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6 years in Utah’s Foster Care System
25 years old
She/her/hers
Natalie spent about 6 years in Utah’s foster care system between the ages of 3 and 18. She had too many placements to keep track - especially during her teenage years. Natalie graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's in Social Work. She has participated on her local and state advisory councils for many years with the goal of educating and informing the legislature on Utah’s foster care system. She has served as the President of the Salt Lake region and the Utah State Advisory Board from 2018 - 2020. Natalie has also worked for the Department of Children and Family Services as a Transition to Adult Living Assistant Coordinator.
Natalie’s passion and motivation for advocacy within the foster care system is derived from her many years of experiencing a “broken system.” Natalie is hopeful - while she experienced and observed the many flaws behind designating government and state agencies to raise children; she knows the strength of lived experience in changing the way things work for future generations of youth in foster care. That's why she co-founded her nonprofit organization, the 1999 Collective, which helps young people in foster care.
In her spare time, Natalie loves spending time outside in the sun with people she loves or hanging out in a hammock reading a good book.
”It’s not what you’ve been through in your life that defines who you are, it’s how you got through it that has made you the person you are today. Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you’ve ever been, to stand up taller than you ever were.”