Fostering Futures in Howard County
Date: Thursday, May 2, 2024
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Location: Miller Branch Library, 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042
Participants will:
· remember the joys and challenges of being an adolescent and recognize the important role supportive adults must play in the lives of young people;
· better recognize some of the challenges that exist within our community and see opportunities to make a positive difference;
· appreciate the need for greater community support of our children and young people in foster care;
· understand the range of ways they and their community organizations may make a positive change in the lives of young people in care;
· be inspired to support a young person in foster care and know the next steps they may take to start helping; and
· experience a sense of community and feel this was a great use of time.
Agenda:
6:00 - 6:10 pm Reception
Mingling, Data Walk, Light Dinner
6:10 - 6:20 pm Formal Welcome + Greeting
Donyel Bacon, President, Junior League of Howard County
Nikiah Dawson, Executive Vice President, Junior League of Howard County
Dr. Calvin Ball, Howard County Executive
6:20 - 6:40 pm Program Overview + Data Walk
Tasha Vanterpool, African American Community Roundtable
Ayanna Baker, Board Vice President, Voices for Children
6:40 - 6:50 pm Introduction of Voices for Children
Erica Byrne, Executive Director, Voices for Children
6:50 - 7:50 pm Panel Discussion: Fostering Futures
Markeita Matthews, Foster Care, Howard County Department of Social Services
Lena Travers, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Voices for Children
Julian Dashield, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Voices for Children
Catherine Lester, Associate Director, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Bill Buckner, Board Member, Voices for Children
7:50 - 8 pm Closing Remarks
Ayanna Baker, Board Vice President, Voices for Children
Erica Byrne, Executive Director, Voices for Children
Meet the Panelists
We greatly appreciate the time and expertise our speakers and panelists offer - THANK YOU!
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Julian is currently employed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a Aerospace Ground System Engineer supporting several satelite missions. He has also worked for NASA as an Electrical/Thermal satelite system engineer on their EOS (Earth Oberservation Satellite) missions. Julian holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from Morgan State University and a Masters in Information Security Management.
Julian is a CASA volunteer in Howard County, Maryland who advocates for and mentors two high school aged brothers. In addition to his wonk as a CASA, he has a long historc of volunteering, including coaching youth basketball and football and STEM. Julian is also a father of two and enjoys sports, and working out, playing chess and true crime podcasts.
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Catherine works within the Casey Foundation’s Family Well-Being Strategy Group, the team responsible for the foundation’s child welfare investments. In her role, Catherine supervises a team of seven charged to develop and lead strategies to improve outcomes for older youth who have experienced foster care. She also leads the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Catherine works closely with site and place-based partners, young people, and national partners to ensure that young people have the relationships, resources, and opportunities to ensure their well-being and success.
Catherine joined the Casey Foundation in 2019 as a Senior Associate and was promoted to Associate Director in 2021. Before coming to the Casey Foundation, Catherine led the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department, one of the largest investors in the Puget Sound region. In that role she was the key architect for the city’s equitable results strategy and legislation for all social services and investments. Catherine has also held leadership roles in Ohio and North Carolina in the fields of child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, family support, and neighborhood revitalization.
Catherine grew up in Toronto, Canada and holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada, and a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She is also a Casey Children and Families Fellow and currently serves on the national board of Child Care Aware of America.
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Bill Buckner is Director of Learning and Capacity Building at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he partners with teams and organizations to solve tough problems to create a better and more equitable world for children, youth, and families. Bill’s values align with the Foundation’s work to create opportunities for all children to reach their full potential in life regardless of their race, ethnicity, or community of residence.
Bill joined the board of Voices for Children because he cares deeply about improving opportunities for young people in foster care. This may be seen in his professional life where he has worked to improve these issues. However, as a proud adoptive parent of twin daughters from foster care, he says that there is a special place in his heart for supporting young people from these same environments and Voices for Children is a great way to serve young people in Howard County.
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Lena Travers is a Northern Virginia transplant to Columbia, MD where she lives with her husband, kids, and pets. Lena went to a science and tech high school and discovered her passion was not in science and tech. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Psychology and got her M.S. in Leadership from The Citadel while working at the Pentagon as a Management Analyst. Lena is currently an HR Director at USAID and is working on her executive certificate as a leadership coach through Georgetown University and the International Coach Federation.
Lena started her volunteer work in college where she worked at a long term shelter for battered women and their children. Lena has been a CASA since 2020 and has enjoyed her time with Voices for Children through her work as a CASA and by providing support to aspiring CASA volunteers.
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Markeita has been employed at Howard County Department of Social Services since October 2014 and has worked in various roles throughout the agency, including in-home and out-of-home social worker, kinship navigator, and independent living coordinator. Currently, she is the foster parent trainer and recruiter, working to prepare individuals in Howard County who desire to become foster parents. She greatly enjoys working with emerging youth and hopes to continue to connect them with permanent, supportive adults that will last throughout their adulthood. Outside of work, Markeita enjoys spending time with her family and two young children.
Get Involved Today
Voices For Children provides trained volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates, to abused and neglected children in Howard County, who advocate in court to ensure each child has a safe and permanent home.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life. They include business executives, teachers, homemakers, attorneys, students and retirees.
Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and have the compassion and energy to help children in need.
We depend largely on individual, community, group and corporate donations to continue our mission.
Special thanks also to Wegmans for providing tonight’s refreshments.
Thank you for attending this event. Voices for Children and its partners’ of tonight’s event will be taking photos throughout the evening. These images will be used by Voices for Children and its partners to share news about the event, and to publicize future events. Images may be used in press releases, printed publicity and published on Voices for Children and its partner’s website and social media channels. If you would prefer for you or your child not to be photographed, would like to see your images, or would like us to delete them, please email Voices for Children at info@voicesforchildren.org