Episode 142 | Keri Richmond: From an Abusive Home to Advocate for Foster Care Reform

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In this week’s episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks with Keri Richmond, Executive Director at Unbelievably Resilient and Manager of Child Welfare Policy at American Academy of Pediatrics. Keri Richmond is a passionate advocate for children and families in both her personal and professional life. After being in Ohio’s foster care system off and on for four years, and being adopted into an abusive home, as an adult, Keri has become an active leader for foster care reform as an international speaker, podcast host, policy wonk, and advocate.

Keri is particularly impassioned about healing from intergenerational trauma, helping others to understand the impact of unhealed trauma, and exploring ways for those of us who have intergenerational trauma to be the cycle breakers our families have been waiting for.

Keri is the Executive Director of Unbelievably Resilient, a nonprofit comprised of former foster youth on a mission to change the foster care narrative through sharing their journey’s moving from trauma to triumph. In addition to her work with UR, in 2020, Keri joined the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to serve as the organization’s first-ever, Manager of Child Welfare Policy in Washington, D.C.

Keri’s advocacy has led her to Washington, D.C., where she spent time with the United States Senate and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute sharing recommendations for systems change with Congress and the White House.

Keri has also given a TEDx talk entitled, “What can you learn from a trashbag?”