Heidi-Marie Ferren is a Los Angeles-based writer, producer, actress, and the last and longest-reigning Miss USO. She's also the product of a rape and a survivor of an abusive foster care experience.

But even when she was alone as a small child and uncertain of whether she would ever get to see her mom again, Heidi-Marie was comforted by her relationship with God and her love of helping others.

"That is the most alone that you could feel, to be a four-year-old child not knowing when you're going to come home again or if you can go home or what's going to happen tomorrow, or why you have no one," she said. "God is all you have, and I had that foundation even as a child in a very personal way."

From testifying in court against her father to feeling rejection from her mother's family because of the circumstances of her birth, Heidi-Marie found comfort in performance, storytelling, and empathy for others. She channeled her energy into becoming a child actress, a helper at her mom's non-profit, a rape crisis center volunteer, a scholarship-winning college student, and eventually Miss USO.

"Much like a Marvel character, your biggest scars can be your greatest superpowers," she said.

Now a storyteller and producer, Heidi-Marie is standing up for victims through the power of the written and spoken word. She also advocates for victims of sex-trafficking in the United States, 80 percent of whom have a history of being in the child welfare or foster care systems.