About Us
A lived-experience-led nonprofit organization empowering system-impacted youth and young adults through programs, advocacy, and community.
Built from Lived Experience
I AM Foster KID was founded on a radical belief: the people most impacted by child welfare systems must lead the charge to transform them. Our organization was born from the understanding that those who have navigated foster care, adoption, juvenile justice, and tribal child welfare systems hold the expertise that no textbook or degree can replicate.
Our founder, Angela Cruze Boldt — a generational system lived expert — built this organization from her own experience and the experiences of countless others who had been silenced, overlooked, or spoken for instead of spoken with. She knew that meaningful change could only come when lived experts were positioned at the front of decision-making spaces.
What started as a vision, has grown into a movement. Today, I AM Foster KID is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with programs including workforce development, leadership training, entrepreneurial coaching, peer support, and community advocacy — all designed and led by people who have walked the same path as the youth we serve.
We believe in dignity, not charity. We believe in transformation, not just services. And we believe that every young person — regardless of their starting point — deserves to be seen, heard, and supported on their journey to independence.
Mission, Vision, & Values
Mission
To elevate lived experts to the front of decision-making spaces, providing system-impacted youth and young adults with the programs, advocacy, and community they need to build lasting independence and transform the systems that shaped them.
Vision
A world where no young person is defined by the system they came from — where every foster youth, adoptee, and justice-impacted young adult has the support, resources, and community to thrive on their own terms.
Values
Lived experience leadership. Dignity over charity. Cultural grounding. Relentless advocacy. Healing-centered support. Community accountability. We lead with empathy because we've walked the path.
System-impacted youth and young adults
Our programs serve young people ages 14–27 who have been impacted by the foster care system, adoption, juvenile justice, or tribal child welfare systems.