex trafficked, and she describes how that happens in this episode. Allison is the co-founder of Rooted in Harmony Counseling, a California-based group therapy practice dedicated to helping moms with anxiety, relationships, and parenting. She is the host of The New Mama Mentor® Podcast and creator of The New Mama Mentor® Signature Program. She is passionate about helping new moms overcome anxiety by developing confidence, shedding the mom guilt, and building a community. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-mama-mentor/id1615305496

www.instagram.com/thenewmamamentor 

www.instagram.com/rootedinharmonycounseling 

www.rihcounseling.com

www.rihcounseling.com/signature-program 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with CASA volunteer and book publisher, Rachel Malley. Rachel  started volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in 2019 when she learned about the power of best-interest advocacy for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. During that time she has worked with three wonderful children, and witnessed the ups and downs of Care and Protection cases. At the time of this writing, all the of the three children are in loving and supportive homes. In addition to her role as a CASA, for the last five years Rachel has worked with children’s book author Ty Allan Jackson to promote literacy and financial literacy around the country. Now a co-owner of the small but very impactful publishing company, Rachel is passionate about getting kids excited about reading through Ty’s fun, contemporary books featuring characters of color. Together, they collaborate with educators, non-profits, and cities to reach the children most impacted by illiteracy, and through this work are trying to end the associated cycles of poverty, poor health, and crime. Rachel lives in Western Massachusetts with her wonderful partner and their adorable four-year-old son. 

tyallanjackson.com
IG@ty_allan_jackson
TW@TyAllanJackson

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Jayne Amelia talks with adoptee Maria Harding. Maria was adopted at birth but always considered a problem child by her mother. Her parents split when she was little and when her mother remarried, she was adopted by her mom's new husband but things only got worse for Maria with her adoptive mother.  Her mother put her in foster care when she was 11 , and she was in and out of foster homes, group homes, and her mother's home for the next seven years. When Maria aged out at 18, she searched for her first father and his wife who she says "took in a troubled and traumatized kid and put her back together." 

From Maria : “Four score and seven years ago…. STOP!  WAIT… Nope, that’s not my story!  
I was born in ‘71 in Vermont.  Adopted at 3 days old… and that’s when it starts - my beginnings. 
Adopted by my parents… I moved to NY City, Governors Island  on day three of my life.  Quickly many things happened or became real issues 
One, born with a click hip… I had to wear a saddle to let my hips continue to develop. Who new, but I’ve been told this made for a very unhappy baby… I cried a lot due to thisTwo, as the story goes, my mother prophesied that I was nothing but a problem, and would be from that day forward
My parents divorced around kindergarten for me and that is when I started moving houses like many kids did due to divorce.  That’s not what was the difference.  
The difference was I was throne out of my mothers house for the first time around 5 years old because ‘I was a bad kid’.  Off to stay with my dad, that became the punishment for not meeting my mothers expectation. 
I grew up a little different that most from here forward.  11 came among and I then moved onto foster home because ‘I was a bad child’ per mothers opinion.  I bounced around homes and more homes until I aged out.  
The state realized that I was not a bad child and that the issue was my mother but by then I was almost 16/17.  
Graduation came and … the state was done overseeing my care!  No plans, tools, no nothing … Luckily I had additional family that helped and stepped in to help me become the adult that I am today.
Today I work for a National Builder, on the senior management team in the division, leading  a  department. … not bad for a ‘Bad Kid’.  
BAD by my mother was; dyslexic, can’t spell, didn’t make expected grades and apparently don’t know how to load a dishwasher.  All of these things I am ok with.

SO, if you see a punctuation error in this or spelling issues that are not quite right. I’m 100% ok with it … cause it’s me.”

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Jayne Amelia talks with Hank Fortener,the founder of AdoptTogether,  "who understands the burdensome blessing that is the adoption process". His family fostered 36 children and adopted 6 from 5 different countries while he was growing up. He knows firsthand how painful & euphoric adopting a child can be, and it is this experienced heart for adoption that drives AdoptTogether. In the past 10 years they've helped over 5,000 families raise over 30 million dollars to adopt children from 67 countries. 

And to find out more about adopting or supporting families
who want to adopt please check out:
AdoptTogether.org
AdoptUskids.org
KidSave.org

Baby Ball is October 15, 2022
World Adoption Day is November 9

"Adoption provides children a loving and supportive home, equipping them with the resources needed to overcome the challenges faced with foster care. Adopting at birth puts in place the support system that many children otherwise lack." - AdoptTogether.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with Megan Elizabeth Ward. Megan and her wife,  Amanda McMillan, started fostering in the Fall of 2017 as a kinship family via ICPC. Following a successful reunification, Amanda and Megan transitioned to a DFCS partnership home and haven’t looked back since. Fast forward almost 5 years and 40+ placements, Amanda and Megan have provided a loving home to kiddos of all ages, backgrounds, and needs – sometimes for just a few hours and sometimes for many years. They have been most dedicated to a sibling set of toddlers and a sibling set of teenagers that have been with them long-term and who will always fill their hearts – even when they no longer fill their home. Amanda and Megan believe in the importance of reunification and partnership parenting and build incredibly strong bonds with the biological families.   

The Region 5 Foster Care Community is incredibly important to Amanda and Megan and so they have recently joined forces with other local families to launch The Five Hive – a partnership initiative with DFCS. The Five Hive aims to establish a peer support network for foster families and a swarm of support for the entire Region 5 Foster Care community. Long-term, Amanda and Megan hope to not only impact the lives of the children in their care but also find ways to strengthen the Foster Care community throughout the state of Georgia.

"Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Megan fled the gator state to be a double-dawg, earning both her Bachelors and Masters in Public Relations from Grady College at the University of Georgia. A New Media Institute alumna herself, Megan has worked with the NMI since 2011 and has served in a variety of capacities. Currently, Megan serves as the Administrative Director of the NMI, overseeing all daily operations for the largest undergraduate certificate at UGA. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses for both the NMI and the Emerging Media Master’s concentration. As TEDxUGA licensee, Megan has served as mama to all things TED on the UGA campus since 2013. Megan leads all organization and curation efforts for the annual TEDxUGA event in March."

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
The Five Hive on Facebook
Want to learn about becoming a foster parent? - click here
National Foster Parent Association

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Jayne Amelia talks with Peace4kids.org Co-Founder and Executive Director Zaid Gayle.

