Fostering Change

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer sits down with Dr. Liz DeBetta — an award-winning writer, educator, and solo performance artist whose work explores adoption, trauma, identity, and healing through storytelling. Dr. Liz is the founder of Migrating Toward Wholeness, a trauma-informed, arts-based healing framework, and the author of Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal. Her work centers...

This episode of Fostering Change was originally scheduled to air in March — but after recording, Rob Scheer felt the conversation was too important to wait. He personally requested that it be released early so listeners could hear it as soon as possible. Rob is joined by Rachel Bruno, a Nashville-based author, speaker, and advocate whose deeply personal experience with the child welfare system ign...

Nonprofits exist to serve people — not paperwork. But too often, outdated financial systems slow growth, strain leadership, and pull focus away from mission-driven work. This week on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer sits down with Stephen Garten, Founder & CEO of Charity Charge, a Public Benefit Corporation built exclusively to support the financial needs of nonprofit organizations. Stephen launch...

As Fostering Change continues through Season 7, this episode dives into an urgent but often unseen issue: menstrual and postpartum poverty, and how it impacts girls in foster care and communities around the world. Rob Scheer sits down with Yvonne Esipila Patron, Co-Founder and CEO of the PATESI Foundation, an organization working globally to ensure women and girls have the dignity, resources, and...

As Fostering Change continues into the new year, this episode tackles one of the most urgent issues facing child welfare today: the national shortage of foster parents and what it means for children who need safe, stable homes. Rob Scheer is joined by Kelsey Davis, National Director of Foster Parent Recruitment, and Stacy Brindley, National Treatment Director at StepStone Family & Youth Servic...

In this powerful episode, Rob Scheer sits down with Lindsay Lendyak, South Carolina State Director for Isaiah 117 House, to talk about one of the most overlooked moments in foster care: Removal Day. Instead of children waiting for hours in government offices, Isaiah 117 House creates a warm, home-like space where kids can exhale, eat a meal, change into clean clothes, and feel safe while caseworke...

As Fostering Change continues into the new year, this episode tackles one of the most urgent — and evolving — challenges facing young people today: staying safe, informed, and supported in a digital world. Rob Scheer is joined by Jenny Coleman, a nationally recognized expert in child welfare and abuse prevention, and a former foster parent whose work is grounded in both professional expertise and...

As we continue an exciting new year of Fostering Change, this episode centers on possibility — what happens when lived experience, research, and belief in young people come together to rewrite outcomes. This week, Rob Scheer is joined by Dr. (Candidate) Shanté Elliott, a learning scientist, social innovator, and founder of TasselTurn — an organization reimagining how children in foster care and st...

Happy New Year from all of us at Fostering Change! We hope you had a joyful holiday season filled with rest, connection, and moments that centered what matters most. As we step into 2026 together, we’re excited to continue bringing you meaningful conversations that uplift, educate, and inspire. Season 7 is already shaping up to be one of our most impactful yet — and we’re thrilled to kick off the...

As we close out an extraordinary year of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer welcomes Becky Santoro, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Foster Village Charlotte — a nonprofit reshaping foster care by focusing on the people raising and supporting children every day: foster, kinship, and birth families. A former educator and foster parent herself, Becky witnessed firsthand how overwhelmed and isolated ca...

As we head into Christmas week, Fostering Change brings you an extraordinary story of resilience, determination, and transformation. Rob Scheer is joined by Carolyn Aronson, founder and CEO of It’s A 10 Haircare — one of the most successful Latina-owned beauty brands in the world. Carolyn’s journey began in foster care, where she learned independence, grit, and perseverance at a young age. From th...

This week on Fostering Change, Rob welcomes a cherished friend and longtime champion of Comfort Cases — actress, producer, author, and foster care advocate Jen Lilley. While millions know Jen from her work in television and film, her most meaningful role has been off-camera: as a foster and adoptive mother deeply committed to supporting children and families in crisis. Jen recently served as emcee...

As we move deeper into the holiday season, Fostering Change continues to shine a light on the small acts of kindness that create powerful, lasting impact. This week, Rob Scheer sits down with his longtime friend Luke Mickelson, founder of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) — a nonprofit built on one simple mission: “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.” What started in 2012, when Luke built a single...

