Life's a wild ride, isn't it? Kind of like fostering and adopting, which is the heart and soul of our podcast, From Foster to Forever. We dive into the ups and downs of non-traditional families, sharing heartfelt stories that are anything but ordinary. In this latest episode, I pop in to give a shout-out after a little break from the mic. I know, I know, it’s been a minute, but hey, life (and surgery!) happens. Whether you’re a new listener or a seasoned vet, I’m stoked to have you here with me....
Jun 26, 2025•6 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Dennis DJ Quinn joins Rachel to share some seriously heartwarming wisdom from his years of mentoring through the Big Brother program. Right off the bat, he dives into the real deal about what it’s like to step into a kid’s life—not as a dad replacement, but as a big brother and a friend. He’s here to remind us that fostering connections can change not just a child’s life, but your own too. Dennis spills the beans on his journey, filled with laughter, challenges, and some unexpected life lessons ...
May 02, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In continuation of our celebration of Autistic voices, we're diving deep into the world of dance and neurodiversity with Amanda Trisdale and Leta Rundell, the dynamic duo behind the Autistic Wings Dance Company. Right off the bat, they tackle how traditional dance environments often fall short for autistic kids, leaving them feeling sidelined and misunderstood. Amanda shares her personal journey, revealing how her own experiences with autism shaped the way they run their dance studio—where inclu...
Apr 15, 2025•29 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Today’s chat dives deep into the nitty-gritty of parenting while navigating the complexities of autism and ADHD. Our guest, Christopher Wyatt, shares his personal journey of becoming a foster parent, which took a serious turn when his wife was diagnosed with cancer shortly after they welcomed their daughters into their lives. Instead of throwing in the towel, he emphasizes the importance of commitment, stating, “We signed up to be the best parents we could be, whether it was for a year or for a ...
Apr 02, 2025•58 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Sharon Dunleavy joins Rachel in this enlightening episode to shed some serious light on the critical role of educational advocacy for kids in foster care. With around 20,000 youth aging out of the system each year, Sharon dives deep into the staggering statistics that reveal a troubling reality—many of these kids face challenges like homelessness and incarceration. We chat about the importance of understanding trauma and how it affects learning, plus the laws that can help foster kids get the ed...
Mar 25, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Terria Roushun joins me today to dive into the heart of hair care and its cultural significance, especially for transracial adoptive parents of Black children. She emphasizes that caring for a child's hair is not just about styling—it's about recognizing and affirming their identity and heritage. Terria, a licensed cosmetologist and trauma-informed care expert, shares her journey from a corporate career to empowering families with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate cultural nuances in...
Mar 04, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Rachel Fulginiti sits down with Dr. John DeGarmo, a powerhouse in the world of foster care and adoption, to dig into the importance of providing every child with a forever family. Dr. DeGarmo shares his heartfelt journey into fostering, sparked by personal loss and a desire to help kids who have faced unimaginable challenges. With over 60 children welcomed into his home, he’s not just talking the talk; he’s living it. We dive into the nitty-gritty of what it means to foster, the misconceptions t...
Feb 25, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Actress and cancer survivor Heather Keller joins us today, sharing her inspiring journey as a foster-to-adopt mom in a transracial family. Heather shares what led her to fostering and how she managed to begin the journey while also performing a one-woman show overseas. As the episode progresses, we discuss the unique challenges and joys that come with raising a child of a different race and how it has opened her eyes to the realities of the world around her. Heather opens up about her experience...
Feb 18, 2025•58 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Jeanette Yoffe dives deep into the complexities of foster care and adoption in this enlightening chat. As an adult adoptee, she shares her personal experiences, revealing how her journey through the foster system shaped her career as a psychotherapist advocating for children in similar situations. We discuss the crucial role of emotional support for kids grappling with grief and loss, emphasizing that they can't always piece together their stories alone—sometimes, they need a little help from th...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Maryanne shares her compelling journey as a foster parent navigating the complex and often tumultuous world of foster care. She emphasizes the emotional rollercoaster that comes with fostering, highlighting the unique challenges of raising children in limbo while waiting for legal resolutions. Maryanne's story dives deep into her experiences with sibling sets, the impact of the legal system on children's lives, and the importance of community support. The conversation also touches on the weight ...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Brittany Viebrock, the Program Success Manager at Austin Angels, joins Rachel Fulginiti to discuss the vital support system for families and youth navigating the foster care system. The mission of Austin Angels is to walk alongside these families, providing volunteers who offer relationship-building and wraparound support. Brittany shares her extensive experience working with children in foster care and highlights the significant difference that community support can make in reducing the number ...
Jan 28, 2025•48 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The heartfelt discussion between Naika Andre and Rachel Fulginiti delves deeply into Naika's profound journey as a foster mom, focusing on her experiences caring for her godson amidst challenging family circumstances. The episode begins with Naika sharing the pivotal moment when she stepped into the role of a foster parent due to her godson's mother's mental health struggles. This transition was not just about taking on a new title but involved a significant emotional commitment and responsibili...