During his tenure at Peace4Kids, Zaid has had the opportunity to blend his experience in the film industry as a Coordinator and Assistant Director to ensure that media is an integral part of improving the lives of foster youth. Most specifically, Zaid was the lead in designing and launching the Peapod Music & Arts Academy in 2008 at the Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club. The Peapod Music & Arts Academy was the vision of Black Eyed Peas band leader will.i.am and created a state of the art music studio and production facility for foster and at risk teens.

Zaid’s unique strategy of branding youth advocacy with media has yielded some very positive results. In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law AB12 which is landmark legislation that increased the legal age of foster care from 18 to 21 in the state of California. The passage of this landmark legislation was in part influenced by a campaign that Zaid developed with his youth advocates called “All I did was turn 18”. This campaign received national attention in the press and is also being featured in a local documentary which was co-produced by Peace4Kids youth.

Zaid and the youth advocates he has trained have been called on throughout the country and internationally to address the issues facing youth aging out of foster care. They have given testimony in Sacramento and met with federal law makers to inform legislation, all with the intent of educating the public on the unique culture of foster care and to improve services for a vulnerable population of nearly 400,000 foster youth in the United States. They have produced art poetry and written screenplays to give an authentic voice to the foster care journey for public awareness. To provide empirical data about the unique needs and culture of foster youth, Zaid has been instrumental in negotiating a youth led research project with Loyola Marymount University where youth, and alumni, impacted by the foster care system define the strengths inherent in their cultural experience. The project was piloted in 2010 and yielded some positive data and has been revised through an online platform that will further provide evidence of the unique strengths developed by youth in foster care.

Zaid has also received numerous awards and nominations for his work. In 2013 he was a finalist for the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. His most prestigious accomplishment was the receipt of the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders Award in 2008. Zaid was one of eight Community Health Leaders who received this honor nationwide out of over 700 nominees.

Peace4kids.org
Mitigating the Impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Peace4Kids Approach in the Post-Pandemic Era
Changing The Narrative 

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with Dave Hudson who was born in Watts and adopted at birth.Later as an adult, with the help pf Pam Slaton,  he met his biological father and siblings but unfortunately his mother had passed before he could find her.

David  is an Emmy® Award-winning creative executive with more than two decades of experience in creating content for both television and digital platforms. 

Hudson is Head of Original Programming for the new Scripps Networks (ION, Bounce, Laff, Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Grit, Defy TV, TrueReal, Newsy), which includes oversight and creation of movies, scripted series, limited series, and specials. Prior to his current role, Hudson served as Senior Vice President for TBS and TNT, developing and overseeing late night (CONAN), reality, and special event programming (Screen Actors Guild Awards®). He has also produced alternative programming and specials for the likes of HBO, FOX, Paramount Studios, NBC, and TLC.

Hudson is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston and The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management's Executive Leadership Development Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is credited with a Primetime Emmy® for Outstanding Variety Special and was named a Next Generation Leader by NAMIC in 2010.

Pam Slaton - investigative genealogist 

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Jayne Amelia talks with amazing, astounding and ever persistent Gay Courter.

Gay Courter is the author of 7 bestselling novels with over three million copies in print worldwide including The Midwife, The Midwife’s Advice, Code Ezra, River of Dreams, Flowers in the Blood, andThe Girl in the Box.  Her non-fiction works include The Beansprout BookandHow To Survive Your Husband’s Midlife Crisis, and I Speak for this Child: True Stories of a Child Advocate, which was nominated for a Pulitizer Priz for non-fiction.  She is also a distinguished travel writer.   www.gaycourter.com  

Gay has served as a volunteer in the Florida Guardian Ad Litem program since 1989 in which she acts as the court appointed advocate for neglected and abused children.  Her book about her experiences, I Speak For This Child: True Stories of a Child Advocate,brought national attention to the cause.  She has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Day One, NBC Weekend Edition, and in Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitorand other national publications as an expert on these issues and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  Gay has also received the Child Advocate of the Year award in Florida for her work as a Guardian Ad Litem, the Sharon Solomon Child Advocate Award from the Florida Center for Children and Youth, and special recognition from the Florida Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television, Inc. for her work on Where’s My Chance? The Case for Our Children, which also won an Emmy. Gay received her second Emmy from the National Academy of Arts and Television Sciences, Suncoast Chapter, for a series of public service announcements called Solutions for America’s Children.  She has been selected as one of the 10 most admired women in Citrus County twice—in the community service and arts categories.

In 2004, Gay, her husband, Philip, and daughter, Ashley, jointly won the Angels in Adoption from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and nominated by Congresswoman, Ginny Brown-Waite.  

Gay is married to her collaborator in documentary films, Philip Courter.  They have produced almost hundred films on child welfare topics and specialize in media about children’s issues and strengthening family.  Clients include National CASA, the National Council of Family and Juvenile Judges, the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children.  The Courters have two sons, Blake, a specialist in computer design development and engineer; and Joshua, an ethnographic filmmaker and builder/designer.  In 1998, they adopted Ashley, then age 12, who spent 9 years of her life in Florida’s foster care system in 14 different homes.  Ashley’s bestselling book about her experiences is called Three Little Words and is in development as a feature film.

Together the Courters continue to work professionally and personally so that other children will not be lost in the system like their daughter was.

For more information see
gaycourter.com
courterfilms.com

National CASA/GAL Association For Children

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Jayne Amelia talks with Nia Garcia.The smart and lovely Nia Garcia is a former foster youth who was abused by her drug addicted mother and stepfather who then threw out of her family home when she was only 13… she ended up living in shelters after several foster homes, then on the streets.  She self-harmed for many years and then got addicted to meth to try to numb her pain, but with a lot of hard work and determination she’s now recovered and has made herself a new and happy life. She’s learned how to protect herself and really take care of herself, and now she takes care of her brothers too.

iFoster: Helping Kids In Foster Care Reach Their Full Potential
Child Protective Services
Child Welfare Information Gateway to report abuse

