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Jayne Amelia talks with foster care alumnus Diane Martell who has talent and grit too.  She's an experienced learning & organizational development consultant, is known for supporting clients in reimagining current processes, procedures and team talent, and maximizing performance as they develop plans for the future. With 30+ years working in both the profit and nonprofit sectors, Diane is a catalyst for well-organized change. She has led as a collaborative executive, responsible for the development and implementation of global strategies engaging front-line, management, executive and consumer stakeholders. In the nonprofit sector, Diane concentrates her support around youth centric organizations committed to uplifting our most vulnerable and promising. With the latter part of her teen years spent in the California foster care system, she aims to amplify organizations that scaffold and prepare future generations for unparalleled success.  From a strengths-based perspective, Diane supplements organizational bandwidth through strategic planning, organizational development, instructional design, team building and strengths-based coaching. The famous bit Jayne Amelia  mentions during Diane’s tenure at Coffee Bean references a drink she invented which became a bestseller–the Iced Blended Mocha.

Peace4kids.org
Diane Martell - landscape artist

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with the powerhouse Wendelyn Julien who served as CEO of CASA of Los Angeles from 2016-2021, and is now the Executive Director of the new Probation Oversight Commission at Los Angeles County. She is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in social justice work with a focus on improving our community for young people. Wende is a biological parent of three, adoptive parent of one, and has been a foster parent twice. She serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer and is about to embark on her third case. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona (BA/BS), Arizona State University (Masters of Public Administration) and USC (Juris Doctorate). She is originally from Flagstaff, Arizona and her parents are also both social justice advocates.

This is Wende’s mantra:

IN LAK’ECH

Tú eres mi otro yo. You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti, If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo. I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto, If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo. I love and respect myself.

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US, and CASALA.org in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Committee

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Ashleigh Nichols is a creative New York-based artist, web designer, developer, and illustrator living in Brooklyn with a penchant for all things creative. Ashleigh grew up in a suburban town just outside of D.C. and now calls Brooklyn home. She graduated from The New School with concentrations in Visual Arts and Writing and began coding in 2016. She has worked for large non-profits doing development, special events, and marketing.

She enjoys reading, volleyball, making things, and animation.

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Jaronna Yates. Jaronna has worked in the entertainment industry for the past 22 years, spanning across three major studios, and is currently the Sr. Project Director with Illumination Entertainment heading up the Global Project Management Team for their Marketing Division. From ages five to 13, Jaronna was raised in a Catholic orphanage and lived in several foster homes in Louisville, KY.  She was officially placed for adoption at age nine, eventually reuniting with her mother in her late teens. Jaronna has been an avid volunteer for organizations working with children and is on the Board of Directors with Peace4Kids, an organization that supports foster care youth in  Los Angeles. She is an active member of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist lay organization, as a Vice Women’s Division leader for her home District. Her goal is to run a thriving foundation benefitting charitable organizations that focus on the development and success of youth, especially those in foster care. Jaronna is a mother to her 23-year-old son whom she loves and adores.

Peace4kids
Illumination Entertainment
Soka Gakkai Buddhism

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Toni Cunningham. Anthony Cunningham, better known as Toni, is currently in his fourth year in the Recreation Tourism Management program at Cal State Northridge. Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles in the foster care system, Toni has overcome the many obstacles that have been placed is his path. Toni can be described as resilient, hard-working, and a ray of light. He's currently holding a Student Programs Assistant position with the University Student Union at CSUN and a counselor and planning committee position for the nonprofit Happy Trails for Kids, an organization that gives foster youth the opportunity to experience outdoor recreation and sleep away camp. Toni continues to use his talent and drive to make change, advocate for others, and serve the folks of his communities. Toni refuses to be a product of his circumstances and continues to work hard to become a household name.

