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