Nia Garcia: Is today the day? And if not today-when?"It's my experience that people are a lot more sympathetic if they can see you hurting, and for the millionth time in life I wish for measles or smallpox or some other easily understood disease just to make it easier on me and also on them. Sometimes there’s beauty in the tough words- it's all how you read them. We are all alone, trapped in these bodies and our own minds, and whatever company we have in this life is only fleeting and superficial. I know myself well enough to know that no one else can keep you awake or keep you from sleeping. I do my best thinking at night when everyone else is sleeping. No interruptions. No noise. I like the feeling of being awake when no one else is. Stars in the sky, stars on the ground. It's hard to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins. I feel the need to say something grand and poetic, but the only thing I come up with is “it's lovely.” Sorry is a waste time. You have to live your life like you’ll never be sorry. It’s easier just to do the right thing from the start so there’s nothing to apologize for. You deserve better. I can’t promise you I’ll stay around, not because I don’t want to. It’s hard to explain. I’m a fuckup. I’m broken, no one can fix it. I’ve tried. I’m still trying. I can’t love anyone because it’s not fair to anyone who loves me back. I’ll never hurt you, not like I want to hurt her. But I can’t promise you I won’t pick you apart, piece by piece, until you’re in a thousand pieces, just like me. You should know what you’re getting into before getting involved. Listen, I’m a freak. I’m a weirdo. I’m the troublemaker. I start fights. I let people down. Don’t make Nia mad, whatever you do. Oh, there she goes again, in one of her moods. Moody Nia. Angry Nia. Unpredictable Nia. Crazy Nia. But I’m not a complication of symptoms. Not a casualty of shitty parents and an even shittier chemical makeup. Not a problem. Not a diagnosis. Not an illness. Not something to be rescued. I’m a person. But I bring it up to let you know that this is the way I feel right now. Like Pluto and Jupiter are aligned with the earth and I’m floating. The future is uncertain, but that can be a good thing. I have this feeling, like I’m waiting for something. But I have no idea what. The thing is, there are good days and bad days. I feel most guilty saying they aren’t all bad. It’s okay to laugh, you know. The earth’s not going to split open. You’re not going to hell. Believe me. If there is a hell, I’ll be there ahead of you, and they’ll be too busy with me to even check you in." 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with CASA Debbie Dullabaun who has been of service to her community for close to 30 years.

In 1998 after the death of her six year old son, Dale Lee Dullabaun III, Debbie began to work in his memory with several non-profit organizations. Along with volunteering for many years with the American Red Cross and the San Fernando Valley Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART), in 2020 Debbie became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer representing the needs of youth in the Los Angeles child welfare system. Debbie has also been active in the Compassionate Friends grief support organization, serving as the founding chair  of its Diversity Commission, and as a member and president of TCF's Board of Directors. She is also a volunteer grief counselor with Our House, which provides grief support services in the Los Angeles area.

Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART)
Compassionate Friends
Our House

"No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers." - Ronald Reagan

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Jayne Amelia speaks with powerhouse foster care alumnus, performance artist, and founder of  Reel to Reel Global Youth Film Festival, Johna Rivers.

Johna Rivers is a 28 year old trailblazer. They are a foster care alumnus from WATTS who was abused, starved, neglected as a child and teenager but turned trauma into triumph.They are the co-founder for Real To Reel Global Youth Film Festival, a platform for young film makers to highlight issues plaguing their local or global communities. They're also an amazing performing artist performing live all over the place, and a CASA of Los Angeles board member.

BetterYouth
Reel To Reel Global Youth Film Festival
A Sense of Home
CASA of Los Angeles

IG: JohnaRivers 

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Dennis Rosenbaum  who was a school psychologist for 38 years and then became a CASA.

"I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I grew up in a middle-class Jewish household where the importance of education was emphasized. Yet, as a young person who came of age in the 50’s and 60’s, the racial disparity in opportunity available to some people and not others became uncomfortably apparent to me. The inclination for me to do something constructive to change that reality was fostered by the inspirational civil rights and political leaders of the time. My pursuit of higher education has taken me to Nashville, Tennessee; Oxford, Ohio; and to my home of the last 46 years—Los Angeles, California. I feel privileged as a CASA to be able to extend whatever knowledge and skills I possess on behalf of young people who have been neglected, abandoned and marginalized. The wonderful opportunities afforded me as an educator, primarily as a school psychologist, in a large urban school district has prepared me for the challenges in my current work. When I’m not engaged in volunteer work, I can be found enjoying the company of good friends and family or just shooting baskets at the local gym or neighborhood park."

JFK's Day of Affirmation speech in Cape Town: "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice. He sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance."

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Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth and LGBTQIA+ advocate Rob Rodriguez.

Rob Rodriguez is a proud gay, nonbinary, Latino, born and raised in New York City.  Currently residing in Los Angeles, they are now making social impact in the LGBTQIA+ community one movement at a time. They are a survivor of abuse and an inspiring success story of what it takes to survive the foster care system for seven years. They are the creative force behind and Director of Marketing & Social Responsibility of the  first LGBTQIA+ resource center in Burbank, CA as well as the first of its kind in the nationwide YMCA movement. They have been happily married for ten years to artist Blake Rodriguez and the proud parent of a rabbit named Chanel. They are currently working on their first book, Can’t Hit Rewind.

Burbank YMCA Social Impact Center

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Jayne Amelia speaks with the powerhouse Leslie Nolan who was trafficked at a young age after fleeing an abusive family; she eventually put her father in jail for his sexual abuse to prevent him from abusing others. 

"Leslie Nolan is the Design and Wellness Labs Associate Lab Leader at Karana Rising. She assists the Design and Wellness team in the execution of workshops, programs, and launches. She is a survivor of childhood, verbal, and emotional abuse, as well as sexual assault and a familial cult. She spent years of her early adulthood wandering aimlessly looking for a place of peace, and healing, and through God and his community she eventually found that. She spent years healing and growing a relationship with God, fellowship in the church, in therapy, with self-reflection and hard work. In recent years, she has pursued a Public Speaking career, and she has co-founded the Global Survivor Collaborative and partnered with various organizations to provide and participate in Human Trafficking awareness trainings and discussions. 

Leslie has managed various salons in Maryland, and is currently a partner at Crochet Braids and Weaves by Blessed and a H&R Manager/ Lead Stylist in the past of Essential Beauty Spa---the first natural hair salon to pioneer the natural hair movement servicing various local celebrities including OWN TV Star, Motivational Speaker & Author Iyanla Vanzant. She credits Jesus  her Lord & Savior for her success, believing that through him he guides her and helps her grow in the best possible way."

FAIR Girls
Free Tiffany Simpson
Global Center on Human Trafficking at Montclair State University 

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Jayne Amelia talks with Melanie Velasquez.

Melanie is a former foster youth from the San Fernando Valley who was abused by her own family at a very young age, and then as a young adult had the courage to put her father in prison. She’s a brave young lady with a terrible but ultimately triumphant story to tell. She's 24 years old now and living happily on her own.  She says:  “I love helping out others. My goal is to work with youth and help them become the person they want to become.  Another goal of mine is to go back to school and finish my degree in Child Development and also become an ASL interpreter so I can work in a field I love.”

