Council Member - Current

Lanitta Berry grew up having a passion for her peers and doing what was best for them. Lanitta got started doing advocacy work in 2015 with an organization called SaySo of North Carolina. During her advocacy career, she has worked on all 3 levels of government while also being able... Read more

Jordan is an activist, writer and community organizer from Nashua, New Hampshire. He spent six years in foster care before aging out of the system as an adult. Jordan has had a strong passion for public service since he was a teen, and has spent the last several years advocating... Read more

Karen Esparza Lopez was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and raised in a small rural town in Florida called Ruskin. Karen was placed in the foster care system at the age of 15. Unfortunately, she was separated from her two younger siblings while in foster care. Karen changed schools five times... Read more

Myla Garcia grew up as the daughter of Filipino immigrants in Delano, CA. Despite entering foster care at the age of 13 with her younger brother, Myla has pursued higher education and is a first-generation college graduate and current law student. Myla graduated from California State University, Fullerton, with a... Read more

Franz Utomo is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attends Temple University and is majoring in Political Science with a focus on Public Policy and is minoring in Geographic and Urban Studies. Franz identifies as an LGBTQIA+ multiracial Immigrant. Franz was born in Indonesia to a multiracial family. His father passed away... Read more

Johnoi Shaw is a Jamaican National that came here in his early teens and ended up in care. He obtained his Bachelor’s of Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience and aspires to get a degree in nursing. After experiencing and witnessing discrimination because his of sexual orientation, he decided to... Read more

Veronica is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and also has Jemez and Navajo heritage. Veronica spent several years in the New Mexico foster care system before being adopted at 10 years old, along with her younger sister. After graduating from Fort Lewis College with a Bachelor... Read more

Ke'Onda spent 19 years in Florida's foster care system - including time in extended care. During that time, she experienced over 20 different placements in group homes. Currently, Ke'Onda is studying political science and working at United Way in an AmeriCorps Vista position where she supports financial literacy for young... Read more

Stormy Lukasavage 3 years in Kansas's foster care system He/Him/His Stormy Lukasavage used his three years of lived experience as well as his passion for authentic advocacy to create opportunities for former youth. He first started working on the state’s tuition bill which would grant foster youth a tuition free... Read more

Born and raised in New Jersey, Stephanie has always had a passion for creating change and giving back to her community. Currently enrolled at Rutgers University, Stephanie hopes to become a professional in the field of civil rights. Her passions include advocacy for youth in foster care, disability rights, accessibility... Read more