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Jayne Amelia talks with Syd Stewart. Syd is a poet, actor and filmmaker, and the author of two books of poetry, A Rock and A Hard Place (iUniverse, 2010) and Babylon Graffiti (Zeitgeist Press, 2019). Syd was featured in films Hughes’ Dream Harlem and Everyday People, and has appeared in The New York Times, Variety, and People Magazine. Most recently, Stewart’s work was selected by the National Endowment For The Arts’ 50th Anniversary. Just recently, she was a staffed television writer on the dramedy series Johnson, that aired on Bounce TV and produced by Cedric The Entertainer. Notably, she was a 2020 BIPOC Justice For My Sister Fellow, 2019 Indie Memphis/Barry Jenkins Black Filmmaker Finalist, 2017 New York Stage and Film filmmaker fellow, Austin Film Festival Second Rounder and a 2016 semifinalist for Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Program. Syd's literary works are published in the following publications: Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora, African Voices, Zone, The Lasting Joy, America at the Millennium, Signifyin’ Harlem, and Under a Quicksilver Moon. Stewart is the founder of Better Youth, a nonprofit organization which uses mentoring and media arts to equip foster and community youth with creative confidence.

betteryouth.org
sydsteword.com
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @sydsteword

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Jayne Amelia speaks with Ångela Quijada Banks. Ångela is a former foster youth and  an NAACP Image Awards Nominee and American Award-winning author of the Black Foster Youth Handbook.  As a certified holistic health coach she supports women impact leaders to get re-energized for life and reconnected to their purpose, passions and personal relationships. She is the founder of Soulful Liberation, a movement to liberate oneself and also  the community. As a transformational speaker and artist, she has impacted thousands with a message to alchemize pain to purpose and power through holistic health and healing trauma with coaching, workshops, training, and programming. As a nationally recognized community leader and philanthropist, Ångela started the Soulful Liberation movement, impacting over 30,000 people to revolutionize historically oppressive systems through holistic health and healing trauma with coaching, workshops, training, and programming.

Learn more at
Angelaquijadabanks.com
Black Foster Youth Handbook

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Jayne Amelia speaks with filmmaker Akhim Dev. Dev has over 20 years of experience in broadcast television and digital content. His credits include writing and directing on "The 3G of US" for SBS, "Storm Surfers" for Firelight Productions, and "The Final Sacrifice" for Discovery and National Geographic. His new film "The Children In The Pictures" takes us inside Task Force Argos, a renowned Australian-based police investigative team, as they go undercover to rescue children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Since 2009, Task Force Argos have identified and rescued over 1100 children from their abusers. Dev says: “For those children in the pictures and the extraordinary police officers trying to rescue them, I knew this story had to be told.”

Learn more here:  The Children In The Pictures and join the fight against online child sexual abuse. 

IG@Dev1
IG@TheChildrenInThePictures

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Jayne Amelia Larson speaks with adoptee and survivor Kimberly Bell.  Kimberly is an inspirational speaker, minister, mentor, and the author of "The Epitome of Kimmy: Accept & Embrace It All” an eye-opening memoir depicting her true story of a life of abandonment, sexual and physical abuse from a very young age, and her healing journey that followed. She’s originally from Salisbury, Maryland, and holds two degrees; one in Human Growth & Development/Psychology and the other in Theology. She has served on the ministerial staff at St. James A.M.E. Zion Church and completed four years of conference studies. Through her book and talks, she shares her life story and personal experiences to inspire others to never give up hope while raising awareness of societal issues.

