Former Foster Youth Panel Discussion Live Virtual (03/29/2025)

Tori Shuler is the Denver Director for Fostering Great Ideas, a non-profit organization that reimagines foster care. Tori also serves on the Board of Directors for The Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman and The Office of The Child's Representative. Tori experienced foster care multiple times in her childhood and exited the system on her 18th birthday through emancipation. Motivated from her foster care experience Tori is dedicated to improving foster care and elevating the voice of people with lived experience. Tori is a graduate of University of Colorado-Denver and lives in Aurora with her family. Tori enjoys decorating cakes as a hobby and is an avid lover of basset hounds.

Charles “Chaz” Tedesco and his biological sister were passed through foster homes before being adopted by a loving couple in Northglenn, CO.  It is this experience that is the inspiration for his involvement in the community and in giving back. Commissioner Tedesco has been a consistent voice on the Board of Commissioners, influencing policy, strengthening proactive government, and protecting our vulnerable residents. He has championed Homes for Hope, an innovative program for emergency foster care for children in Adams County ages 0-18. Commissioner Tedesco also serves as vice-chair of the Former Foster Care Youth Steering Committee for the State of Colorado, where he shares process and program improvements to the benefit of all counties.

Nyomi Davis (she/her/hers) graduated from University of Denver with a Bachelor of Arts in socio-legal studies and public policy with a minor in business ethics and legal studies in June. Nyomi attended DU on a full ride scholarship from the Daniels Foundation, a Colorado based organization. In Fall of 2024, Nyomi began attending the University of Colorado Boulder Law School with a special interest in child advocacy while pursuing a J.D. using the funding from FosterEd. Nyomi is involved with Denver CASA as a volunteer in their Older Youth Program and has Colorado Office of Child Representatives Lived Experts Action Panel (LEAP) as a youth with experience in the foster system since 2021. Nyomi is a resilient, hardworking, and highly motivated individual who is pursuing a law career to help youth in similar situations. With LEAP, Nyomi has helped train GALs and participated in the process for passing legislation to move Colorado to youth-directed representation in D&N and juvenile cases. She recently began working with the Butler Institute on their Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Multidisciplinary and Cross-Jurisdictional Training Project and is a voting board member for Foster Source and the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Reimagining Steering Committee.