Million kid.org
The Global Center on Human Trafficking
National Center for Missing & Exploited ChildrenHotline: 1.800.843.5678
National Hotline (Polaris) 1.888.373.7888 or Text "HELP" to 233733 (BEFREE):

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster mom and adoptive mom Deena Murray.

Deena serves as a consultant to Million Kids for Development, Events and assisting with Operations. She is the Director and Producer of VIP Events for RCDL Enterprises and is a Certified Meeting Professional.  Deena has provided foster parent services for four Southern California counties and has been a foster parent to over 25 youth. She, and her husband, ended up adopting twelve of the children they fostered. 

Deena has conducted research and provided outreach to support families and victims who have been exploited through sex trafficking, sextortion, social media exploitation and child pornography. She is well versed in the grooming and exploitation process involved in luring in children and teens. Deena’s primary area of research is staying current with the latest apps, video games and hook up sites used by teens and how they communicate with others.

Millionkids.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with crypto kid Daron Bennett.In this episode we discuss his journey from generational poverty to inspiring others. Daron is a foster care alumnus who grew up on the hard rough and tumble streets of Los Angeles. Violence, abuse, and neglect were ever present in his young life but he was determined to break free from the devastating cycle of trauma. At age 11, he taught himself how to read by going to the library and copying down words in the dictionary over and over and over until he understood them, learned how they were used, and how they were pronounced. He got into boxing and kickboxing as a youth and eventually traveled to Thailand to train and fight in Asia professionally. In his travels to Asia he developed a passion to learn new cultures and began visiting countries that had two things: a fight culture and good food.

He was raised in South Central Los Angeles during the early 90's. He then moved from South Central to Downtown, MacArthur Park, and then Echo Park.  he and his brother were exposed to various forms of abuse such as prostitution, gun violence, beatings, and starvation. His mother was addicted to drugs and had to go through a program in order to get her children back.  Despite being only a small child, Daron was aware of the wrongness of his situation and acted as a protector for his younger brother.  He also tried to be strong for his mother during this difficult time. She eventually quit cold turkey when the authorities told her they were taking away her kids.

Daron is now trying to use his story to help other people in similar situations and to try and end generational poverty. They were exposed to various forms of abuse such as prostitution, gun violence, beatings, and starvation. Despite being only a child, the speaker was aware of the wrongness of his situation and acted as a protector for his younger brother. He also tried to be strong for his mother during this difficult time.
As a young man, he joined the Army, trained and worked on Signals System and became a Signals Specialist.

Daron’s incredible story is an inspiration to many and serves as a reminder to never give up. Daron has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and has a background in building frameworks and systems for venture backed startups. He was previously a Growth Engineer and Strategist at Postmates, MusclePharm, and TMT. He entered the crypto space in 2015, and his passion for block chain technology and building eco systems led him to advocate its utilization for teaching financial literacy, and he is now dedicated to ending generational poverty. He is a mentor at Expert Dojo and Backstage Capital, and the CEO and  Co-Founder offantomGO*.

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alumnus Cody Renegar who is a hairstylist and fine artist, and author of the memoir "Changing the Stars" (2021).  We thank him for his frankness, courage, and generous spirit!

Here's what Jayne Amelia covers with Cody Renegar in this episode:

1. How did Cody overcome a horrific cycle of abuse and neglect to become a healed, caring, and strong man?

2. How did Cody's early experiences of compassion and resilience shape his present-day spirituality?

3. What was the transformative moment that enabled Cody to reconcile with his adoptive father after 15 years of estrangement?

 Cody Renegar is an incredibly positive and optimistic survivor of multigenerational trauma and abuse. He currently lives in California with his husband, Terry. He has a son, Levi, who, with his partner, Alaya, has given Cody three grandkids. Cody is the hairstylist of choice for many Hollywood entertainment industry celebrities and A-listers. Los Angeles is his main stage although he also maintains a large clientele in Washington, D.C., and Arkansas. He is a cosmetologist and master barber with twenty-five years of experience with unique cutting styles and techniques, who is a former cutting director for Aveda and Bumble & Bumble, Minneapolis. Cody began his career in 1996 in Arkansas. He moved to José Éber Salon on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills in 2004, where he had the honor of working alongside José on the main floor and in his own private barber shop, working with many high-profile clients. Cody has been featured in the documentary film Hollywood to Dollywood and the book Rainbow Relatives. A talented artist, Cody's paintings hang in private collections around the world.

His new book "Changing The Stars: A Memoir" is available now on Amazon :
 “A powerful true story about how a boy survived and then overcame his family’s multigenerational cycle of violence, neglect, and sexual abuse: Despite the odds against him, Cody Renegar grew up and became a loving father and husband, successful hairstylist, and respected artist. Fostered, abused, raised by a substance-abusing single mother, at six Cody and his four siblings were placed into the foster care system in Arkansas, leading to a series of placements in homes where he endured unspeakable abuse and neglect. Cody found solace in his bonds with his brothers and sisters and occasional kindnesses from caring adults, such as a neighbor who taught him to paint. When at seven he was adopted by an affluent couple, he hoped at last to receive the love and support of a nurturing mother and father. But his dreams and expectations were betrayed when his new father proved to be a violent disciplinarian. It would be eight years before his rescue by an attentive school nurse, and years more to heal the trauma. The silver lining for Cody was his own resilience and positive outlook. He never stopped reaching for a better life, and his optimistic, gregarious spirit was never silenced or stifled. Cody sees life as an adventure. He believes that we, not fate, are in charge of our destiny. If needed, we can change the stars in the sky.” 

Changing The Stars: A Memoir by Cody Renegar

codyrenegar.com

facebook.com/codyrenegarofficial

IG@hairbycody90210
IG@codyrenegarart

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BONUS BABIES producer Jake Eberle introduces this between seasons bonus episode which includes special moments from Season 1 with Teena Festa (#17), Howie Cohen (#21), and Venus Manuel with Lori Nelson (#5), as well as upcoming excerpts from Season 2 with Daron Bennett and Cody Renegar. Thanks for listening and we will be dropping new episodes soon. Please visit our websitebonusbabies.com if you'd like to make a tax-deductible charitable donation to support our work.