The Epitome of Kimmy: Accept and Embrace it All

Website: https://kimberlyannebell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberlyannebell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21705865.Kimberly_Anne_Bell

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Jayne Amelia talks with Jeffrey Jamerson. Jeffrey has over 25 years of experience in the public sector serving at-risk youth and families in various capacities, most recently as the Vice President of Programs and Services at Aviva Family & Children’s Services in Los Angeles, CA. Over the past few years Jeff has created a shift in how therapy is conducted with foster children, he has integrated Narrative and Expressive Arts modalities with Digital Media Art, which he calls Expressive Remix Therapy. Jeffrey has a BS in Human Services from the University of Phoenix, a MA in Counseling Psychology from National University, and a PhD in Transformative Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

Expressive Remix

Aviva Children and Family Services

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Jayne Amelia talks with Sana Latrease Cotten, who was trafficked by her mother and grandmother as a young child, put in foster care and was then adopted but even so never really felt she belonged with her new family. Later, when she learned of her own mother's traumatic past, Sana learned how to forgive her and also to advocate for others in need.
 
"Sana is the Founder of Unashamed, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which fosters emotional health in disadvantaged families that have experienced incarceration, foster care, and teen pregnancy. Through various initiatives, Unashamed, Inc. is equipping families with the tools they need to dismantle unhealthy generational patterns, and transition from surviving to thriving.

At the tender age of 4, Sana and her twin brother were removed from the care of their drug-addicted mother and grandmother and put into the foster care system. Despite these early setbacks and emotional traumas in her life, Sana has emerged as a whole woman, unashamed of her past and boldly sharing her story. By the grace of God, Sana has impacted hundreds of women all over the United States by sharing her personal journey of denouncing shame and becoming healed and whole in Christ.

Sana has a passion for advocacy work and youth within the foster care system. She has worked alongside the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in the state of Connecticut in various roles including as a QPI Champion (Quality Parenting Initiative) and as a speaker and advocate for the Queen Esther Initiative, a faith based, foster care and adoption recruitment and support program designed to increase the number of licensed foster and adoptive families in the state of Connecticut. 

In 2020, Sana published “Everyone Will Know It Was God,” a memoir which chronicles her life story of early childhood molestation and sexual abuse, and growing up in the foster care system to become who she is today—a powerful, anointed, healed and whole woman of God.

Sana has been featured in numerous media outlets including Sheen Magazine, Voyage Dallas, the Moments of Joy podcast, Willie Moore Jr.’s Lunch Time Link Up, AOL.com, and CBNs the 700 Club. In 2019, Sana was named a 100 Women of Color by June Archer & Eleven28 Entertainment which recognizes the contributions of people of color in business, education, entrepreneurship, entertainment, government, service and the impact they have made on the lives of people throughout the State of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts communities.
 
Sana is the wife of Reverend Joshua E. Cotten and the mother of her two greatest gifts, Jamir and Janai. She currently resides in Middletown Connecticut."

UnashamedInc.org

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Jayne Amelia talks with Jordan Bartlett who was adopted at birth by a loving family. As a young college student, Jordan met his biological sister (for the very first time) who'd been placed in foster care, bounced from home to home, and had a very rough time. As a young businessman, he committed myself to helping kids in care as they age out, and he's a CASA too! 

Jordan is the Co-Founder and Director of Good at Doing Good Works, a certified B-Corporation that provides resources and opportunities for young people aging out of foster care. It is a business built on being kind, loving more, and doing good, proving that you can be profitable for shareholders and stakeholders at the same time. Jordan is an example for those that have been willing to give up traditional executive payouts to dedicate their lives to building businesses that support all levels of employees and the community around them.

Jordan is dedicated to supporting the world around him while leading a brand that supports the lives and livelihoods of its employees, just the same. When you do more good, love more, and guide with kindness as your compass, your business can truly be a force for meaningful, intentional transformation across communities.

Jordan Bartlett holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Rollins College.

DGW motto: "Be Kind. Love More. Do Good."

Twitter: jb_DGW
IG: jb_dgw
Website: dgwbranded.com

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Jayne Amelia speaks with foster parent, Mary Rathbone. Mary, her husband Alan and their daughter Chloe started their foster care journey in 2017. Their very first placement was a sibling group of four, aged 6, 4, 3 and 1.  Mary admits that after a month she nearly had a nervous breakdown with the adjustments in lifestyle and mindset fostering requires. Having worked at top hotels in NYC and Chicago before spending ten years in technology in Seattle and seven years working overseas, she believes she could do all her previous jobs blindfolded easier than it has been to take on one, much less four, foster siblings. 