Peace4kids
Teatime With Toniii
Happy Trails For Kids

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Jayne Amelia talks with former foster youth Vaughn Laws. "My name is Vaughn  and I wish I knew where I was headed, but this adventure that has been life left me a husk of who I used to be. I've come through a lot and managed to keep my wits about me and pretty much out of trouble. I am currently aspiring to be a graphic designer. I had more ambition when I was a teen since I thought I wasn’t going to be doing everything on my own. However, I learned life deals out its harshest lessons with zero bias regardless of age, gender or race, and that if you want to see success then you have to be prepared to climb the toughest mountain and cross the harshest deserts on your own. I haven't finished climbing yet but I’m not throwing away my climbing gear." Vaughn interned with Media Monks in Los Angeles and is now working with the National Foster Care Institute as an advocate and activist.


National Foster Care Institute
https://nfyi.org

Peace4kids
https://www.peace4kids.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with children's attorney Juan Valles. Juan was born in Downey, California, and grew up in Southeast Los Angeles County. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in linguistics, Juan spent several years working in higher education administration. In particular, he worked with undergraduates in advising, career planning, and student discipline. He later completed a Master's in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University before attending law school in New York City at Fordham University. While at Fordham, Juan discovered the intersection of foster care systems and the law. He was immediately drawn to the field and completed several fellowships and internships in the area of child welfare law; after graduating, Juan began working with the Children's Law Center of California (CLC) in 2010. After several years as a staff attorney, Juan is now a supervising attorney and a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist.  He’s also a monk with an Episcopalian Order of Monks, The Community of the Gospel, a non-residential monastic community formed under the Canons of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He and his husband, Raul, live with their two dogs and a cat in the City Terrace neighborhood, just east of Downtown Los Angeles.

Children's Law Center
Community of The Gospel 

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Today's guest is LaTanya Hill. "LT" is a writer with a background in law, education, government, and most recently became a Reiki Master and started  her own energy healing business in Los Angeles  – IMREIKINOW.  She has been a CASA for over 4 years and is still assisting her very first child in the program.

Please see imreikinow.com for more information about LT's healing work.

Go to NationalCASAGAL.org
to find out more about becoming a CASA anywhere in the US
and CASALA.org in Los Angeles.

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Jayne Amelia Larson talks with former foster youth Venus Manuel and her case worker Lori Nelson, a former social worker working in the LA County foster care system. Venus spent her adolescence and teen years bouncing from foster home to home, and credits one great social worker, Lori Nelson, with saving her life.  And Lori says they saved each other. Venus is now an Independent Living Coordinator with the Los Angeles County Probation Department working with foster youth and says, “I will continue to champion this cause by being a voice for those too afraid to speak and for those who are not being heard.”  And Lori continues to be a champion for kids of all ages.

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Jayne Amelia talks with Lori Nelson, former social worker working in the foster care system and now with the LA County Probation Department. "Lori was born a crusader with a heart for lost pets, the kid bullies made fun of and the person to run to and run away with when things were scary and unsafe. Lori’s childhood experiences led her to work in the helping profession in various human services organizations bringing value to clients fostering lasting and positive relationships. Lori graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Sociology and also a Master's degree in Counseling and Education from California State University Dominguez Hills. She then worked as a Domestic Violence Specialist at a domestic violence shelter advocating for and encouraging women to become survivors from abusive relationships.  Lori went on to work as a social worker for a foster family agency in group homes for girls and then as a CSW with the Department of Children and Family Services where she first worked with a Permanent Placement caseload with children from birth to age 18, and then with Transitional Age Youth (TAY).  DCFS is where Lori met again and was assigned to work with Venus Manual, a bright, gifted teenage girl who Lori found to be genuine and honest with determination and perseverance rarely seen in some one so young.  Lori left DCFS but continued to work in human service management at El Nido Family Centers for pregnant and parenting teens and Penny Lane Centers for the Wraparound Program.  She later returned to Los Angeles County to work as a Program Analyst for the Los Angeles County Probation Department for PPQA, Permanency Placement and Quality Assurance; again, working with Transitional Age Youth. Venus was working as a Probation Officer with TAY when their paths crossed again at an event honoring TAY called Success Is Our Future, not as client and social worker, but as women, as friends, with a life-long special and unbreakable bond.  Lori says Venus is 'her baby' and Venus calls Lori 'Mama Lori'.   

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