Jim Casey Initiative Names 13 Young Fellows

The Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion recent­ly named 13 new Jim Casey Young Fel­lows, who will be trained in lead­er­ship and advo­ca­cy skills to help inform the philanthropy’s nation­wide efforts to improve out­comes for youth tran­si­tion­ing from fos­ter care to adult­hood. Work­ing with the Foun­da­tion’s Jim Casey Youth Oppor­tu­ni­ties Ini­tia­tive, Young Fel­lows play an impor­tant role in devel­op­ing Casey’s strate­gies and rec­om­men­da­tions for improv­ing child wel­fare systems.

The fol­low­ing are the newest Jim Casey Young Fel­lows with areas of interest:

• Tiffany Dar­ragh (Hawaii): Finan­cial capa­bil­i­ty, employment
• Evan Davis (Iowa): Nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care, agency staffing
• Sonia Emer­son (Ohio): Extend­ing fos­ter care to age 21, tran­si­tion readiness
• Tris­tan Hag­ger­ty-Mav­il­la (Penn­syl­va­nia): Facil­i­ta­tion, advocacy
• Dur­win Han­lon (Michi­gan): Ser­vices, rel­a­tive placement
• Eliz­a­beth Lucas (Maine): Sib­ling vis­i­ta­tion rights, nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care
• Mar­co Mar­tinez (New Mex­i­co): Hous­ing, nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care
• Torie Mendez (Mary­land): Group dynam­ics, self-actualization
• Blan­ca Merced (Rhode Island): Edu­ca­tion, nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care
• Saman­tha Mor­row (Nebras­ka): Adop­tion, employ­ment, finan­cial assistance
• Lore­na Noland-Dominy (Ten­nessee): Appro­pri­ate men­tal health treat­ment, qual­i­ty of fos­ter parents
• Katherinne Per­aza (Indi­ana): Nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care, resource awareness
• Maria Rodriguez (Ari­zona): Per­ma­nence, nor­mal­cy for youth in fos­ter care