Oregon

Nichele Murray spent 12 years in Oregon's Foster Care System Eighteen year old Nichele Murray will be graduating high school this spring. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in English at Concordia University and becoming a journalist. After spending twelve years in foster care, Nichele is ready... Read more

Matthew Hoel spent 3 years in Minnesota's Foster Care System. I had the chance to meet Matthew three years ago at the 2009 TLT Conference in Minnesota, and over that time Matthew has continued to grow into a great young advocate. Matthew is on academic honor roll, and upon graduating... Read more

Matt Holt spent 4 years in Oregon's Foster Care System. Matthew Holt’s time in foster care has definitely shaped his commitment to public service. At twenty-two years old, Matt plans to get a degree in criminal justice and become a costal police officer so he can continue to help others... Read more

Joshua-John DeLorenzo spent 17 years in Oregon's Foster Care System. Nineteen year old Joshua-John DeLorenzo has spent 17 years in Oregon’s foster care system. After moving through nine different placements, he has settled in with his foster parent, Maryanne DeLorenzo, and in fact, just changed his last name from Slaney... Read more

David Forquer spent 5 years in Oregon's Foster Care System. David Forquer was abandoned as an infant. Over the last five years, he’s been in 13 placements, including foster care, therapeutic foster care, hands-on facilities, behavioral group homes, sub-acute care, the psychiatric ward at the local mental health hospital and... Read more

Oregon's Joshua Lee Morgan-Griggs, entered foster care at age 6; With 11 placements and attending 9 schools, moving from kinship care, foster care, and legal guardianships, he suffered from a lack of permanency. He serves on the Oregon Foster Youth Connection advisory board, was a state officer of SkillsUSA, which... Read more

Council Term: 2013-2015 Charlie spent 15 years in Oregon's foster care system. Brief Biography: Charlie was in foster care from ages 3-18 and experienced over five foster homes, numerous of group homes, residential facilities, treatment centers and two shelters. In her sophomore year of high school, Charlie was placed with... Read more

Tamaira was in foster care from the age of 14 until 17, when she was adopted along with her sister. She says about her experience, “Foster care was complicated, moving from home to home, with some homes more stressful than others. However, knowing that I was with my sister made... Read more

Deedee is currently serving as the Secretary for the Oregon Foster Youth Connection. Through the Oregon Foster Youth Connection (link is external) (OFYC), Deedee has been able to work with State Senators on drafting a bill that would provide all foster youth with specific driving rights. She was also instrumental... Read more

Rebecca experienced 13 different elementary schools and numerous placements while in foster care. She says, "As you can imagine, this made school difficult for me." By seventh grade she had found a good placement. "Fortunately, I did find my forever family by the seventh grade and they became my permanent... Read more