Community Board
Are you experienced as a community leader? Are you passionate about changing the child welfare system for future generations? Are you ready to take your expertise and advocacy to the next level?
Board members advise our policy, program, and other growth areas, helping to prioritize and plan across multiple issues affecting foster care. We are looking for Fosters who are ready to make key decisions on behalf of the larger Minnesota Foster community, who are ready to serve as invested, community-driven consultants on this journey for systems change.
Applications are closed for the 2023-2024 Board term.
Are you an exceptional candidate who didn’t have a chance to apply this year? Have questions about the Community Board? Not ready for the Community Board commitment but interested in other leadership or learning opportunities? Reach out to info@fosteradvocates.org
Meet our Community Board!
Ace, 2024 Co-Chair
she/her, Hennepin County
Caregiver, Guide, Healer
Nia, 2024 Co-Chair
she/her, Clay County
Caregiver, Frontline Responder, Storyteller
Ada
she/her, Hennepin County
Healer, Visionary
Christian
he/him, Clay County
Experimenter, Guide
Dez
she/her, Hennepin County
Guide, Healer, Visionary
Ja’Vay
she/her, Stearns County
Experimenter, Guide, Visionary
Kia
she/her, Hennepin County
Shawna
she/her, Beltrami County
Visionary
Lexi
she/her, Ramsey County
Builder, Caregiver, Healer
Audriana
she/her, Ramsey County
Ecosystem Roles
The roles listed below each Community Board member were self-identified from the Social Change Ecosystem Map. Created by Deepa Iyer, Building Movement Project. SM, © 2018 Deepa Iyer. All rights reserved. All prior licenses revoked. October 2020 Version.
Our Leadership Principles
Our leadership work is grounded in these guiding principles, which are affirmed and adjusted annually by our Community Board and Fellows.
Review Leadership Principles
• Nothing about Fosters without Fosters. Those impacted by the system must be given the power to direct systems change, while not being alone in change-making work.
• Young people are experts and leaders now and deserve to be heard and valued for their voices, experiences, and ideas.
• We believe deeply in the power of individual stories to spark change while using data to identify trends across the foster care experience.
• To address the disproportionate impacts and systemic injustices in the foster care landscape, we focus on root causes and upstream thinking to guide advocacy priorities.
• Movements for change require adaptive leadership: leaning into curiosity around knowledge, practices, and behaviors to imagine and implement new possibilities.
• Cultivating community and advocacy are inherently intertwined. Advocacy happens within relationships and is transformational to individuals and communities.