Meet my graphic novel writing coach Maria Rodgers O’Rourke! Maria is a writer and certified Story Grid Editor. Her career began in advertising and public relations, moved to nonprofit leadership, and homed in on communications and writing after earning her master’s degree in pastoral studies. Maria is publisher and author of two women’s journals. She’s contributed stories to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the HuffPost, and to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Maria runs MRO Creative, where she supports writers as a developmental editor and coach and crafts her own stories and reflections. Learn more about Maria and her approach at mrocreative.com.

Josh, a finance professional from Erie, Pennsylvania, shares how a timely billboard sparked a life-changing decision for him and his wife, Elena—to say yes to helping children in foster care. In this episode, you’ll hear how Josh brings foster care adoption advocacy into his Fortune 500 workplace, openly sharing his journey with colleagues and finding meaningful ways to support children in care. His story offers inspiration and practical ideas for anyone looking to be an advocate—right where they are.

Vince Smith leads Keystone Family Alliance as its Executive Director, drawing on his extensive expertise in organizational leadership and community engagement to drive transformative programs. Over the years, Vince has spearheaded innovative outreach and sustainable initiatives that create opportunities for vulnerable children and families to thrive.

Andrew Lewis is a partner at KPMG and the founder of the KPMG National Foster Care and Adoption Network. He is both a foster parent and adoptive parent who serves on the boards of Comfort Cases and the Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE).

Karen Phillips didn’t plan to become a child welfare changemaker—she simply said yes to becoming a foster parent. That yes set her on a path to help families in crisis long before the foster care system gets involved.

In this episode of The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast, Karen shares how her lived experience fueled the creation of the 100 Families Initiative at Restore Hope Arkansas. Together with her team, she’s building tech-powered, community-based solutions that bring together nonprofits, agencies, and families to prevent foster care entry.

🎧 You’ll hear:

• How Karen’s journey into foster care turned into statewide impact

• What the 100 Families model looks like in action

• The surprising ways technology is bridging gaps across systems

• Why prevention is both possible and powerful

This is more than a story—it’s a blueprint for hope.

Eva Amador is a retired adoption attorney from Puerto Rico. She spent her the final years of her career navigating the legal process to help children find forever families.

Connie Going has spent over 25 years working in the child welfare system and is the adoptive parent of two teens including Davion and another young man - the boys became good friends and referred to themselves as brothers when living at the same group home.

Beverly Jenkins and I met as Invested Faith Fellows. She is the founder of the North County Innovation Center. During a meet up at her space, she shared she was an adoptive mom, too. She went on to share she adopted a teenager from her youth group. Listen to this episode to hear how their forever family came together.