Pennsylvania

Maddie Gariti 2 years in Foster Care 17 years old She/her/hers Maddie Gariti is graduating high school in 2023, after which she plans to take either a gap year to join the Unaltered Ministry or go right to college. Maddie wants to enroll at a university and work her way... Read more

Teshiana Smith-Nichols 21 Years Old Pennsylvania Foster Care System Teshiana is currently a senior student at the University of Pittsburgh, studying Social Work & Criminology scheduled to graduate in December 2021. She has been involved in the kinship care aspect of foster care since she was 13 years old up... Read more

Leibrynn Russell She/Her 22 Years Old Pennsylvania Lei currently attends Carlow University, where she is a junior in hopes of gaining a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.Read more

Jasmirra Howard She/Her/Hers 19 Years Old Pennsylvania Foster Care System Jasmirra is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and first entered the state's foster care system at age 12 for about 4 months under kinship placement. She then reentered the foster care system and moved around from different foster homes and group homes... 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

Teshiana Smith-Nichols 6 years in Pennsylvania’s Foster Care System 20 years old She/Her/Hers Teshiana Smith-Nichols is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She experienced 6 years in kinship care. As a Foster Youth Advocate, Teshiana is here to share her insight on the changes she believes are necessary to ensure that foster youth... 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

Anahi Figueroa-Martinez, 19, Pennsylvania's Foster Care System Anahi spent 9 years in foster care and experienced a multitude of placements. Anahi is a big advocate for juvenile justice. She has been a member of the group, Juveniles for Justice through the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, PA, for the last... Read more

Lillian Crossley, 20, Pennsylvania’s Foster Care System Experienced several residential placements. After a bad experience with a foster home, she preferred being in residential placements. Lillian is proud that she graduated high school and is now in her sophomore year of college at Kutztown University. She is studying General Psychology... Read more