Fostering Change

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Jodi Grinwald, Founder & Change Agent, Today is the Day, LLC,CEO & Co-Founder, Zzak G. Applaud Our Kids Foundation. Jodi has over 17 years of experience as a not-for-profit (for-impact) organization expert and has won several benchmark awards. After working in leadership positions for two national not-for-profit (for-impact)...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Jen Lilley. In 2007, Lilley married Jason Wayne. In 2016, Lilley and her husband became foster parents through the organization, Childhelp. In June 2019, Lilley and Wayne adopted their two foster sons and in July 2019, she gave birth to a daughter. And just 2 months ago in May, she gave birth to another daughter! A star on both the s...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Mindy Henderson, author, editor, speaker, advocate. Henderson is the author of THE TRUTH ABOUT THINGS THAT SUCK , A Motivational Speaker, Writer, Coach, Host of The Truth About Things That Suck podcast, guest contributor of “Morning Motivations” on CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin” lifestyle morning show and was recently named an “Austin...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Shenandoah Chefalo,Owner/President of Chefalo Consulting: Trauma-Informed Specialist. Shebabdoah is a former foster kid, Author of Garbage Bag Suitcase: A Memoir and owner of Chefalo Consulting. They talk about Looking at the whole person and whole system transformation to create systems of healing.  Story Key Notes: 🖐️ Understa...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with York Bradshaw, Ph. D. President, Urban Hunger Project , Inc. York Bradshaw had a long career at several universities, where he served as Professor of Sociology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. His academic work focused on improving education and health in cities in both the U.S. and Africa. More recently, he served as an...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Susan Silverman, a rabbi, writer and activist. She is the author of Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful , Broken World (Da Capo Press) a memoir that weaves the story of her family, formed through birth and adoption, with Jewish theology and ritual. Susan is the founding director of Second Nurture : Every Child Deserves a F...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Marcy Bursac, Adoptive Mom, Author, Podcast Host, and App Designer. Foster care adoption was Marcy's Plan A. She and her husband adopted a biological sibling pair. While remote schooling her children during the pandemic, Marcy began to see a gap between adults with a desire to adopt and the 115,000 adoptable children within the Unite...

In this week's episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks with Nancy Molenda, Executive Director, Mattel Children's Foundation and Mattel Corporate Philanthropy, and Brittany Cruickshank, Senior Specialist, Mattel Children's Foundation and Mattel Corporate Philanthropy. Everyone at Comfort Cases is thrilled with our new partnership with Mattel. They have kindly donated many hundreds of stuffy's...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Kate Trambitskaya, Chief Executive Officer, Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children. As Chief Executive Officer, Kate oversees the administration, programs, and strategic plan of Spence-Chapin. Kate began working at Spence-Chapin in 2012, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, General Counsel for the organization....

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Rita is a national non-profit public charity executive with extensive national experience in fundraising, grantmaking, strategic planning and organizational management and program growth. Children's social justice issues are always a focus while providing a...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Leigh Anne Tuohy, Foster Care advocate, Motivational Speaker, NY Times Best Selling author and Interior Designer. Leigh Anne is an interior designer by trade, but her heartbeat is advocating for children at risk of slipping through the cracks of society.  Leigh Anne and her husband Sean live in Memphis, TN. They are the proud pa...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Audra O’Neil. Audra is an author, widow, and mother of twin thirteen year-old boys. Her husband Chad died in November of 2105, five months after being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Being a reading and writing teacher and coach, Audra felt called to use the gift of writing to share her journey through the pitfalls and trials of you...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks with Richard Valenza. Richard is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Raise A Child Inc., the nationwide leader in the recruitment, retention and support of LGBTQ+ and all prospective parents interested in building loving families for children in foster care™. In its eleven-year history, RaiseAChild has served more than 35,000 pros...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Chris Simonsen , CEO at Orangewood Foundation. Chris spent many years of his career in various financial executive roles in the for-profit world.  Fifteen years ago, he made a significant “life decision” by accepting the CFO position at a small nonprofit in Orange County, CA called Orangewood Foundation.  This became one of...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks with Julie and David Bulitt. Julie and David have been married for more than 35 years and have four daughters, two of whom are biological, and two adopted, and three grandchildren. Together, Julie and David are the authors of the award-winning book, The 5 Core Conversations for Couples, relationship coaches and speakers.  Story Key...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Einat Nathan. Einat started a small, weekly magazine column in Israel based on the concept that the classic parenting method of being a “know-it-all expert” doesn’t resonate with children, and that while the parent-child relationship is not an equal relationship, it is a relationship where the value of equality should be present. Ein...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Anthony Trucks, Coach, Speaker, Author, Former NFL, CEO at Identity Shift. Anthony is an experienced president with a demonstrated history of working in the health wellness and fitness industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Athlete Development, Coaching, Sales, Football, and Event Management. Key Story Notes:&n...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Brittany Burcham . Brittany has been an emergency and respite foster parent for teens in Birmingham, AL, since 2019. Last year, she started a TikTok called @fostertheteens and has since gained almost a MILLION FOLLOWERS on TikTok and Instagram. It was one of her teen fosters that pushed her to create her TikTok account, fostertheteen...

In this week’s episode of Fostering Change Rob Scheer talks with Kate Somerville and Maggie Linn. Kate Somerville, a trailblazing brand in the world of prestige skincare, has been healing skin and transforming lives for over two decades. With these core values in mind, the brand announced a long-term partnership with Foster Nation , an organization empowering foster youth aging out of the sys...

Maggy Krell is a legal trailblazer who has taken on impactful cases as a criminal prosecutor and human rights lawyer. She was a prosecutor for 15 years, serving as Supervising Deputy Attorney General in California and cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. Her most notable accomplishments stem from her tireless efforts to combat human trafficking and protect and empower su...

Kristina Lowenstein is the co-founder and executive director of The Honeycomb Project. She was 13- years-old when she landed her first job making dip cones at an ice cream shop. After many more years, and a few more jobs, she shifted her focus to the nonprofit sector where she worked for organizations such as The Field Museum and 2016 Chicago Olympic Bid. Kristina studied Political Science as an u...

John Barlow John is a success story, from a Foster Care perspective. He spent a short period of time in Foster Care as a baby and was adopted by parents that provided an excellent life. He grew up in various states around the country and had incredible experiences from every location. He started his career in a sales capacity at a few different companies and then started VIDA Tequil...

Hearts of Gold, a nonprofit organization with a mission and purpose of supporting and empowering homeless single mothers in the New York area and mostly from a domestic violence background to reclaim their lives. Homeless mothers struggle every day to overcome the key elements that define poverty - limited access to education, social discrimination, and lack of participation in the decision-making...

A native of Tacoma, Washington, Jamerika Haynes-Lewis has more than ten years of experience as a journalist and advocate for children in foster care. While growing up in foster care, Jamerika was determined to have a different life than the one she experienced. She put herself through college earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Washington State University. As the owner of Clever Jam C...

Leslie Gang (maiden name Reis) was born and raised in Long Island New York, where she currently resides with her husband Jason and children Alexandra and Simon. She graduated from Boston University in 2007 with a double major in Communications (specialization in Public Relations) and Jewish Studies. Leslie has worked in the admissions and marketing field of the nonprofit sector for more than 14 ye...