Fostering Change

As we conclude our Best of Fostering Change series, we revisit one of our favorite conversations from Season 7 with Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer Pedro Andrade. Pedro is the creator and host of the HBO Max documentary series Somewhat Familiar, which follows his and his husband's journey to parenthood while exploring the many ways families are formed around the world. One episode of th...

With just two episodes remaining in our Best of Fostering Change series, we’re revisiting one of the most moving conversations from Season 7. Rob sits down with Lindsay Lendyak, South Carolina State Director for Isaiah 117 House, an organization transforming one of the most traumatic moments in a child’s life: the day they enter foster care. Rather than spending hours in a government office while...

Our Best of Fostering Change series continues with an inspiring conversation that reminds us of the life-changing power of education. Rob sits down with Shanté Elliott—a former foster youth, learning scientist, social entrepreneur, and founder of TasselTurn, an innovative organization helping foster and housing-insecure students graduate from high school and successfully transition into adulthood....

As August begins, our Best of Fostering Change series continues with one of Season 7’s most popular and heartfelt conversations. Rob welcomes back his good friend Peter Mutabazi—author, speaker, foster and adoptive father, and founder of Now I Am Known. Known to many as the “Foster Dad Flipper,” Peter has welcomed more than 40 children into his home and adopted three. In this powerful conversation...

As our Best of Fostering Change series continues, we're revisiting an important conversation about a topic that's too often overlooked—but can have a profound impact on girls experiencing foster care. Rob is joined by Yvonne Esipila Patron, Co-Founder and CEO of the PATESI Foundation, a global nonprofit working to end menstrual and postpartum poverty through education, access, and empowerment. Thi...

Our Best of Fostering Change series continues with an unforgettable conversation featuring Susan Chesnutt—a family law attorney, former child abuse investigator, and former foster youth whose life has come full circle through advocacy and service. Susan has experienced the child welfare system from nearly every perspective. Raised in foster care herself, she later investigated child abuse cases fo...

This week's Best of Fostering Change episode brings back one of our most powerful and personal conversations from Season 7. We look back to September, at Rob's powerful conversation with Dr. Danisha Keating—author, speaker, educator, and former foster youth whose remarkable journey is one of resilience, healing, and hope. At just 16 years old, Danisha was removed from her home, separated from her...

Throughout July and August, we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations from Season 7 as part of our Best of Fostering Change series. This week's featured episode originally aired during the 2025 holiday season and showcases an extraordinary story of resilience, determination, and reinvention. Carolyn Aronson, founder and CEO of It's A 10 Haircare, shares her remarkable journey from experi...

As we wrap up Season 7 of *Fostering Change*, we’re joined by Kym Renner, President and CEO of the RennerVation Foundation and a longtime leader in child welfare and public service. With more than 25 years of experience in Los Angeles County’s child welfare system, Kym brings a powerful perspective at the intersection of public policy, foster care, and community-based support. Alongside her brothe...

Last week, we celebrated Father's Day with a special conversation between Rob and his son, Tristan. This week, we're continuing that theme with a powerful discussion about what it means to show up for young people who need someone in their corner. Rob is joined by Corey McKinney, a speaker, mentor, author, and former foster parent whose life has been dedicated to helping young people navigate some...

As Father's Day approaches, this week's episode of Fostering Change is one of our most personal conversations yet. For years, listeners have heard Rob Scheer share his family's story through the lens of a former foster youth, adoptive father, advocate, and founder of Comfort Cases. This week, he sits down with his youngest son, Tristan, for an honest and heartfelt conversation about family, foster...

Who gets to tell the story of adoption? For generations, adoption narratives have often been shaped by agencies, systems, and families. But increasingly, adoptees themselves are taking ownership of those stories and offering perspectives that are more complex, nuanced, and deeply personal. This week on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by acclaimed author, educator, and activist Shannon Gibne...

What happens to a child when they grow up in foster care… and no one ever comes for them? Not when they’re five. Not when they’re ten. Not even when they’re fifteen. This week on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Jennifer Pinder, Executive Director of You Gotta Believe!, an organization that has spent the last 30 years proving that it is never too late for a young person in foster care to...

As National Foster Care Awareness Month comes to a close, this episode of Fostering Change focuses on something deeply important: what happens when organizations stop working in silos and start working together for young people. This week, Rob Scheer is joined by two Los Angeles-based leaders making a meaningful impact in the lives of youth connected to foster care: Beth Ryan, Executive Director &...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Christie Werts, a former foster youth, Army veteran, author, and adoptive mother whose life has come full circle through foster care. Christie shares her journey in her book, Life’s Sad Story, God’s Love Story, tracing a path from childhood trauma and separation to healing, compassion, and building a family of her own. This is an especia...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by David Sussillo, a neuroscientist, author, and former youth who experienced a childhood marked by instability, poverty, and time in group homes. His story begins in environments many children in foster care and group settings know all too well — uncertainty, trauma, and systems that don’t always provide the support they should. But his st...

This episode kicks off National Foster Care Awareness Month — a time not just to reflect, but to act. On today’s Fostering Change, Rob Scheer welcomes back Laura, The Foster Parent Partner, a therapeutic foster parent, mentor, and now author of First-Time Fostering, releasing May 12. This conversation focuses on a question many people ask, but far fewer answer: what does it actually take to become...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Jennifer Griffith, author of Both Sides of Then: Finding Love After Abandonment and host of the About Your Mother podcast. This conversation centers on a deeply personal and universal question: how much of who we become is shaped by the relationship we have—or don’t have—with our mother? Jennifer’s memoir explores abandonment, generation...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer welcomes back Jodi Grinwald, founder of Today is the Day, co-founder of Applaud Our Kids Foundation, and author of the new book Today is the Day: LIVE IT!. Jodi is a returning guest to the podcast, and we’re excited to continue this important conversation around opportunity, connection, and impact. Jodi’s work is grounded in a simple but powerful ide...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Katy Encalade, President and CEO of Egg Donor & Surrogate Solutions, who has spent more than two decades helping to create and support families. Katy brings a unique and deeply personal perspective to this conversation. She has been a foster parent, an egg donor, and a surrogate — offering a rare view across multiple paths of support...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Mordy Kurtz of The Boxery, a company that demonstrates how even behind-the-scenes business operations can play a meaningful role in supporting children in foster care. At Comfort Cases, partnerships are essential. The Boxery has been a valued partner, providing boxes and shipping materials that help deliver Comfort Cases to children acro...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by leaders and advocates working directly with young people transitioning out of foster care: Sarah Baumgartner of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Brian Robinson of Kids’ Voice of Indiana, and Princess Martinez Casanova, a foster youth leader and member of the Youth Impact Board at Kids’ Voice. For Comfort Cases, partnerships have always...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Karen Segal, founder of Photo Safe, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting what many children in foster care often miss: photographs and personal memories. For most families, childhood photos are a given. They capture milestones, friendships, and the small moments that help us understand who we are and where we come from. But for many child...

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by his friend, Pedro Andrade, an Emmy Award–winning journalist, producer, and global storyteller whose work explores identity, culture, and what it truly means to be a family. Pedro is the host and producer of the HBO Max documentary series Somewhat Familiar, which follows Pedro and his husband as they adopt a baby and travel the world expl...

On this episode of Fostering Change Podcast, Rob Scheer is joined by Temple Lentz — nonprofit CEO, local elected official, and debut novelist — for a thoughtful conversation about what happens when the systems designed to protect vulnerable families don’t always work the way they’re supposed to. Temple is the author of the novel Not Quite Home, which explores the cracks in America’s social service...