Dear friends,
My journey at Foster America began, as transformative journeys often do, with a connection. A birthday party a decade ago reunited me with Sherry Lachman, a colleague and friend from earlier in our careers, when we were both getting our professional start in the child welfare field. In March 2016, Sherry was shaping a vision for transformative change for children and families into something real. That serendipitously timed reunion has always felt instructive. Networks activate us. Relationships expand possibilities. Connection to one another—and to a mission— genuinely seeds change.
Ten years later, Foster America has grown from those roots into a national network of leaders working together for a future where every family thrives.
As we mark this milestone year, we are excited to hear and share the stories of the people who make up our network. Across the country, changemakers are working within communities and governments, bringing together their capabilities, resources, lived experiences, and innovative visions in new ways to prevent children from experiencing child welfare investigations and foster care. They are building connections and fresh approaches that help families prosper on their own terms.
In these stories, we learn from those who have experienced child welfare systems firsthand, serving not as consultative voices, but as true designers of the solutions families need and want. We hear how public investment is shifting away from systems that separate families and toward community-based supports that keep them together. Perhaps most encouragingly, we see communities where government, local organizations, and families are building and implementing shared agendas, demonstrating that new approaches truly work.
As we look ahead this year, we will have the opportunity to gather and continue strengthening our shared connections. Yet as we invite you—our network—together, we also recognize that this is an unprecedented time of pressure, uncertainty, and challenge. The progress of this decade, including real reductions in the use of foster care and growing commitments to community-based support, is fragile. The values of belonging, equity, and inclusion that fuel our work are challenged by emboldened forces. That is part of why this year feels important, and why shaping our next decade together feels urgent.
In the coming months, we’ll share dates for gatherings across the country, as well as a culminating convening this fall in Colorado. We will come together with both joy and intention. In partnership with MIT’s Cortico team, whose mission is “bringing underheard voices to the center of stronger civic spaces,” we’ll listen, learn, and shape together what the next decade of family well-being and child welfare prevention work can look like. We hope to see you along the way!
Thank you for being part of Foster America, for helping grow what began as a small, serendipitous seed into the community of changemakers we are today. We look forward to a year of connection, story, and shared purpose—and to the continued work ahead.
Until every family thrives,
Marie Zemler Wu
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Foster America