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This is the trailer for the BONUS BABIES  podcast. Jayne Amelia Larson interview kids, attorneys, social workers, caregivers and more, and tracks her experience learning about and navigating through the foster care system…not as someone who has a lived foster care experience… but through the unique lens of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (or CASA) volunteer––the eyes and ears of the court––whose job it is to seek out as much information as possible about the child to whom they’re assigned, the child’s case, and the child’s family.  The CASA acts as the child’s voice, and is her advocate, her voice, in court; and it is a volunteer position, this is what differentiates us everyone else in that child's care.  Los Angeles, where she is recording, has 35,000 kids in the county foster care system, and only 1200 CASA volunteers. So do the math, there are not enough of them. We hope that hearing about these kids and from these kids will help give them a voice …to give them a forum to help others understand what it’s like to have a lived foster care experience by hearing the compelling stories of the children who have lived it. Original music by Christina Apostolopoulos. Yukon Haar is the audio producer.  Executive Producer is Jake Eberle.

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org to find out about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US, and CASALA.org in Los Angeles.

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We are so happy there are so many people listening (all over the world!) and can't wait to reach an even bigger audience this next season.  Please consider becoming a CASA or a foster parent or offering respite care or contributing to the many worthy organizations working with youth in foster care.

National CASA/GAL
California Youth Connection
National Foster Youth Institute
Peace4kids.org
Adopt a Foster Child in LA
Heart Gallery LA
KIDSAVE

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Angelo Melendez. When Angelo was orphaned at the age of 2, he was sent to live in foster care in an all boys group home. Luckily he soon went into the care of loving foster parents, Howie and Carol Cohen, who call him "the one" and wanted to adopt him.  Angelo spent several happy years with them in Beverly Hills until the court decided that he should be sent to live with his biological relatives, whom he didn't know, in the barrio in East LA with eight people living in a one-bedroom apartment. The adjustment was difficult, painful, and confusing. He calls his childhood a journey of riches to rags and rags to riches. But there’s more to the story.  "Art has always flowed through my veins… and I had dreams of becoming a comic book artist...from countless nights at the kitchen table sitting with my brother after dinner to my scribble scrambles in the classroom where I could never pay any attention to the school work. Eventually I found sanctuary in graffiti––coming from a world when I had little control or no recognition––the graffiti world was a chance to reinvent myself. While running the streets with my crew, I began to work the graffiti world in a logistical and thorough way, learning to manage multiple illegal art projects, and even coordinating the restocking of spray paint supplies…and I earned respect and recognition. Oddly enough, this is where I found my talent and passion to lead my team to success. Fast forward: I started in 2008 at one company as a temp laborer, and earned steady recognition for superior effort and performance, moving from operator to supervisor roles. I was able to rise through the ranks by rising to the occasion. Fast forward to the Present: Working as a manager in seafood (microbiology) from around the world, managing and coordinating multiple departments for my company’s distribution center. Future: I am looking now on the near and far horizons for more in life and in search of more challenging endeavors."

Foster Care in CA
National Foster Parent Association
The Village Family Services
AdoptUSKids

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org
to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US
and CASALA.orgin Los Angeles.

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth and advocate Alexis Obinna.Alexis is one of the founders and a current member of the Los Angeles Reproductive Health Equity Project Youth Advisory Board.

During Alexis's time in California’s foster care system, volunteering at church was fun and better than staying at home. During college, Alexis was able to grow and learn more about support groups and organizations that are available to youth in foster care. Each year, Alexis helps run an annual event called “Independent City” where younger youth learn how to handle real-life situations. Alexis would like to keep learning and going to school in pursuit of a degree that will lead to helping foster children. Alexis’s main goal one day is to start a non-profit organization that helps with housing in Los Angeles County. Alexis has been volunteering and giving back to various communities since age eight. She started with helping her foster mom watch the daycare children, trash removal at her school, painting her school, planting community gardens, and so much more. In 2019 she graduated with her double associate's in sociology, and child development. She currently attends California State University Los Angeles, where she continues to fight and give back to various communities as a Social Work major. Alexis is a huge social and racial justice advocate and has fought for the rights of many people of color. She has collaborated with many nonprofits such as California Youth Connections, Los Angeles Reproductive Health Equity Program, the Department of Children and Family Services, Independent City, Youth-Led Participatory Action Plan research board, and so many more. She has been with CYC since 2014 and is honored to do great work to improve the child welfare system. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, roller skating, collecting crystals, visiting new places, and making art. She plans on working in a space that provides equitable resources and fair chances that she was denied. She wants to spread hope and positivity, and values working on herself to do so. Thank you for reading her bio and please ask her anything;  having had experienced the child welfare system for over sixteen years, she has many useful and resources.

California Youth Connection
National Foster Youth Institute
Los Angeles Reproductive Health
She Ready Foundation x Ready To Succeed
Foster Club
RHEP for Foster Youth
All That Glitters Isn't Gold - documentary by Alexis Obinna

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster parent, Howie Cohen.The LA Times dubbed him “A Real-Life Don Draper.” In an advertising career that spanned five decades, Howie Cohen wrote the immortal words for Alka Seltzer, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” and “Try it, you’ll like it” both in the Clio Hall of Fame. Howie got his start as the youngest copy trainee at Doyle Dane Bernbach where he literally learned to write copy on the famous VW Bug campaign. He then moved to Wells, Rich and Greene where he flourished under the tutelage of Mary Wells Lawrence, the most famous woman in advertising. As the agency’s creative director in LA, Howie made waves by blowing up the Jack In The Box clown, which quickly repositioned the fast food chain to adults. And at his own ad agency, Cohen/Johnson, Howie won the hearts of pet lovers with the catchy theme, “Petco, where the pets go.” Howie shared his personal story in his memoir titled, “I Can’t Believe I Lived The Whole Thing” which has a 5-Star rating on Amazon. But Howie and his beautiful wife, Carol, consider their greatest achievement their role as foster parents for youth in the dependency system. One of those kids, Angelo, they met and took into their home when he was orphaned at two and a half-years-old. They are still a constant in his life almost 30 years later. “There’s no greater satisfaction than knowing you made a real difference in someone’s life,” says Howie.

