“The Impact of Partnership”

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Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Lauren Wright, Executive Director, Illinois Partners for Human Service, to discuss The Impact of Partnership.

About Lauren Wright

Lauren is driven to create a more equitable future for all Illinoisans. Her vision and experience with building global coalitions, cultivating relationships with diverse stakeholders and creating new opportunities for growth and sustainability are at the core of the Illinois Partners mission.

Lauren previously served as the Director of Programs at Mama Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to partnering with grassroots organizations around the world and investing in programs that support education, climate justice, health, gender equality and financial security. Lauren holds a Master of Arts in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute and a master’s degree in International Policy and Practice from George Washington University. Lauren represents Illinois Partners as a member of the State Health Improvement Plan Committee, the Responsible Budget Coalition, Vote Yes for Fair Tax Ballot Committee, Westside ConnectED, and the Illinois Count Me in 2020 Steering Committee.

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“The Science of Hope in Foster Care”

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Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Ashley Cross, Nonprofit Advocate and Leader, to discuss The Science of Hope in Foster Care.

About Ashley Cross

Dr. Cross has dedicated her life to building and sustaining hope in vulnerable children and families, and in the professionals working with them. She established the first girls’ home in Tulsa, OK, and raised awareness in the city about the issues concerning girls in foster care and youth aging out. Through civic engagement, the local church, a dedicated community, and a lot of faith and hope, Dr. Ashley raised over one million in funds and properties to house girls aging out of foster care or experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma. Dr. Cross sits on the board of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Rochester Excellence Academy, and she is the founder of the Hub585. Dr. Ashley also Pastor’s alongside her husband Melvin Cross Jr at Glory House International.

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“Advocating for Affordable Child Care and Education”

View Hope Talks on YouTube

Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by April Janney, President & CEO of Illinois Action for Children, to discuss Advocating for Affordable Child Care and Education.

About April Janney

April Janney is the President and CEO of Illinois Action for Children. Janney was named to this position in January 2021 after serving as Acting President and CEO since June 2020.

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“The Philanthropic Redesign”

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Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Mark Brewer, President & CEO of Central Florida Foundation, to discuss the philanthropic redesign.

About Mark Brewer

Mark joined the Central Florida Foundation in 2000, and has earned respect for his ability to build community partnerships that meet issues head-on and produce measurable results. He has worked with hundreds of individuals, families, and corporations to establish philanthropy plans, endowments, funding strategies, and planned gifts. He is a well-known national speaker on the independent sector, philanthropy’s role in America, venture philanthropy strategies, and the role of the independent sector in public policy. In his leadership role at the Central Florida Foundation, Mark frequently advises private and corporate foundation grant makers across the region, and plays a public policy advisory role on strategy and advisory boards around the state of Florida.

Mark began his career in the media as a reporter, anchor, and journalist. Mark holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a specialty in Nonprofit Management, is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy ®, and is ABD for a PhD in Public Administration with a specialty in Policy and Law from Walden University.

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“Advocating for LGBTQ+ Foster and Adoptive Parents”

View Hope Talks on YouTube

Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Brian Rosenberg, Founder of Gays With Kids, to discuss Advocating for LGBTQ+ Foster and Adoptive Parents.

About Brian Rosenberg 

Brian Rosenberg has more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience, but his real passion has been the creation of Gays With Kids, the one-stop destination for gay, bi and trans dads and dads-to-be. Brian and his husband Ferd became first-time dads back in 2009, creating their family through adoption and surrogacy. At the time, there were few resources available to help queer men become dads, and even fewer for those who already were, so they launched GWK in March 2014. Together since 1993, the secret to this couple’s longevity is Ferd’s prowess in the kitchen and Brian‘s great appreciation for anything his husband cooks!

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“Aging Successfully Out of Foster Care”

View Hope Talks on YouTube

Hope Talks 

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve. 

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Ángela Quijada-Banks, CEO of Soulful Liberation and Author of The Black Foster Youth Handbook, to discuss Aging Successfully Out of Foster Care. 

About Ángela Quijada-Banks 

Ángela Quijada-Banks is a best-selling Author, Educator, Artist, and Purpose Coach with a tenaciously innovative drive for revolutionary transformation in the political, economic, health care, and child welfare systems. She works every day to learn how we can dispute and overcome the disparities for low–income communities of color. Ángela focuses on accountability, restoration, and holistic healing in young people of color. Ángela shared, “I will not stop until I can no longer keep going.” 

About One Hope United 

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential. 

“Creating a Better Future for Children by Preventing Child Abuse”

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Hope Talks

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve.

