To Our Supporters, Volunteers, and Partners

I am honored to share that I am stepping into the role of Executive Director of Foster Nation. After years devoted to building programs, cultivating partnerships, and helping scale this work, it is both humbling and energizing to return to the organization. and steward the next chapter of our mission.

This transition is not a reset. It is a continuation made possible by your belief and investment. From the earliest rapid-response efforts during the pandemic to the expansion of mentorship, career development, and community initiatives, your support has been the throughline. Because of you, when young adults needed stability, opportunity, and connection, we were prepared to meet the moment.

Since 2020, I have had the privilege of learning alongside Maggie Lin. Her leadership shaped not only the strategy of this organization, but its character—steady, principled, and deeply rooted in care. The foundation she built is strong. I step into this role with immense respect for that legacy and a commitment to carrying it forward with the same integrity and clarity of purpose.

As we look ahead, our responsibility is clear: grow thoughtfully, deepen our impact, and remain anchored in individualized care. The young adults we serve deserve consistency. They deserve excellence. They deserve a community that shows up. Day after day, year over year.

If you are currently engaged in this work, please know how significant your contribution is. If your involvement has shifted over the years, the door is always open. Whether through mentorship, partnership, philanthropy, or quiet advocacy, there are many ways to create life-changing impact. Your presence at any level matters.

Every hour volunteered strengthens a support system. Every dollar donated expands access to opportunity. Every partnership cultivated opens another path forward. That has always been true—and it remains true today.

We are here for the long term. I look forward to building what comes next with steadiness, gratitude, and shared conviction.

With excitement,

Alec

To Our Foster Nation Community

I am honored to share that I am stepping into the role of Executive Director of Foster Nation.

My work here began in 2020 during the earliest days of our Meal Nation program—when we were responding to a pandemic in real time and learning, quickly, what it meant to adapt and show up consistently for young people in Los Angeles. That work shaped me. It was there that I found not only my commitment to our mission, but the deepest respect for the resilience, clarity, and ambition within this community.

Throughout these years, Maggie Lin has been my mentor. We’ve devised programs together, launched partnerships with the broader community, and scaled the work of Foster Nation to new heights. She has always modeled what steady leadership looks like—principled, responsive, and grounded in care. As I step into this role, I carry her example with me. And I do so with a clear intention: to always be that same kind of presence for you, grounded in vulnerability, dedication, and genuine care.

Everything we build at Foster Nation is shaped by what we hear from you. Your ideas. Your frustrations. Your goals. Your lived expertise. As our programs grow and evolve, they will continue to be informed by the realities you are navigating every day. Growth, for us, does not mean distance. It does not mean abstraction. It means expanding our capacity to listen well and respond thoughtfully.

No matter how large this organization becomes, individual relationships remain at the center. Every conversation matters. Every voice carries weight. Everyone who engages with us deserves care that is personal, consistent, and rooted in respect.

I am here for you—not as a title, but as a person committed to your success. If you have walked through one of our programs, are currently involved, or are considering joining our community, know that this organization exists because of you and for you. And I intend to keep that truth visible in everything we do.

We are building this together.

With excitement and gratitude,
Alec

A New Chapter for Foster Nation

Over the past decade, with your belief and generosity, Foster Nation has grown from a daring idea into a powerful force for connection, healing, and opportunity for young people impacted by foster care. What began with my personal story and a dream for impact has become a thriving community, shaped and sustained by every donor, volunteer, supporter, and partner who chose to stand with us. We would not be here without you — and I carry immense gratitude for the way you helped turn possibility into reality.

It is with a heart full of both excitement and quiet reflection that I share some significant news. I am stepping down as the Executive Director of Foster Nation and I am passing the torch to Alec Marcellin, who has served the organization in various capacities for more than five years. Alec understands this work from the inside out, and I have full confidence in his vision, integrity, and leadership. He is the right person to guide Foster Nation into its next chapter and to take this organization to an even greater level of impact.

Building Foster Nation has been my greatest challenge, filled with beautiful lessons and the most joyful and satisfying moments of my life. While there is a natural sadness in shedding this professional skin, it is eclipsed by a deep sense of relief and an unshakable belief in Alec’s ability to amplify and lead this organization into its next great era of growth.

Looking back, this journey has felt like an entire lifetime. From the first fundraiser and the shaky-voiced public speaking, to raising millions with nothing but a story and an idea, to supporting thousands of young people that have aged out of foster care, Foster Nation has been the crucible that forged the person I am today. It taught me how to alchemize the pain of my own foster care experiences into something precious, how to lead with vulnerability, and how to believe in the impossible.

Though my title is changing, a part of me will forever be with this organization. I am stepping away to explore what it means to be "fully me" beyond these walls, untethered and ready for new possibilities. Thank you for walking with me through every failure, every triumph, and every moment of magic. I am so honored to have shared this light with you, and I cannot wait to see how brightly Foster Nation shines under Alec’s guidance.

Foster Nation is, and always will be, a love letter — to every version of myself who once needed someone to believe in her, to every young person who carries more light and magic than they yet know, and to every one of you who chose to stand with us. Thank you for trusting me with your resources, your time, your encouragement, and your hearts. Whatever unfolds next, please know that the foundation of this work is unshakable: love made visible through belief and possibility. And that is because of you.

With Gratitude,

Maggie

A New Chapter for Foster Nation

It is with a heart full of both excitement and quiet reflection that I share some significant news. I am stepping down as the Executive Director of Foster Nation and I am passing the torch to Alec Marcellin, who has served the organization in various capacities for more than five years. Alec understands this work from the inside out, and I have full confidence in his vision, integrity, and leadership. He is the right person to guide Foster Nation into its next chapter and to take this organization to an even greater level of impact.

Building Foster Nation has been my greatest challenge, filled with beautiful lessons and the most joyful and satisfying moments of my life. While there is a natural sadness in shedding this professional skin, it is eclipsed by a deep sense of relief and an unshakable belief in Alec’s ability to amplify and lead this organization into its next great era of growth.

Looking back, this journey has felt like an entire lifetime. It taught me what it means to initiate — to fail, to try again, to push beyond imagined limits. It taught me to lead with vulnerability, to build relationships across every divide, to ask for help and receive kindness with openness. It challenged me to integrate the pain from my own foster care experiences and alchemize it into purpose. There were moments of feeling like David against Goliath, moments of frustration in the face of powerlessness and helplessness, and moments of breathtaking awe at what can happen when people come together in shared conviction. Through this work, I discovered something profound: I have always stood on the shoulders of giants — and I, too, am a giant. Not because of my individual strength, but because of the collective love that made the impossible real.

I hope this is a reminder to each of you that you, too, are a giant that can turn the impossible into reality. I have believed in you, and I always will.

Though my title is changing, a part of me will forever be with this organization. I am stepping away to explore what it means to be "fully me" beyond these walls, untethered and ready for new possibilities. Thank you for walking with me through every failure, every triumph, and every moment of magic. I am so honored to have shared this light with you, and I cannot wait to see how brightly Foster Nation shines under Alec’s guidance.

Foster Nation is, and always will be, a love letter — to every version of myself who once needed someone to believe in her, to every young person reading this who carries more light and magic than you realize yet, and to every one of you who chose to stand with us. Thank you for trusting me with your dreams, your needs, your time, your vulnerability and your hearts.

With Love,

Maggie