We are honored to acknowledge & celebrate our Fair Futures Heroes!
We are honored to acknowledge and celebrate our
Fair Futures Heroes!
Fair Futures is a true collaboration and community made possible by the many individuals who contributed to its growth and success. This grassroots, youth-led movement started in 2018 and evolved into a coalition of over 100 organizations and the largest cross-sector collaboration in the history of child welfare. Today, there are 500+ Fair Futures staff across 37 organizations implementing the model, which supports over 4,000 young people who have experienced NYC's foster care and/or juvenile justice systems.
Nominate a Fair Futures Hero
Anyone can nominate a Fair Futures Hero!
One hero is chosen each month in the categories below:
Fair Futures Leader
Fair Futures Leader
Fair Futures Partner
Foster Care Coach, Tutor, or Specialist
Juvenile Justice Coach or Specialist
Fair Futures Partner
Foster Care
Coach, Tutor, or Specialist
Juvenile Justice
Coach or Specialist
This Month's Heroes
Shelby Sauer was a Coach Supervisor at Graham Windham's Fair Futures program, "Graham SLAM," and has been an integral part of the program for the last 8 years.
During her time as a Coach, Shelby supported dozens of young people in achieving their goals and has maintained many long-term, strong relationships. As a leader, Shelby has supported many Coaches in being the best they can be by always modeling a strength-based approach, engaging in power listening, and ensuring they receive the professional support they need, every step of the way. She has also contributed to the continuous development of the Graham SLAM program over the years from rallying on the steps of City Hall in support of Fair Futures to lending her expertise as a coach and supervisor in codifying the Fair Futures manual.
Shelby is passionate about celebrating the accomplishments of all the young people in Graham SLAM. She's also a strong advocate for staff and focuses on developing them to be leaders in this field. Shelby leads with compassion, honesty, and integrity for the work, the youth, and the staff. These are a few qualities that make Shelby a leader in our field and a great peer to work alongside.
Over the last five years, Shelby has been a leader systemwide in the Fair Futures community. She participated in several Committees, focus groups, and pilots and provided valuable input that led to the development of the Fair Futures model, materials/resources, Goals & Steps framework, and online platform. She also contributed to the success of the advocacy campaign by mobilizing staff and young people to rallies and events.
Since the model has been funded and launched, Shelby has shown up as a leader in countless systemwide trainings, workshops, and learning communities and is an active participant in the Fair Futures Implementation Committee, where she shares Graham's best practices and helps shape systemwide solutions to common challenges.
While March 2024 was Shelby's last month as a Graham Supervisor, she will always be a part of the SLAM legacy and the Fair Futures family. Thank you, Shelby, for your dedication and commitment to young people, and all that you have done to help build and improve this community over your many years of service!
Elisabeth (Lisa) Bernard is a Staff Attorney with the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children of New York (AFC). Lisa received her Juris Doctorate degree from CUNY School of Law and a Masters in Youth Studies from CUNY Graduate Center. Prior to her work with Advocates for Children, she worked as a staff Attorney at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Lisa has also held multiple roles at the Center for Justice Innovation, more specifically at the Brownsville Community Justice Center where she served as the Youth & Community Programs Coordinator. In addition to continuing her advocacy role at AFC, Lisa has also been named a board member of New York City’s first Juvenile Justice Advisory Board led by the Adam’s Administration.
As an advocate and ally of the Fair Futures community, Lisa has provided critical support and training for staff who work with young people who are justice-impacted. Through workshops, individualized technical assistance, monthly consultation hours, and even in-person and direct support for young people, Lisa has shown her commitment to the educational success of our youth.
By expanding the content knowledge of coaches and specialists through Advocates for Children’s Know Your Education Rights workshop series, she empowers Fair Futures staff and builds their capacity and understanding to support young people as they navigate the various educational systems in NYC.
Yaddy always goes above and beyond when it comes to serving her students. She spends her free time gathering and creating resources that will help her students even though this is not required of her. She is constantly motivated to put in energy to make tangible improvements in her student's life. She is a great team player, she communicates with consistency, works hard to build rapport with her youth, brings others morals up, and advocates for what she believes in.
Yaddy is also extremely interested in furthering her professional development as a Coach. She always steps up and volunteers for new opportunities. Most recently, Yaddy attended the Innovative Schools Summit in New York City to network with educators, advocates, and learn new strategies to best support students.
Yaddy not only leads by example but also finds inspiration in her students' passions. As she pursues her Masters of Public Health, she consistently celebrates her students' accomplishments alongside her own, fostering a sense of community in all her sessions.
Tomas has worked as the Director of Education & Government Relations within the Education Department at NAC for over a decade. Within his role, he exceeds any expectations and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the children and youth that we serve are heard and supported. He is a fierce advocate, innovator, and leader and he guides his team with a very warm, highly supportive, and positive perspective.
