Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth, advocate and attorney Glenda Wright. Glenda recently graduated from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, where she received her Juris Doctorate in May 2022. Glenda has also earned her Bachelor of Science in Business with a minor in legal studies from Murray State University. While attending law school, Glenda participated in several extracurricular activities, including serving as senior editor of the Northern Kentucky Law Review and president of the Phi Alpha Delta: Hoffman Chapter. In August 2020, Glenda and her business partner, Tyler Hunter, lau ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with therapist Dr. Bruce Sogolow.  Dr. Bruce has been a psychotherapist for nearly 40 years. He relates that “There was a kind of inevitability that led to my practice of specializing in ‘walking along side’ of families with children who suffered from attachment challenges.”  His most valuable teachers along the way were children and parents whose trust in others was deeply wounded in their early lives: through a deep dive into non-violent communication, he discovered that their trust could be relationally developed through compassion, empathy, and curiosity.  ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with her friend and (very loving and proud) adoptive parent, Warren Press. Warren lives in Los Angeles with his wife Elizabeth and their 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter. Their journey to parenthood was a tad unconventional and each child took longer to reach their home than the typical gestation period.  Warren and Elizabeth traveled to China to adopt their daughter while their 14-year-old son was born and adopted a little closer to home in Los Angeles.  Their family encompasses several ethnicities and cultures, all of which are enthusiastically celebrat ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with guardian ad litem and child advocate/attorney, Rachel Aliza Elovitz. Rachel  has worked as a family law attorney for more than 27 years.  In that capacity, she has represented fathers seeking to legitimate children (who were born out of wedlock), grandparents seeking visitation rights with grandchildren, third party relatives seeking custody of children who are being abused or neglected by their parents, parents hoping to protect their children from another parent's abuse - and parents who have been falsely accused of abuse in an effort to alienate them from ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with the powerhouse founder of Kids in The Spotlight, Tige Charity.  In Tige's words:  As a visionary with a strong faith & a passion for serving others, I have devoted my career to empowering young people in foster care to address and overcome trauma through the power of storytelling. In 2009, I founded Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides year-round 10-week script-to-screen workshops to train youth in foster care to write, cast, & star in their own short films telling their stories their way. We provide an ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with Romi Lassally and Patrick McCabe,  co-founders of Ready To Succeed which has supported college bound students impacted by foster care or “scholars” (as they call them which is fantastic!) by helping them get into school, stay in school, and flourish after school with resources, relationships with passionate professionals, career coaching, and more. From the Ready To Succeed website: “In January 2016, two non-profit veterans, Romi Lassally and Patrick McCabe, saw the opportunity to transform outcomes with targeted support—to take the foster youth that were motivate ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with creative and former foster youth Chrisie Morris.  Chrisie  is a junior at Cal State University Long Beach pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration for Pre-Production. She’s currently working as a Visual Development Artist at Mr. Clown’s Productions through the prestigious Television Academy Foundation Fall 2023 Internship Program. Additionally, Chrisie has completed two internships at DreamWorks Animation this year working as a Production Assistant on Gabby’s Dollhouse, Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight, and Curses. Chrisie is an active scholar in the foste ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with  foster alum Elizabeth Garcia Herrera. Liz and her sisters (America's story is Episode 16 of Season 3) were placed in foster care when their mother could no longer look after them. Liz was 17 and spent several confusing years struggling to grow up well and get on her feet,  but she did eventually put herself through college and now works as a supervisor in child and family welfare.  She credits her mentor for making that happen, and also feels her religion and belief in God has helped her realize a better life. She's now married with two small children a ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with foster care alum America Gutierrez.  America  is a passionate advocate for mental health, firmly guided by the belief that our voices are our most potent tools. With unwavering determination, she fearlessly shares her personal journey, notably her harrowing experiences within the foster care system. Through her advocacy efforts, she aims to illuminate critical conversations surrounding the welfare of youth who, like her, have faced profound challenges. Born to Mexican immigrant parents, America inherited a spirit of resilience from her mother, who instilled ..read more

Jayne Amelia speaks with former foster youth and now child advocate Georgette Todd.  Georgette is a speaker, author, and a foster care and child abuse prevention advocate. Georgette spent her teenage years bouncing around from home to home in the broken foster care system before she emancipated at age 18, with no safety net or anyone to depend on. Through sheer determination, Georgette went all the way with her education and graduated at the top of her class, serving as the commencement speaker at her college graduation. She is the first in her immediate family to get a college education ..read more