Foster Care in CA
National Foster Parent Association
The Village Family Services
AdoptUSKids
I Can't Believe I Lived The Whole Thing by Howie Cohen

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Jayne Amelia talks with a devoted and talented child therapist, Kylie. Kylie is a School Therapist working for a non-profit organization providing therapy to students ages 5-22 who live in the residences on campus, or come from homes in the nearby community. These are children who need additional support and aren't able to thrive in a general school environment due to many different reasons such as involvement in CPS, past trauma, violent behaviors, learning disabilities and more. Kylie first worked in Hollywood where she was booked live music shows and secured brand deals for celebrities. After four years in the entertainment business and looking for deeper meaning, she obtained a job working with foster children and CASAs which ignited a fire in her.  She knew this was her purpose––working with children. Her next position was as a Behavior Interventionist, providing in-home ABA therapy to children with Autism. While working at that, she realized that to reach her professional goals she would need to go to graduate school, and two years later received her Master’s in Social Work. During school, she interned at a NPS (non-public school) where she was able to connect with children from a variety of backgrounds. Her second year she spent interning as a Medical Social Worker in the cancer department at a hospital where she had the privilege of providing therapy to cancer patients, their families, friends and caregivers. It was very impactful and rewarding work. After graduate school, she immediately secured a job at a psychiatric facility where she worked with patients experiencing acute mental status that warranted an average 3-5 day stay;  most commonly had a desire to harm themselves, harm others, or were so severely disabled that they were unknowingly in grave danger. This was Kylie's last job before her current very fulfilling position as a School Therapist. Although she did a 180-degree career change, Kylie believes that all her early experiences have helped her in becoming the eclectic and authentic therapist she is today. 

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Jayne Amelia talks with producer, entrepreneur, and serial philanthropist, Peter Samuelson.Peter Samuelson is the  Co-Founder and President of First Star, and CEO of PhilmCo Media llc. Mr. Samuelson is a serial pro-social entrepreneur. In 1982 he co-founded the Starlight Children’s Foundation; by 1990 the positive psychological impact of Starlight seeded his next pro-social endeavor, Starbright World, co-founded with Steven Spielberg. 1999 saw the formation of First Star, 2005 EDAR Everyone Deserves a Roof, and 2013 saw him launch ASPIRE, the Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment. In the midst of all this Peter has produced 26 films and raised four children. Educated at Cambridge and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Peter resides in Los Angeles with his wife Saryl, and continues to fight every day for those less fortunate, chief among them America’s abused and neglected children.


STARLIGHT  Children's Foundation
STARBRIGHT World
FIRST STAR
FIRST STAR ACADEMIES
EDAR -Everyone Deserves A Roof
PHILCO Media
ASPIRE -The Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment

FOSTER BOYwith Mathew Modine, Louis Gossett Jr, Amy Brenneman, and Shane Paul McGhie

FIXFOSTERCARE- sign the petition

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with foster parent and adoptive mother, Anita, who when she was  single and only 22-years-old welcomed an 11-year-old girl, Ashleigh, into her home thinking it was for short respite care, maybe a week or a month... and ended up caring for her for years and then adopting her. Anita says: "I would not have been able to do this if I didn't have the support system that I had with my family and friends, I've always been determined, I've always been very motivated, but again, I walked into this, not really realizing the full extent of what I was getting into and, but for my family and friends who were there to help and to, you know...It was an entire family raising this child. I wouldn't have been able to do it alone and also with the, the great social workers and the therapists who were also very much a part of it. It was like we had this huge network of people who were all in it together."

Her daughter Ashleigh Akari Nichols is also a Bonus Babies podcast guest and tells her story in episode 11.

To learn more about becoming a foster parent go to
National Foster Parent Association
Adoptuskids.org
Pennylane
The Village Family Services
Kidsave.org

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org
to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US
and CASALA.orgin Los Angeles.

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Jayne Amelia talks with Teena Festa who is a new CASA volunteer and also a former foster youth. After having a very difficult time in foster care, as well as struggling with mental health and addiction as a young adult, Teena persevered and decided to try and help people like her. On top of being a CASA, she is working on her psychology degree with a concentration on child and adolescent development, and plans to work with children in the system. Teena's experience and  history have provided her with unique insight about the struggles children in the system face. She wants to be the voice that she never had for children who don't have one now.

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Tamar, who is also a proud and happy young mother."I’m Tamar and a sophomore student at Orange Coast College. I am in the process of achieving an Associates degree for transfer in Political Science, Communications, Psychology, as well as Liberal Arts. I am an active member on my campus and am involved in programs such as Guardian Scholars, EOPS, CARE, the speech and debate team, and two honor societies. I am passionate about self-advocacy and social injustice activism, and use my voice to uplift others with my story. For me, success means being able to look back one day... as an elder woman... and reflecting on all the many people I've helped throughout my life."

Doing Good Works
Foster Nation
Fostering Media Connections
Guardian Scholars

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Jayne Amelia talks with Sid Gardner who co-parented four biological, step, and adoptive children during the past 50 years.Mr. Gardner is a Southern California native and serves as President of Children and Family Futures which he co-founded with his wife, Dr. Nancy Young. He served as Director of the Center for Collaboration for Children at California State University, Fullerton from 1991-2001. He is the author of Beyond Collaboration to Results, published by Arizona State University, which assesses the recent history of community collaboratives in the context of the growing move toward results-based accountability. His four-stage model of the developmental life cycle of collaboratives has been used extensively throughout the nation, along with a self-assessment instrument for collaboratives and a Collaborative Values Inventory designed to assess the degree of consensus on underlying values within a collaborative. Mr. Gardner´s book, Cities, Counties, Kids, and Families: the Essential Role of Local Government (2005), describes a model for developing strategic policy for children and family policy in local governments. 

Mr. Gardner has served as a staff member of the White House Domestic Council, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Director of the California Tomorrow Youth at Risk Project, Director of the Hartford Private Industry Council, and an elected member of the City Council in Hartford, Connecticut from 1977 to 1981. 

He graduated from Occidental College and was awarded a Master´s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University in 1965 and a Master´s degree in Religious Studies from Hartford Seminary in 1986; and has taught courses at seven universities. Mr. Gardner is a Vietnam veteran, and lives with his wife, Nancy Young, and two of their four children helping to raise their grandchildren. He is also the author of eight novels.

Children and Family Futures

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Jayne Amelia talks with the gracious and always growing, Megan Green, Founder/CEO of Motivate Vibe Grow and Crownworkshops all over the world. "Service isn’t one act of kindness," she says. "It has been a lifestyle for me.  I have been a leader and advocate for marginalized groups and people of color throughout my whole career. I have dedicated my life to serving others since my college days advocating for people suffering from homelessness in Philadelphia to now volunteering my hair care and styling services to the Skid Row homeless population in LA via My Friends House Foundation. In 2012, after experiencing a life changing mission trip to Chicago, I then led a service break trip to San Salvador, El Salvador with Project FIAT advocating for women, men and children via faith based missions with Villanova University. I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Villanova University and a Master's in Communication Management from the University of Southern California.  With my unique background working in the aerospace industry for seven years, facilitating dialogue around race and difference, designing corporate training, managing scholarship programs and becoming a hairstylist as a child to sustain myself,  I am now equipped to marry my creative and corporate world via a lifestyle brand, MVG Naturals and the newly launched Crownworkshop. I started making products as a child and in 2013 developed an avocado based product business that I began building in 2016. I have learned a lot as an entrepreneur and now I want to make more of an impact through a social enterprise. As a stylist, I’ve always focused on equipping my clients with knowledge and tools to ensure that they themselves were self-sustainable and not dependent on her services to feel confident. I also learned that this work is critical for young girls to flourish and thrive. Therefore, I am now ready to take my knowledge, work ethic, experiences, tools and resources global to make an impact."

