Jamie Finn
Jamie C. Finn is the author of best-selling book, Foster the Family, Filled: 60 Devotions for the Foster Parent’s Heart, and God Loves Kids: A Gospel Centered Book About Foster Care. She is the founder and President of Foster the Family and the founder of the Filled Gathering. Her popular social media accounts offer a glimpse into the real life of a foster parent and provide encouragement to hundreds of thousands of foster and adoptive parents. She lives in Sicklerville, New Jersey, with her husband, Alan, and their 7 children through foster care, adoption, and birth.
Jason Johnson
Jason is a writer and speaker who encourages families and equips church and organizational leaders on their foster care and adoption journeys.
He currently serves as the National Director of The Pure Religion Project with Christian Alliance for Orphans. In his work he develops resources, coaches leaders and teaches in a variety of contexts on church-based ministry structures, organizational leadership and strategy. He is also a sought-after speaker for churches, retreats, conferences, and events for foster and adoptive parents as well as for those considering getting involved.
Prior to his work at CAFO Jason spent 14 years in church staff ministry, including planting and pastoring a church in Houston. It’s there that his family's foster care journey began.
Jason and his wife, Emily live in Texas with their daughters. He has authored 4 books: Reframing Foster Care, Everyone Can Do Something, The ALL IN Curriculum and Effectively Engaging Churches. You can find many of his resources at www.jasonjohnsonblog.com.
Philip Pattinson
Philip Pattison is a Foster/Adoptive Dad, Pastor and Co-Founder/Executive Director of Foster the City, a movement of 400 churches working together to provide loving homes for children entering foster care. Philip and his family of 6 reside in the San Francisco Bay Area and you'll most likely find him exploring new coffee shops, cheering for his kids at the ballpark or dreaming about ways that local churches can keep moving towards vulnerable children and families.
Dr. Mary Ann McMillan
Dr. Mary Ann McMillan is a professor and researcher in human rights, criminal justice, and international relations, with a focus on vulnerable children and global child welfare systems. She is a former foster youth and adoptee, and her work is shaped by both professional training and lived experience.
She holds a doctorate in education with a focus on global affairs and has worked and conducted research in nearly 30 countries. She is the author of Bridging Resilience: A Guide to Healing for Former Foster Youth, Adoptees, and Parents. Dr. McMillan speaks and writes regularly on trauma, healing, justice, and vulnerable children, with a focus on strengthening families and improving outcomes globally.
She lives in California and enjoys a cup of tea, reading, and time with friends and family.
Sara Odicio
Sara is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an adult adoptee who was adopted from an orphanage in China when she was 13 months old. After graduating from Cairn University and Bryn Mawr College, Sara has worked with adoptive families since 2018 in various capacities including post permanency case management, parent education, support group facilitating and clinical therapy as a trained Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. Sara founded CORE of Adoption, LLC in 2021 to combine her life experience, skillset and passion in supporting teen and young adult adoptees through coaching and support groups. Sara developed a support group curriculum titled, Share Your Story, Your Way and is passionate in helping adoptees process and own their stories in new ways throughout their lifespan. Sara currently resides in Lancaster County, PA with her husband, Jared and two year old son. She enjoys finding hole-in-the-wall food places, taking walks, deep and edifying conversations, and serving as a worship leader at her local church.
Paula Walker
Paula Walker serves as the Trauma Specialist for Mission Georgia. She equips churches and organizations to create environments that are safe and welcoming for the vulnerable among us so that they can hear and respond to the Gospel. She holds a Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Georgia and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of West Georgia. She is also a TBRI Practitioner. She is married to Scott Walker, and they have 6 children, ages 19 to 7, three of whom came to their family through foster care and adoption. The Walkers live in Jasper, Georgia.
Martha Cook
Martha Cook is a marriage and family clinician, wife of 25 years, and mother of ten children, seven through adoption. With unusual honesty, humor, and hope, Martha speaks to the beautiful, complicated, and often exhausting realities of adoption, foster care, trauma, attachment, marriage, and family life.