This week on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by Dionna Carter, founder of the Foster Teen Christmas Outreach, an initiative that began in 2019 and has now raised more than $1.3 million in gift cards for teens in foster care. As Dionna explains, “Teens are often forgotten during the holidays — everyone wants to buy toys for the little kids, but teens also want to feel included and seen.” Wha...

As we close out National Adoption Awareness Month, Fostering Change honors the advocates, parents, and changemakers who work to ensure every child waiting in foster care finds a permanent, loving family. This week, host Rob Scheer welcomes back Marcy Bursac, nationally recognized adoption advocate, author, podcast host, and adoptive mom. After adopting siblings from foster care, Marcy founded The...

As Fostering Change continues our celebration of National Adoption Awareness Month, we’re highlighting the voices reshaping what adoption looks like in America—and making it more equitable, inclusive, and accessible for all families. This week, host Rob Scheer sits down with Becky Fawcett, founder of Helpusadopt.org, a national nonprofit adoption grant program helping thousands of families overcom...

This November, Fostering Change continues our special series for National Adoption Awareness Month, celebrating families formed through adoption and raising awareness about the unique needs of children in foster and kinship care. Throughout the month, we’re spotlighting extraordinary advocates, educators, and parents who are helping every child feel safe, seen, and supported. We also invite you to...

Welcome to the first episode of Fostering Change for National Adoption Awareness Month—a month dedicated to celebrating families formed through adoption and raising awareness of the thousands of children still waiting for their forever homes. As we move toward National Adoption Day on November 22, we’ll be sharing special conversations all month long. We also invite you to visit comfortcases.org t...

Advisory: This episode includes sensitive discussion about addiction, family estrangement, and emotional loss. This week on Fostering Change, host Rob Scheer welcomes back two dear friends — Julie and David Bulitt — for one of the most personal and moving conversations of the season. Rob and his husband Reece have known the Bulitts for many years, and their honesty, humor, and heart have made them...

⚠️ Advisory: This episode includes discussion of child abuse and family trauma. Welcome to this week’s episode of Fostering Change, where host Rob Scheer speaks with Susan Chesnutt — a family law attorney, child welfare advocate, and former foster youth based in Vero Beach, Florida. Susan’s journey is one of resilience and purpose. After growing up in the foster care system, she became a child abu...

CONTENT WARNING: ADULT/DISTURBING THEMES — ABUSE & VIOLENCE Welcome to this week’s episode of Fostering Change. Our host, Rob Scheer, sits down with an extraordinary guest — Baron Li, co-owner of Four Tiers Contracting and founder of the CKMD Army. Baron’s journey is one of unimaginable pain, resilience, and redemption. A former foster youth who endured 17 placements and severe childhood abuse...

This week on Fostering Change, host Rob Scheer welcomes Tracey Heisler, Executive Director of CASA of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties (CASA SHaW) in New Jersey. CASA—Court Appointed Special Advocates—ensures that children in the child welfare system have a voice in the courtroom and access to the support they need to thrive. With nearly two decades of leadership at CASA SHaW, Tracey share...

Welcome to a special Best of Edition of Fostering Change! Originally aired during National Foster Care Awareness Month, this powerful conversation is worth revisiting. In this episode, host Rob Scheer sits down with the incredible Charell Star—author, speaker, and foster care advocate. Many first discovered Charell through her moving feature in Humans of New York. Now she returns to share wisdom f...

Welcome to this week’s episode of Fostering Change, hosted by Rob Scheer. 💙 Today’s guest is Dr. Danisha Keating—author, speaker, and former foster youth whose journey from heartbreak to healing is nothing short of extraordinary. At just 16, CPS workers separated her from her eight siblings and handed her a trash bag with five minutes to pack her life. By 24, she became the guardian of her five y...

What started with one simple question—“What can I do with my old bras?”—turned into a global movement. 🌍 In this inspiring episode of Fostering Change, host Rob Scheer is joined by Dana Marlowe, founder of I Support the Girls and Accessibility Partners. Dana’s work provides dignity to marginalized women and youth through access to bras, new underwear, and menstrual hygiene products. Together, Dan...