Foster Care Alumni Panel - On Demand

Lindsey graduated in May with her Bachelors Degree in Social Work. She is now the Program Manager at Foster Source.  Lindsey spent her teen years in foster care in South Carolina. 

Cassandra Harris has 12 years of experience surviving a broken system called Foster Care. It was during those 12 years that Cassandra endured many traumatic events beginning at the age of six.  At 16, she began working with a youth-led organization known as California Youth Connection. This gave her a platform to begin using her voice and experience to influence change at a local and legislative level. She has spoken at 100+ events, over the past 10 years.  She has also utilized her experience to develop courses specific to new foster parents and Trauma Informed Services. Cassandra has had the honor of facilitating workshops geared toward judges, licensing and child welfare attorneys, and has spent countless days at California’s State Capitol advocating at a legislative level.  She is currently working with a group of legislators, community partners and professionals within the Department of Corrections to address the conditions youth, in care, in Colorado are currently facing. It is in her current work that she hopes to address the institutionalization of youth and disrupt the Foster Care to Prison pipeline.

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.