2009 Outstanding Young Leaders

Passion entered foster care at the age of fourteen and aged out four years later. She was placed in two group homes and one foster home. Passion’s experience was difficult as she felt few staff actually cared about her. However, she views her time in care as a positive experience... Read more

Charlotte was placed into foster care at the age of nine with her four siblings. Two of her younger siblings were adopted after being in foster care for a year. She had seven different placements and attended ten different schools growing up but still managed to keep in contact with... Read more

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Debra experienced various placements for 6 years. She has successfully transitioned independently. She currently is a full-time student and will be graduating early this December. Her future plans include grad school. Last summer Debra interned for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, where Foster... Read more

"I now know what I am made of. I now know I can do anything, and that people lie when they say you are worthless, and that you have no potential. I now know that the imaginary ceiling is just that: imaginary." Leah has come to these conclusions after being... Read more

Sharon was placed into her first foster home at 7 years old. She was in this home for eleven years, and moved at the age of 18 to the foster home she currently resides in. Sharon's mother's rights were terminated, and Sharon was devastated. She felt very neglected and abandoned... Read more

DiAndre spent 10 years in Pennsylvania's foster care system and experienced 6 different foster homes. The oldest of four, DiAndre was ten when he and his siblings were first put into the system. "I was the oldest and our placement was a new and frightening experience for all of us."... Read more

Stephanie entered foster care about three years due to her mother’s drug abuse. She moved in with a relative and continued to attend high school. Stephanie is now a senior with perfect attendance and a cumulative GPA of 4.0. Stephanie has also been a member of the National Honor Society... Read more

Jackie entered the Foster Care System at age 12 and remained in the system for six years, aging out at 18. During her time in the system, she had seven foster homes and six caseworkers. While in the system, Jackie was a member of "Reaching For Teen Group", foster youth... Read more

Ursula has been in foster care since her 10th birthday, in her original placement. She will graduate in June with a 3.8 GPA. Her accomplishments include national honor society, student council, and STARS. She has sung for child abuse prevention rallies, Oregon DHS and foster parent recruitment rallies. Ursula has... Read more

"I entered the foster care system for the second time when I was 12. I had previously been in foster care in the state of California when I was really young. While in foster care I have moved from home to home and have changed many schools. The hardest part... Read more