7 years in Wisconsin Foster Care System
Katie Gordon is a 20-year-old from Wisconsin. She was placed in foster care in August of 2009, when she was eleven years old. Katie was reunified about a month before her eighteenth birthday. Katie experienced two placements while in care. One placement was a traditional foster home and the other was a placement with a family friend. Katie has two older brothers who she is still connected with but was separated from while in care. She is currently attending University of Wisconsin-Stout and will be a junior in the fall studying Human Development and Family Studies. She hopes to pursue a master's degree in social work.
Katie is motivated and passionate when it comes to advocating for the child welfare system. Katie is committed to being a part of change when it comes to all child welfare issues but especially poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and sibling separation. She is excited to continue her growth in the child welfare system. Her favorite advocacy opportunity was the National Foster Youth Institute Congressional Shadow Day which she attended in 2017. While there, she was able to share her story with important policy stakeholders and her congressmember. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and being involved in her sorority, Alpha Phi. Katie's favorite quote is "It is not about the cards you are dealt, but how you play the hand," by Randy Pausch.