In the past five years Mary and Alan have been foster parents to ten different children, the sibling group of four being back with them now for the second time. Mary sees a deep need for changes to the foster care system to prevent good foster parents and case managers from throwing in the towel and, more importantly, sweeping changes in the biological family unit to stop kids from entering care in the first place.

And to find out more about fostering, adopting or supporting families
who want to adopt please check out:
Fostering Families Today
Raise A Child
ChildNet
All4Kids
AdoptTogether.org
AdoptUskids.org
KidSave.org

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Jayne Amelia Larson speaks with former foster youth and survivor, Lisa Marie Arnett. Lisa Marie endured 36 placements and horrific abuse from the age of 2 on until she aged out of foster care at 18. She was then homeless for 3 years but even so, she managed to put herself through college and then joined the Army. She's now a helicopter mechanic, and raising a beautiful young daughter and practicing 'gentle parenting' which she never had but has learned to practice to raise a happy healthy daughter. She has a background contributing to and collaborating with the work of non-profits, schools and philanthropies around foster care advocacy and awareness raising. Her experience includes technical inputs to programming and advocacy efforts; public speaking on topics of foster-care, homelessness and sexual violence: as well as implementation of social media awareness campaigns from design to execution. Lisa currently serves in the National Guard as a Non Commissioned Officer. She was recently highlighted in a video produced by the Army recognizing her for her foster care advocacy. She/her siblings experienced foster care and homelessness as a child and young person; she/her siblings are survivors of abuse and childhood sexual abuse and her sister is a survivor of sex trafficking. Lisa has critical insights into the experiences of children facing the risks of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking, understanding of processes and protocols within government systems that serve youth and youth victims, as well as identification of key limitations and opportunities from a crucial lens for this issue.

IG@misslispisa
TikTok@misslisapisa
linktr.ee/Misslisapisa

NEST Foundation
TogetherWeRise
DoGudCollective
Kids to Love
Atlantic Counter Trafficking (ACT)

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Jayne Amelia talks with Raquel Wilson,  a former foster youth and now advocate from Compton. Raquel is the the program manager for the Fostering Media Connections Youth Voice program, and has been an advocate for youth affected by the foster care system, juvenile justice system, homelessness, or coined “at-risk” and has dedicated over 10 years to empowering youth and helping them develop both personally and professionally. She holds a master’s degree in Grant Writing, Management, & Evaluations and recently earned an MBA in Nonprofit Management from Concordia University of Chicago. 

Raquel is in her 3rd year as the program manager for Fostering Media Connections Youth Voice program. She provides Youth Voice program participants the platform to empower themselves through written opportunities, where they share their experiences while in foster care. “My proudest accomplishment has been the ability to garner support so that with every opportunity that we offer any foster youth, it is now paid (i.e., written submissions, internships, program contributors, webinar panelist opportunities).” 

Raquel plans to use her experiences from being in the system to help connect and build relationships with other systems-experienced youth to encourage storytelling through journalism training, empowerment, and creative expression. Raquel also enjoys writing and performing spoken word, she loves to read, listen to music, and helping others grow their network.

IG@youthvoicefmc
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071009246096
https://linktr.ee/youthvoicefmc
imprintnews.org

The first few lines of Raquel's poem "The Skin I'm In": 

I remember I use to think my mama didnt love me 
Cause I was ugly
This a true story 
I use to think I wasnt good enough 
Like maybe I was too dark
Maybe I was too black ass fuck 
Like maybe I was pretty but not good enough to date
This a true story I remember I use think my momma use to hate 
Hate me cause I was ugly
I remember I cried in the 7th grade to her 
Like is it cause im dark skin I was almost sure
She loved me so much she lefted me in foster care 
No wonder why I grew up so insecure
The boys use to like me but they was not sure
They was embarrassed to date a dark skinned girl 
Youre pretty for a black girl 
What the hell does that mean?

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