The Fostering Academic Achievement Nationwide network is supported by a Leadership Team representing expertise in child welfare and higher education.
Lori Tiller, Ph.D., is a nonprofit scholar and practitioner specializing in leadership development, board governance, strategic planning, and volunteer management. She integrates human-centered design to drive impactful change in community and regional programs. As Director of Research and Evaluation at the Embark Georgia Center, Lori leads statewide initiatives to improve support for students with foster care or homelessness experience. Her work strengthens collaboration across higher education, child welfare, K-12 systems, nonprofits, and state agencies through shared learning, relationship-building, and capacity development—all aimed at creating better outcomes for vulnerable student populations.
Rachel Mayes Strawn, Ph.D., is passionate about the transformative power of education and sees that power in action every day as the Program Director of Great Expectations, the Virginia Community College System’s program for youth who have experienced foster care. Under her tenure, the program has expanded to 21 of Virginia’s 23 Community Colleges and gained national recognition.
Maddy Day founded the University of Washington Champions Program in 2010, developed and directed Fostering Success Michigan until 2018, and started the Fostering Academic Achievement Nationwide network in 2016. Maddy lives in Michigan and is currently a child welfare and education consultant and owner of Maddy Day, LLC & Associates, a consulting firm focused on systems reform.
Dr. Kerri Kearney’s research and service focus on hidden student populations in higher education; organizational behavior, theory, and structure in higher education; and visual methods in qualitative research. She is the founder of the R is for Thursday Network of Oklahoma, which equips individuals to support college-bound foster youth/alumni and hidden student populations in college. Dr. Kearney is published in diverse fields including higher education and student affairs, management and executive coaching, and qualitative research.
Creating pathways & removing barriers to higher education for students with experience in foster care
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This website is a project of John Burton Advocates for Youth with funding from Annie E. Casey Foundation, Stuart Foundation, and Walter S. Johnson Foundation