Martha earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington and Lee University and her Master’s in Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. As a clinician, she helps individuals and couples understand why their stories matter, how their stories of origin shape connection, and what they can do now to move toward healing, freedom, and deeper intimacy.
Martha is passionate about helping foster and adoptive parents love their children without losing themselves. She speaks honestly about staying loving but not enmeshed, connected but not controlled, compassionate but not consumed—and giving parents permission to live, laugh, rest, and enjoy the life God has given them, even when their children’s healing journeys are still messy or unfinished.
Tona Ottinger
Tona Ottinger is the Senior Program Director of Empowered to Connect, where she equips parents, caregivers, professionals, churches, and communities with practical, trauma-informed tools that help children and families heal and thrive. She is also the co-founder of the Memphis Family Connection Center, which provides family-centered, connection-based clinical care for children and families.
Drawing from more than two decades of experience as an adoptive mother, trainer, speaker, and advocate, Tona has encouraged hundreds of foster and adoptive families through teaching, podcasting, and conference ministry. Passionate about hope, healing, and attachment-rich relationships, she is committed to helping families and communities create safe, connected spaces where children can flourish.
Nate & Kristen Crew
Kristen and Nate Crew are ministry leaders and parents of seven children through birth, foster care, and adoption. Nate is a pastor who brings a biblical and theological perspective, while Kristen draws from more than a decade of foster parenting, special education, nonprofit leadership, and family advocacy. Together, they offer biblical insight and honest, practical encouragement for navigating the intersection of foster care, adoption, trauma, faith, and marriage.
Jesse Faris
Jesse has been working with children & families since graduating from Auburn University with a BS in Human Development & Family studies in 2002. She worked in student & adult ministry on staff with churches for a number of years, and then transitioned to working for nonprofits that supported children & families. She married her husband Nick in 2006, and they adopted two children–a daughter from Ethiopia in 2011, and a daughter from China in 2015. Nick and Jesse found Empowered to Connect as they were researching the adoption process, and they began training with Empowered to Connect in 2004. After a decade staying home with her daughters, Jesse came on staff with ETC in 2021 as a Training Specialist. She now works as a Special Projects Manager, managing projects that involve ETC programs across the state & globe while continuing to train new facilitators in ETC’s Cultivate Connection parenting curriculum and creating new resources for parents & families. She leads & teaches a local evening class of an in-depth global Bible study in her free time.
Abby Mortenson
Abby Mortenson is a Social Worker, Foster and Adoptive Mother, Creative, and Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist-in-training who creates embodied, sacred spaces for healing and connection. Her work centers on nervous system nourishment, grief and joy integration, and community-based healing for women and mothers.
Rooted in her Christian faith, Abby offers circles, courses, retreats, and one-on-one sessions that support emotional, spiritual, and embodied well-being. She is especially passionate about supporting foster and adoptive mothers and creating spaces where women can be witnessed, held, and restored through connection.
With professional training and lived experience, her approach weaves together embodiment practices, trauma-informed care, ritual, and reflective conversation. At the heart of her work is the belief that our healing journeys are cultivated most deeply in community.
Cristiana Amato
Cristiana Amato is a foster and adoptive mother, writer, speaker, and follower of Jesus who is passionate about caring for vulnerable children and strengthening families. Alongside her husband, Donny, she has welcomed more than 40 children into their home through foster care, adoption, guardianship, and kinship care.
Through both lived experience and years of advocacy, Cristiana encourages foster and adoptive families with honesty, hope, and biblical truth. As the voice behind The Feathered Nest Blog, she writes about faith, trauma, disability, and the beauty of everyday obedience. Her work reflects a deep commitment to supporting families caring for children from hard places and reminding others that while not everyone is called to foster, everyone is called to care.