The real influencers are those of you who dedicate your lives to the care of foster youth, but because we all need role models and sources of inspiration, we have compiled a list of people who have influenced the way the world views the foster care system and who just like you, have made it their lives work to look out for vulnerable children.
Lorraine Pascal
Lorraine is a UK-based chef and TV personality who first became famous by modeling on the cover of Elle Magazine. Since the beginning of her career she has been very vocal about what is like to be a difficult child in the foster care system. She was born in Jamaica and was adopted when she was 18 months old by a pair of white parents and has since become the founder of one of the largest baked goods retailers in the UK. She is also the patron for the largest foster and adoption charity in the UK.
Angela Tucker
Foster care guru, Angela Tucker is a filmmaker and advocate for transracial adoption. She has directed and starred in a number of acclaimed documentaries and web series including The Adopted Life and Closure. She was adopted at birth by two white parents. Angela not only has dedicated her life and career to give a voice to foster and adopted youth, but has become an active speaker on the rights and struggles of people of color in the foster care system.
Kristen and Nicole
This duo directed and starred in an award-winning docu-series in which they captured a queer couple’s journey to parenthood through the foster-to-adoption process which they titled The F Word. By partnering with a number of foster care organizations and interviewing other foster parents, they were able to capture the real-life experiences of those who, in one way or another, have become part of the foster care system. By documenting their lives and leading by example, they have become a voice for foster parents everywhere.
Tiffany Hadish
Tiffany started using comedy as a coping mechanism when she was first place in a group home for troubled youth. As a famous actress and comedian, she has never stopped pulling inspiration from her troubled childhood, and throughout her career she has made her experiences as a homeless person and a child of the foster care system subjects of her stand up. She has worked with charities for homeless people and has partnered with Living Advantage, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the welfare of foster youth. She has since started a campaign call Suitcase Drive for Foster Youth, where she collects suitcases in which foster youth can keep their belongings.
Heather Avis
As the author of The Lucky Few and Scoot Over and Make Some Room, Avis has become a voice of positivity for all those in the foster care system, but particularly those with special needs. Through her hit instagram account she shares the intersection of all things Down Syndrome and childcare related, and together with two of her closest friends, has founded and directed a podcast named after her first book. The podcast has served as an open and insightful conversation into everything parents go through, especially when it comes to parents of children who required more care and love than usual.
Dr. Charles Sophy
As a nationally recognized child mental health psychiatrist and expert, Dr. Sophy has made significant improvements in foster child care services since he became the medical director for the department of children and family services in LA. He’s also done psychiatric work with celebrities and has appeared on different TV shows to broaden people’s knowledge about child psychology and other mental health issues. His extensive medical experience with both adults and children has placed him as an important figure when it comes to the mental health of those in the foster care system and his practice and dedication have labeled him as an advocate for change.
Cassidy Mack
Starting her career as a child actress, Mack quickly began to use her platform to advocate for children, who just like her, grew up in the foster care system. With the proceeds of her acting, at the age of 14 she founded a non-profit organization called Love Gives Chances. Its purpose is to empower foster youth and to encourage people to adopt before children age out of the system. She is an outspoken advocate for adoption rights and has dedicated her life and career to charity work, specifically for youth in the system.
Conna Craig
As a writer and advocate for children, Craig has made her name by advising policy makers and the White House on the best foster care and adoption practices. She is also the president and founder of the Institute for Children and has written a number of thought provoking academic books and articles on the subject of disenfranchised youth and the foster care system.
