2024 Aging Out Podcasts

In this October 30, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Tyila Cooks, Executive Director of Lifebridge Child Advocacy in Midland, Georgia. Tyila shared about her own background, which included adopting foster children to be part of her own family. Started as a ministry, Lifebridge Child Advocacy officially transitioned to a nonprofit in 2021. They serve at-risk youth in the Columbus, GA area, providing a place for them to come together, get support, and life skills training. They also provide support to foster parents and families in crisis.

In this August 26, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Hannah Hodgson Katzman, Associate Director of Family Harvest Farm in Martinez, California. Hannah described the mission of her organization, the John Muir Land Trust, which is to protect open spaces. Hannah’s program – Family Harvest Farm – is under the John Muir Land Trust umbrella. They utilize 3.5 acres of urban open space for a program that hires youth aged out of foster care ages 18-24 on a part-time basis, teaches them about farming while mentoring them over a season, and donates and/or sells the produce to the local community.

In this June 17, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Tige Charity, CEO of Kids in the Spotlight in Burbank, California. Tige shares about the unique employment support services that Kids in the Spotlight provides youth aging out of foster care, which focuses on skills in the arts and entertainment. We talk about the Script-to-Screen program that culminates in film productions that compete with one another for awards through their Kids Film Awards. Supported by Ty Burrell of Modern Family fame, this program works tirelessly to help their youth gain employment in the entertainment industry.

In this April 21, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Mark Mecum, CEO of Ohio Children’s Alliance in Columbus, Ohio. Mark explains the work that his organization does for youth aging out of foster care through the Ohio Bridges Program, the state’s extended foster care program. We talk about the importance of prevention so that youth don’t have to go into foster care in the first place, and we wrap up discussing opportunities to improve outcomes for aged-out youth.

In this March 12, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Bruce Wingate, President of Foster Care Furniture in Boise, Idaho. Bruce describes how his organization provides training in woodworking and carpentry for youth who have aged out of foster care. Their nonprofit offers 13 weeks of training in which the youth build products to specifications for a paying client. Then, they assists the youth in finding employment in the trades. They are also planning a second phase, which will include enabling youth to own their own tiny homes.

In this February 19, 2024 episode, Lynn Tonini interviews Brian Meza, Executive Director of Petra Cares, a charitable arm of Petra Auto Products based in Cypress, Texas. Brian explained the history of Petra Cares, which provides an automotive foundations course for youth aging out of foster care and assists them with acquiring a job in the automotive industry after successfully completing that course. Through partnerships with Lone Star College and other organizations, this nonprofit ensures wrap-around supports for the youth who sign up for their 7-week program. They are a young organization, but they have caught the eye of other cities and are already in talks about expanding.