Resilient Voices & Beyond
Resilient Voices & Beyond is a podcast that amplifies the voices of those who were once silenced and aims to empower a new generation of foster care alum leaders. Through conversations with community partners, leaders, advocates, and activists, this podcast educates listeners on reforms, policies, and advocacy related to foster care, adoption, kinship, CCIs, JJ, and the child welfare system. The podcast challenges stigmas and labels surrounding these topics and creates a dialogue on reform and advocacy that is already happening or needs to happen. The core values of Resilient Voices & Beyond include empowerment, inclusivity, education, collaboration, authenticity, and innovation. The mission of the podcast is to create a platform for silenced voices to be heard and received, while the vision is to inspire and empower a new generation of leaders committed to making a positive change in the world.
Episodes
Guest: Faith M. Keen | DHHS Intern • FSM Contractor • LEx Policy Advocate • TLE Member • BSW
Candidate • Future MSW
Podcast: Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast — Season 3
Host: Michael D. Davis-Thomas Episode Description:
In this powerful and soul-baring conversation, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas is joined by rising advocate, policy shaper, and lived experience leader Faith M. Ke...
Guest: Sylvia Monica Parrott | National Foster Care Advocate, Public Speaker, Lived Experience Leader
Podcast: Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast — Season 3
Episode Description:
Still waters don’t mean still souls. In this soul-stirring episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with the quiet force that is Sylvia Monica Parrott—a woman whose strength is ...
Featuring: Tamara L. Dillard | Author, Clinical Social Worker, Therapist, Foster Care Advocate, Foster Alumni
Podcast: Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast — Season 3
Host: Michael D. Davis-Thomas
In this milestone 50th episode and the Season 3 of the Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down once more with powerhouse advocate ...
Title: "Broken Systems, Funded Silence: Deconstructing the Nonprofit-Gov Pipeline” (Part 2)
Guests: Bobbi Taylor (Founder & CEO, Proximate Solution) & Tamara Dillard, MSW, CSW (Clinical Social Worker, Advocate, Foster Care Alumni)
Host: Michael D. Davis-Thomas | Founder & CEO, MDDTSpeaks
💥 Episode Description:
In Part 2 of our ground-shifting series "Broken Systems, Funded Silence," we continue th...
🎙️ Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast
Title: “Broken Systems, Funded Silence: Deconstructing the Nonprofit-Gov Pipeline” – Part 1
In this explosive Part 1 of a two-part special, Resilient Voices & Beyond dives into one of the most underexamined yet critical realities in system reform: the nonprofit-to-government pipeline. Host Michael D. Davis-Thomas, nationally recognized advocate and Founder of MDDTSpeak...
Title: “Your direction is more important than your speed.”
Subtitle: From Surviving to Serving: Reclaiming Purpose Through Pain
In this deeply moving episode of the Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas (MDDTSpeaks) sits down with Andrea Atkins—a single mother of four, foster care alumni, and child welfare specialist—for an unfiltered, soul-stirring conversation about survival, mothe...
Title: “Life is not what happens to you, but how you respond to it.”
Subtitle: Stepping Into the Call: From Surviving to Surrendering
In this transformative episode of the Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas (MDDTSpeaks) reconnects with long-time friend and fellow advocate Ashley Watkins—and what unfolds is nothing short of sacred. Together, they journey through Ashley’s powerful te...
Title: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” – Colossians 3:23 (NLT)
In this deeply moving episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas is joined by author, advocate, mother, and lived experience leader Kayann Foster—a woman whose life and work exemplify faith, resilience, and radical healing.
From surviving childhood ...
Season 3, Episode 44
In this transformative episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with powerhouse speaker, author, trauma expert, and former foster youth Dr. Danisha Keating for a deeply authentic conversation about healing, identity, and turning pain into purpose.
From living in her car wh...
Season 3, Episode 43
In this raw and transformative episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas is joined by Maegan “Mae” Mason, a resilient advocate, mentor, and lived experience expert who shares her powerful story of survival, self-discovery, and growth.
Mae opens up about ...
Season 3, Episode 42
In this deeply enriching episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas welcomes the dynamic State Representative Stephanie A. Young, a legislator, community leader, ordained minister, and fierce advocate for children and families. With over two decades of service in both public and private sectors, Rep. Young brings her unmatched heart, faith, an...
Season 3, Episode 41
In this powerful episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas welcomes Jacob Holley, a Certified Trauma-Informed Trainer, Lived Experience Leader, and passionate foster care advocate. With firsthand experience navigating 27 different placements within Arizona’s foster care system, Jacob shares his deeply personal jour...
Season 3, Episode 40
In this moving episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas is joined by the inspiring Victoria “V” DeHart, a 24-year-old adoptee, advocate, motivational speaker, and social work student, to discuss her incredible story of resilience and healing. Born in a prison in Kaliningrad, Russia, and adopted as a baby, Victoria’s life has been marke...
Season 3, Episode 39
In this powerful episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with Tristian W. Smith, MSEM, a retired Army officer, published author, and advocate for foster youth. Tristian shares his extraordinary journey of resilience, from overcoming the challenges of a tumultuous childhood in the fos...
Season 3, Episode 38
In this emotionally moving episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with the resilient and inspiring Tashala Webster, a foster care alumna, adoptee, advocate, and nursing student, to discuss her journey of overcoming adversity, trauma, and obstacles to create a brighter future.
Tashala shares her power...
Episode Title: "You Only Live Once, But If You Do It Right, Once Is Enough"
Season 3, Episode 37
In this inspiring episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with the multifaceted Chianté Lymon-Hamilton, a trailblazer and advocate for justice and equity. As the Executive Director of the Society for History and Racial Equity (SHARE), Chianté shares her life’s journey of resilience, passion...
🌟 Featuring Guest: Stephanie M.V. Popper
🔗 Guest Professional Titles: Farm Social Worker | MSW Student | Foster Youth Advocate
In this inspiring episode of the Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast, Michael D. Davis-Thomas sits down with the dynamic and compassionate Stephanie M.V. Popper to explore the profound resilience required to turn life’s adversities into opportunities for...
Title: "More Stories = More Connection, and More Connection = More Healing"
In this profound and heartfelt episode, host Michael D. Davis-Thomas dives into the transformative power of storytelling and resilience with the remarkable Dr. Liz DeBetta. Together, they explore the pivotal moments that have shaped their journeys of healing and advocacy.
Dr. DeBetta, an adoptee a...
Season 3, Episode 33
🎙️ Title: “All Things Work Together”
In this episode of Resilient Voices & Beyond, we are honored to feature Aytia Tarpley—a remarkable Lived Experience Expert, Survivor Leader, Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and Peer Support Specialist. Aytia’s story of resilience is nothing short of incredible, as she has transformed her experiences with foster care, abuse, homelessness...
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