Jan 21, 2025•50 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode, we welcome Beth Dubber, a busy still photographer and an adoptee who later became a foster-to-adopt mom. Beth shares her multifaceted story, including her experiences with IVF, adoption, and navigating life as both an adoptee and an adoptive parent. She discusses the challenges of infertility, her sobriety journey, and surviving breast cancer. Beth opens up about the emotional and psychological aspects of adoption, societal perceptions, and the complexities of her experience. Sh...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 3
I found my way to Billie Oh via a beautiful article in the Huffington Post about their experience with Single Foster Dad Adoption . Billie began the foster journey with no intention of adopting, but life had other plans. No stranger to the foster care system, Billie grew up having foster children in the home. In addition, Billie's aunt and mom (the great writer Jeannine Ouellette ,)had been in foster care as children themselves. Billie felt a calling to help. Suddenly welcoming a two year old in...
Jan 07, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Days of Our Lives and Hallmark Channel star Jen Lilley is a foster-to-adopt mom and philanthropist who donates tons of her time, money and energy to championing the cause of foster youth. In this episode she takes time out of her busy filming schedule to discuss why she chose to spotlight foster care and adoption as her cause of choice. In the episode Jen details how she and her husband decided to begin fostering and how they ultimately adopted two siblings, as well as eventually having two biol...
Dec 14, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Just a quick message of thanks and gratitude for supporting the show and an update on what's next. We're currently working on a Season 2. I am also finishing up an offering that I hope to have out in early summer: Two new books: From Foster to Forever: Surviving the Journey (A handbook for Parents) and From Foster to Forever: A workbook to help you decide if foster-to-adopt is for you. I'll have a pre-order link up as soon as it's available. In the meantime, if you have already left a rating/rev...
May 07, 2024•4 min•Season 1Ep. 10
I couldn't think of a better way to close out Season One than by sharing Stacey and Demi's unique story. It begins when Stacey was a new teacher in her first job. Demi was a pre-teen with a challenging family life. At school she was "always in trouble", but Stacey found a way to connect with her. When Demi ended up needing a foster home, the only person she could think of to call was Stacey. And so began their life together. This is such a great conversation because we have both Stacey and Demi,...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This is a very special episode because it features our first nanny, Morgan, who we met when she first arrived in LA from the East Coast. Morgan found out about foster care and foster-to-adopt through working for us and decided it was something she felt called to do. Her husband agreed and shortly after becoming certified, they received Ventura County's 13th ever Safe Surrender baby. They went through the process and adopted him and have since gone on to foster multiple children, providing a safe...
Mar 26, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode tells the story of Amy and Tiger, two creatives who "met old" and wanted to start a family. With money constraints, they found their way to foster-to-adopt, and after an arduous fostering process, were able to adopt their daughter. We discuss so many topics on this episode: -The feeling of "otherness" that can sometime occur as an adoptive family. -Transracial adoption and as white people, some ways to support an African American child. -Tokenism and representation in the media. -Th...
Mar 19, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Jay Shindell found fostering by "accident". The single dad was only originally going to do emergency placements but soon after welcoming the first baby into his home, he was in love and wanted to adopt. He survived multiple placements, supporting many birth families and helping them get on their feet before finally finding his son (who you can hear cooing sweetly in the background throughout the interview!). Jay talks about how he dealt with loss, how he remembers and honors the children that ha...
Mar 12, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Jesse and Hope have been foster family advocates for years, helping others to navigate the foster-to-adopt journey, after adopting two children of their own through the Los Angeles foster care system. Indeed, they also helped my husband and I when we were embarking on ours, sharing strategies for everything from what questions to ask when considering a placement, to interfacing with the County and more. It was wonderful to meet again after so many years and discuss the foster-to-adoption process...
Mar 05, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Kira Cook always knew she wanted to adopt. She decided to foster-to-adopt soon after having a biological child. In this episode she details the difficult reunification of her first foster daughter and how she subsequently found the child that would become a part of her forever family. She talks about the challenges of working with the foster care system, maintaining the birth order between children, her pre-conceived notions about drug exposure and gives advice about how to move forward if someo...
Feb 27, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Ted and Carlos adopted Daniel when he was eight through the foster care system. His parental rights had already been terminated and he'd been through multiple failed placements before arriving in their home. On this special episode, we get to hear from Daniel, himself, about his experiences, as well as chat with Ted and Carlos about the joys and challenges of adopting an older child who has been in the system longer and how they surmounted difficulties through love, patience and perseverance. Th...
Feb 20, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In part two of my initial two "mini-sodes" to kick off this podcast, I interview my husband and best friend, Joe Fulginiti. Joe and I already knew we hit the lottery with our relationship. When we began to struggle with fertility challenges, health issues and carrying a pregnancy, we wondered if we could just be happy being child-free. We did a lot of soul-searching and figured out we still wanted kids. That set us off on a quest for how to do that. We researched many different avenues for start...
Feb 06, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this inaugural episode, I introduce who I am, why I decided to start the show and how my family came to foster-to-adopt. I give a brief background on my career as an actor and then a voice actor and audiobook narrator as well as my relationship with my husband and our surprise struggles to have children. I go on to detail how the intentional building of our forever family unfolded over the past decade. I share other options we explored for starting a family, such as IVF, "straight adoption" t...
Feb 05, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This is the trailer for the brand new "From Foster to Forever" podcast. Season One features interviews with a variety of folks who have successfully navigated the foster-to-adopt journey and arrived at forever. Topics discussed include how to handle the ups and downs, dealing with loss, transracial adoption, co-parenting through a divorce, same-sex parenting, being an older parent, adopting an older child, and signs and synchronicities, among many other things. The show is hosted by award-winnin...
Feb 01, 2024•1 min