MVG on Facebook
IG@motivatevibegrow
IG@crownworkshop
linktr.ee/mvgnaturals
USC feature on Megan Green

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Jayne Amelia talks with foster care alumnus Diane Martell who has talent and grit too. She's an experienced learning & organizational development consultant, is known for supporting clients in reimagining current processes, procedures and team talent, and maximizing performance as they develop plans for the future. With 30+ years working in both the profit and nonprofit sectors, Diane is a catalyst for well-organized change. She has led as a collaborative executive, responsible for the development and implementation of global strategies engaging front-line, management, executive and consumer stakeholders. In the nonprofit sector, Diane concentrates her support around youth centric organizations committed to uplifting our most vulnerable and promising. With the latter part of her teen years spent in the California foster care system, she aims to amplify organizations that scaffold and prepare future generations for unparalleled success.  From a strengths-based perspective, Diane supplements organizational bandwidth through strategic planning, organizational development, instructional design, team building and strengths-based coaching. The famous bit Jayne Amelia  mentions during Diane’s tenure at Coffee Bean references a drink she invented which became a bestseller–the Iced Blended Mocha.

Peace4kids.org
Diane Martell - landscape artist

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with the powerhouse Wendelyn Julien who served as CEO of CASA of Los Angeles from 2016-2021, and is now the Executive Director of the new Probation Oversight Commission at Los Angeles County. She is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in social justice work with a focus on improving our community for young people. Wende is a biological parent of three, adoptive parent of one, and has been a foster parent twice. She serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer and is about to embark on her third case. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona (BA/BS), Arizona State University (Masters of Public Administration) and USC (Juris Doctorate). She is originally from Flagstaff, Arizona and her parents are also both social justice advocates.

This is Wende’s mantra:

IN LAK’ECH

Tú eres mi otro yo.You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti,If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo.I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto,If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo.I love and respect myself.

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US, and CASALA.org in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Committee

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Ashleigh Nichols is a creative New York-based artist, web designer, developer, and illustrator living in Brooklyn with a penchant for all things creative. Ashleigh grew up in a suburban town just outside of D.C. and now calls Brooklyn home. She graduated from The New School with concentrations in Visual Arts and Writing and began coding in 2016. She has worked for large non-profits doing development, special events, and marketing.

She enjoys reading, volleyball, making things, and animation.

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Jaronna Yates. Jaronna has worked in the entertainment industry for the past 22 years, spanning across three major studios, and is currently the Sr. Project Director with Illumination Entertainment heading up the Global Project Management Team for their Marketing Division. From ages five to 13, Jaronna was raised in a Catholic orphanage and lived in several foster homes in Louisville, KY.  She was officially placed for adoption at age nine, eventually reuniting with her mother in her late teens. Jaronna has been an avid volunteer for organizations working with children and is on the Board of Directors with Peace4Kids, an organization that supports foster care youth in  Los Angeles. She is an active member of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist lay organization, as a Vice Women’s Division leader for her home District. Her goal is to run a thriving foundation benefitting charitable organizations that focus on the development and success of youth, especially those in foster care. Jaronna is a mother to her 23-year-old son whom she loves and adores.

Peace4kids
Illumination Entertainment
Soka Gakkai Buddhism

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Toni Cunningham. Anthony Cunningham, better known as Toni, is currently in his fourth year in the Recreation Tourism Management program at Cal State Northridge. Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles in the foster care system, Toni has overcome the many obstacles that have been placed is his path. Toni can be described as resilient, hard-working, and a ray of light. He's currently holding a Student Programs Assistant position with the University Student Union at CSUN and a counselor and planning committee position for the nonprofit Happy Trails for Kids, an organization that gives foster youth the opportunity to experience outdoor recreation and sleep away camp. Toni continues to use his talent and drive to make change, advocate for others, and serve the folks of his communities. Toni refuses to be a product of his circumstances and continues to work hard to become a household name.

Peace4kids
Teatime With Toniii
Happy Trails For Kids

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Vaughn Laws. "My name is Vaughn  and I wish I knew where I was headed, but this adventure that has been life left me a husk of who I used to be. I've come through a lot and managed to keep my wits about me and pretty much out of trouble. I am currently aspiring to be a graphic designer. I had more ambition when I was a teen since I thought I wasn’t going to be doing everything on my own. However, I learned life deals out its harshest lessons with zero bias regardless of age, gender or race, and that if you want to see success then you have to be prepared to climb the toughest mountain and cross the harshest deserts on your own. I haven't finished climbing yet but I’m not throwing away my climbing gear." Vaughn interned with Media Monks in Los Angeles and is now working with the National Foster Care Institute as an advocate and activist.


National Foster Care Institute
https://nfyi.org

Peace4kids
https://www.peace4kids.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with children's attorney Juan Valles. Juan was born in Downey, California, and grew up in Southeast Los Angeles County. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in linguistics, Juan spent several years working in higher education administration. In particular, he worked with undergraduates in advising, career planning, and student discipline. He later completed a Master's in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University before attending law school in New York City at Fordham University. While at Fordham, Juan discovered the intersection of foster care systems and the law. He was immediately drawn to the field and completed several fellowships and internships in the area of child welfare law; after graduating, Juan began working with the Children's Law Center of California (CLC) in 2010. After several years as a staff attorney, Juan is now a supervising attorney and a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist.  He’s also a monk with an Episcopalian Order of Monks, The Community of the Gospel, a non-residential monastic community formed under the Canons of the Episcopal Church of the United States.He and his husband, Raul, live with their two dogs and a cat in the City Terrace neighborhood, just east of Downtown Los Angeles.

Children's Law Center
Community of The Gospel 

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Today's guest is LaTanya Hill. "LT" is a writer with a background in law, education, government, and most recently became a Reiki Master and started  her own energy healing business in Los Angeles  – IMREIKINOW.  She has been a CASA for over 4 years and is still assisting her very first child in the program.