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Katelyn Brewer, President & CEO of Darkness to Light, to discuss Creating a Better Future for Children by Preventing Child Abuse.

About Katelyn Brewer

High energy, entrepreneurial executive, Katelyn N. Brewer, is passionate about empowering people, organizations, and communities to enhance the impact of social movements. As President & CEO of Darkness to Light, the nation’s leading advocate for the prevention of child sexual abuse, her expertise in transforming organizational cultures, achieving programmatic scale, and implementing behavior change communication lends invaluable insight to the larger conversation of child protection as a collective adult responsibility. Through education, advocacy, and research, Darkness to Light continues to revolutionize the way society keeps children safe from abuse.

Katelyn’s dedication to innovation, emerging technologies, and cross-team alignment empowers nonprofits to achieve critical social goals. Her work has resulted in sustainable change for communities, both nationally and internationally. Katelyn continually demonstrates that grassroots community initiatives lay the groundwork for organizations to expand their missions globally.

Katelyn is a graduate of Wheaton College in Boston, MA with a bachelor’s in International Relations and French. She lives in Charleston, SC.

About One Hope United

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential.

“Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Families Through Advocacy”

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Hope Talks

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve.

In this month’s episode, One Hope United’s President and CEO, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer, is joined by Dr. Jody Levison-Johnson, President and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation, to discuss Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Families Through Advocacy.

About Jody Levison-Johnson, PhD, LCSW

Dr. Jody Levison-Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience in the field of human services. She currently serves as the President and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation, two nonprofit organizations in the midst of a merger working to create a dynamic network of human and social service organizations, activate the power of the social sector, and propel continuous evolution and policy change.

Jody is a longstanding champion for systems change that results in the ability for individuals and communities to thrive. Over several decades, her career has crossed a variety of private and public sector settings, including direct service organizations, a national membership association, state and local governments, and a management and consulting organization. Jody’s experiences leading system reform efforts across the country have prompted her interest in the environmental contexts that surround deep change in social and public systems. Jody holds a Master of Social Work degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Arts and PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

About One Hope United

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential.

“Investing in Communities for the Health of our Children“

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Hope Talks

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve.

In this month’s episode, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer is joined by Bryan Echols, Principal and Founder of BE. The Change Consulting, to discuss Investing in Communities for the Health of our Children.

About Bryan Echols

Bryan Echols is currently a Senior Advisor for Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs. In his capacity as a Senior Advisor, Bryan brings his years of banking, financial services, nonprofit management and academic experiences to serve the Treasurer and the State of Illinois. Before coming to the State Treasurer’s office, he served as the Community Restorative Justice Hubs Director in the city of Chicago.

Bryan is also the Principal and Founder of BE. The Change Consulting. BE. The Change Consulting works in the areas of youth leadership development, civic engagement, community organizing, the intersectionality of race and class, and cross-cultural equity work. He enjoys teaching Master’s level and Ph.D. students at Adler University in the Social Justice Practicum. He has chaired the Multicultural Leadership Council for the American Heart Association for the last 3 years. Echols is currently a board member for the Workers Center for Racial Justice, Board Treasurer for United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations, and a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Fellow.

About One Hope United

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential.

“The Intersection of Community-Based Organizations”

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Hope Talks

One Hope United is proud to bring you Hope Talks, monthly conversations with leaders in the child and family welfare sector. By having these conversations, we hope to inspire actionable change and work together to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve.

In the first episode of Hope Talks, “The Intersection of Community-Based Organizations,” Howard Brown Health President and CEO, David Ernesto Munar, joins President and CEO of One Hope United, Dr. Charles A. Montorio-Archer, to discuss the similar challenges their organizations face in serving their communities and the steps they’ve taken to meet this historic moment.

About David Ernesto Munar

Since joining Howard Brown Health in 2014, David Ernesto Munar has focused on ensuring the delivery of excellent patient services, strengthening finances and operations, and positioning the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ organization for long-term sustainability and growth.  Prior to Howard Brown, Munar honed his career at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago where he held several positions, including President and CEO.

He served on the boards of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, AllianceChicago, and the Black AIDS Institute.  In 2007, he helped launch a national coalition that led to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy unveiled by President Obama in July 2010.  In 2019, he co-chaired Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Healthy Children & Families Transition Committee and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Health and Human Services Transition Committee.

About One Hope United

Founded in 1895, One Hope United is a multistate nonprofit that helps children and families build the skills to live life without limits. We serve over 10,000 children and families each year through education centers, child and family services, counseling, and residential programs. With our evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, we empower children and families to see and create a future where, regardless of their past, they can reach their full potential.