2020 All-Stars

Alyssa Andrews 6 year in Michigan’s Foster Care System 18 years old She/her/hers Alyssa spent about 6 years in and out of foster care. During those 6 years, she had about 5 foster home placements and kinship care placements. The future of the foster care system motivates Alyssa’s advocacy. She... Read more

Toriandre Givens 17 years in Oregon’s Foster Care System 20 years old He/him/his Tori spent 17 years in foster care due to his parents being incarcerated since he was three. Moving from foster home to foster home was rough on him. At age 19 he transitioned out of care and... Read more

Jeramaya Gramby Pennsylvania’s Foster Care System 19 years old He/him/his Jeramaya is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attends Lehigh University, majoring in Finance. He is a Peer Mentor at Lehigh University, in addition to being a member of several clubs and organizations at school. He entered care at the age of... Read more

Shannon D. Gonzales 3 years in California Foster care system and 2 years in Wisconsin Foster care system 18 years old She/her/hers Shannon entered care around the age of 7. She experienced foster and kinship placements. Shannon currently is attending Wild Rose high school. Some of Shannon’s hobbies include ring... Read more

Natalie Nicole Clark 6 years in Utah’s Foster Care System 22 years old She/her/hers Natalie spent about 6 years in Utah’s foster care system between the ages of 3 and 18; she had too many placements to keep track - especially during her teenage years. Natalie graduated from the University... Read more

Weston Charles - Gallo 2 years in Missouri Child Welfare System 21 years old He/him/his Weston entered the foster care system at age 14 when his biological parents neglected him for identifying as gay. Weston experienced hospitalizations, shelters, and foster home placements. After 1 year in the system Weston forever... Read more

Jose Canizal 16 years in California’s Foster Care System 24 years old He/him/his Jose Angel Canizal was raised by the foster care system. In the year of 2000 at 5 he was living in a green van and in poverty, but yet he was content. That same year he became... Read more

Katelyn Stark 3 years in Utah’s Foster Care System 19 years old She/Her/Hers Katelyn was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She has spent most of her life going back and forth between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Cedar City, Utah. Katelyn entered care in 2017 at 16 because of her Mother’s continued... Read more

Grace Gold 2+ years in New York’s Foster Care System 19 years old She/her/hers Grace is currently in foster care. She grew up in many little villages and is currently studying at Alfred University. At College Grace found herself becoming more interested in being a leader, being more involved with... Read more

Rebo Olson 2 years in Wisconsin Foster Care System 19 years old They/Them Rebo is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin - Stout. They spent 2 years in kinship care before being placed into a legal guardianship. Though they faced a lot of challenges, they wouldn’t change anything about... Read more