Please see imreikinow.com for more information about LT's healing work.

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org
to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US
and CASALA.orgin Los Angeles.

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with former foster youth Venus Manuel and her case worker Lori Nelson, a former social worker working in the LA County foster care system.Venus spent her adolescence and teen years bouncing from foster home to home, and credits one great social worker, Lori Nelson, with saving her life.  And Lori says they saved each other. Venus is now an Independent Living Coordinator with the Los Angeles County Probation Department working with foster youth and says, “I will continue to champion this cause by being a voice for those too afraid to speak and for those who are not being heard.”  And Lori continues to be a champion for kids of all ages.

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Jayne Amelia talks with Lori Nelson, former social worker working in the foster care system and now with the LA County Probation Department."Lori was born a crusader with a heart for lost pets, the kid bullies made fun of and the person to run to and run away with when things were scary and unsafe. Lori’s childhood experiences led her to work in the helping profession in various human services organizations bringing value to clients fostering lasting and positive relationships. Lori graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Sociology and also a Master's degree in Counseling and Education from California State University Dominguez Hills. She then worked as a Domestic Violence Specialist at a domestic violence shelter advocating for and encouraging women to become survivors from abusive relationships.  Lori went on to work as a social worker for a foster family agency in group homes for girls and then as a CSW with the Department of Children and Family Services where she first worked with a Permanent Placement caseload with children from birth to age 18, and then with Transitional Age Youth (TAY).  DCFS is where Lori met again and was assigned to work with Venus Manual, a bright, gifted teenage girl who Lori found to be genuine and honest with determination and perseverance rarely seen in some one so young.  Lori left DCFS but continued to work in human service management at El Nido Family Centers for pregnant and parenting teens and Penny Lane Centers for the Wraparound Program.  She later returned to Los Angeles County to work as a Program Analyst for the Los Angeles County Probation Department for PPQA, Permanency Placement and Quality Assurance; again, working with Transitional Age Youth. Venus was working as a Probation Officer with TAY when their paths crossed again at an event honoring TAY called Success Is Our Future, not as client and social worker, but as women, as friends, with a life-long special and unbreakable bond.  Lori says Venus is 'her baby' and Venus calls Lori 'Mama Lori'.   

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Jayne Amelia interviews former foster youth, Venus Manuel, a shining example of how nurture does not always triumph over nature. 

From an early childhood rampant with sexual and physical abuse followed by a string of nine foster care homes, the development of another disillusioned dysfunctional youth seemed tragically imminent.  However, the strength, passion and individuality inherent in Venus provided her with the abilities to not only rise above her beginnings, but stand as a true pillar of society.  After graduating from Palmdale High School in 1996, Venus was emancipated from foster care and rapidly found herself in a state of destitution. Quickly responding to her circumstances, she forged an opportunity with the US Air Force and served an eight-year commitment to her country as a combat photographer. Those eight years were incredibly fruitful. Venus Manuel accomplished what most people would not be able to do with twice the time. The main bulk of her energy was directed towards bettering the lives of transitional foster care youth.  As a motivational speaker requested by organizations such as the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare League of America and America Works, Venus has raised over half a million dollars specifically for disenfranchised youth, and continues to fight for the welfare of foster care youth.  At the same time, and carrying with her the platform “The Successful Transition of Foster Youth” at age 21, she began competing in and winning high profile beauty pageants.  Her titles include Miss High Desert 2000, Miss Central California 2001, Miss Los Angeles County 2002, Miss Black California 2003, and Miss Black United States 2004. Venus has also won the Miss America Interview and Community Service Award, and was chosen as one of Glamourmagazine’s “Top Ten College Women in America.” Venus has an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Antelope Valley College and a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from California State University Dominguez Hills where she graduated in the top 10% of her class and was nominated by her peers as Outstanding Graduate.  She has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Master’s degree in Counseling Education. She was also invited by the late director Penny Marshall and producer Kenadie Cobbin to be the opening act of their immensely popular Vagina Monologuesat the Wilshire Ebell Theater.  Venus is married with two children.  After the birth of her son she took up pole dancing as a hobby that turned into a 12-year passion of movement exploration, performing, teaching (women, men, and LGBTQ) and competing all over the world in Vertical Theater.  She is also an Independent Living Coordinator with the Los Angeles County Probation Department continuing her work with foster youth and says, “I will continue to champion this cause by being a voice for those too afraid to speak and for those who are not being heard.”

Venus Manuel - Pole Theatre USA 2017 Semi-Pro Pole Drama Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbXOn9c9s54

National Juvenile Justice Network
http://www.njjn.org/our-work/juvenile-justice-reform-advances-california?phpMyAdmin=14730ab3483c51c94ca868bccffa06ef

National Center Youth Law
https://youthlaw.org/publication/legislative-push-juvenile-justice-reform-california/

CA Division of Juvenile Justice
https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/juvenile-justice/ 

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Jayne Amelia introduces the BONUS BABIES podcast and talks with her first guest, foster parent and Peace4kids.org volunteer, Mrs. Dorrie Woods. After a rewarding career in education, Dorrie  retired to a life of family and volunteering with Center of Hope Youth Ministries, Miracle Workers, Carson Foster Parent Association, and Peace4Kids which offers a peaceful respite to children in the system and their families. She’s a Fun Ambassador at the Compton Adult School where one of the highlights was sparking and following through on a prom for intellectually delayed individuals who've never had one before, and she is a volunteer lead at Sister to Sister Purse Ministry providing purses jam packed with hand-written letters of encouragement and comfort items to homeless women.  Dorrie founded Travel For Me, creating personalized and fully escorted travel for adults with Downs Syndrome, Autism, and intellectual development disabilities to provide the experience of pleasure and joy of travel. In her role as a foster parent (to mostly special needs children and young adults) and assistant principal, she has supervised, escorted and loved thousands of kids. These experiences have given personal insight on how to foster special needs individuals who are often times marginalized, discredited, ignored and not valued as contributing members of society. Dorrie is a die-hard lover of chocolates, a good scrabble game, and great adventures. She and her husband have had the pleasure of raising 2 biological children, and fostering for 31 years with 26 Bonus Babies. They are currently fostering 2 stellar future leaders. 

faithfosterfamilies.org
Peace4kids.org
centerofhopechurch.org/minsitries
dcfs.lacounty.gov/caregivers/adoption
heartgalleryla.org
kidsave.org

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