Tomas has an empathic nature, and he shows up for his team and youth with a strength-based approach. His authenticity shines through every interaction he has with his team and young people. Anyone who has the pleasure of working with him is left with a feeling that they can accomplish anything.
Fair Futures often asks:
"What keeps us motivated to continue working despite high turnover rates in this field and unique challenges that cause others to leave?"
We would say it's Tomas that keeps us going. Tomas is everything!
Tomas is surely a Fair Futures hero!
Shelby Sauer was a Coach Supervisor at Graham Windham's Fair Futures program, "Graham SLAM," and has been an integral part of the program for the last 8 years. During her time as a Coach, Shelby supported dozens of young people in achieving their goals and has maintained many long-term, strong relationships.
As a leader, Shelby has supported many Coaches in being the best they can be by always modeling a strength-based approach, engaging in power listening, and ensuring they receive the professional support they need, every step of the way. She has also contributed to the continuous development of the Graham SLAM program over the years from rallying on the steps of City Hall in support of Fair Futures to lending her expertise as a coach and supervisor in codifying the Fair Futures manual.
Shelby is passionate about celebrating the accomplishments of all the young people in Graham SLAM. She's also a strong advocate for staff and focuses on developing them to be leaders in this field. Shelby leads with compassion, honesty, and integrity for the work, the youth, and the staff. These are a few qualities that make Shelby a leader in our field and a great peer to work alongside.
Over the last five years, Shelby has also been a leader systemwide in the Fair Futures community. She participated in several Committees, focus groups, and pilots and provided valuable input that led to the development of the Fair Futures model, materials/resources, Goals & Steps framework, and online platform. She also contributed to the success of the advocacy campaign by mobilizing staff and young people to rallies and events. Since the model has been funded and launched, Shelby has shown up as a leader in countless systemwide trainings, workshops, and learning communities and is an active participant in the Fair Futures Implementation Committee, where she shares Graham's best practices and helps shape systemwide solutions to common challenges.
While March 2024 was Shelby's last month as a Graham Supervisor, she will always be a part of the SLAM legacy and the Fair Futures family. Thank you, Shelby, for your dedication and commitment to young people, and all that you have done to help build and improve this community over your many years of service!
Elisabeth (Lisa) Bernard is a Staff Attorney with the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children of New York (AFC). Lisa received her Juris Doctorate degree from CUNY School of Law and a Masters in Youth Studies from CUNY Graduate Center.
Prior to her work with Advocates for Children, she worked as a staff Attorney at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Lisa has also held multiple roles at the Center for Justice Innovation, more specifically at the Brownsville Community Justice Center where she served as the Youth & Community Programs Coordinator. In addition to continuing her advocacy role at AFC, Lisa has also been named a board member of New York City’s first Juvenile Justice Advisory Board led by the Adam’s Administration.
As an advocate and ally of the Fair Futures community, Lisa has provided critical support and training for staff who work with young people who are justice-impacted. Through workshops, individualized technical assistance, monthly consultation hours, and even in-person and direct support for young people, Lisa has shown her commitment to the educational success of our youth. By expanding the content knowledge of coaches and specialists through Advocates for Children’s Know Your Education Rights workshop series, she empowers Fair Futures staff and builds their capacity and understanding to support young people as they navigate the various educational systems in NYC.
Yaddy always goes above and beyond when it comes to serving her students. She spends her free time gathering and creating resources that will help her students even though this is not required of her. She is constantly motivated to put in energy to make tangible improvements in her student's life. She is a great team player, she communicates with consistency, works hard to build rapport with her youth, brings others morals up, and advocates for what she believes in.
Yaddy is also extremely interested in furthering her professional development as a Coach. She always steps up and volunteers for new opportunities. Most recently, Yaddy attended the Innovative Schools Summit in New York City to network with educators, advocates, and learn new strategies to best support students.
Yaddy not only leads by example but also finds inspiration in her students' passions. As she pursues her Masters of Public Health, she consistently celebrates her students' accomplishments alongside her own, fostering a sense of community in all her sessions.
Tomas has worked as the Director of Education & Government Relations within the Education Department at NAC for over a decade. Within his role, he exceeds any expectations and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the children and youth that we serve are heard and supported. He is a fierce advocate, innovator, and leader and he guides his team with a very warm, highly supportive, and positive perspective.
Tomas has an empathic nature, and he shows up for his team and youth with a strength-based approach. His authenticity shines through every interaction he has with his team and young people. Anyone who has the pleasure of working with him is left with a feeling that they can accomplish anything.
Fair Futures often asks:
"What keeps us motivated to continue working despite high turnover rates in this field and unique challenges that cause others to leave?"
We would say it's Tomas that keeps us going. Tomas is everything! Tomas is surely a Fair Futures hero!
Honorees
Fair Futures Heroes
We're proud to acknowledge and celebrate our Fair Futures Heroes!
Fair Futures is a true collaboration and community that is made possible thanks to the passion, hard work, and commitment of the many individuals who contributed to its growth and success.
