Cindy spent several years in foster care in Nebraska, eventually aging out at 19. She learned about the importance of sibling connections, authentic youth engagement and the need to infuse youth voice at all levels of decision making during her time in care. While in foster care she joined a statewide youth group aimed at elevating youth voice and strengthening the skills and abilities for young leaders interested in child welfare. She'll tell you this is where she discovered her passion for system change and began to master her professional relationship skills that come in handy for her now. With her Bachelors in Social Work and Masters in Public Administration; she's built her career doing what others did for her - elevate their voices and create spaces for young people with lived expertise to influence and participate in decision making. Cindy owns Authentically LLC with her husband (who is also her high school sweetheart), and is raising her three children in a small town in Nebraska (never where she thought she'd end up). She wants to spend some time investing in the network of alumni in Nebraska; specifically bringing people together to explore the crack of possibility when partnering around solution-based efforts to address the challenges youth face now.
