We asked Brian Topping, our Board Secretary, a few questions to get to know him better.

What inspired you to get involved with FAPAC?

We first found FAPAC through the trainings they offer and the peer support groups they run. As we got to know the organization and saw how much they assisted families with the challenges that come with parenting, we wanted to make sure everyone who needed help, support, and a community could find it with FAPAC. When we were placed with an infant and got to know the birth family, FAPAC helped us navigate this new shared parenting relationship– one that we maintain more than five years after the child’s reunification with the birth family. FAPAC was there for us and also gave us the opportunity to contribute to the development of new resources that support shared parenting for more families and across the Child and Family Services Agency.  

What do some of your responsibilities look like as a board member?

I have been the secretary for several years, so I take notes at board meetings and keep track of the timing of board elections. I also try to provide a voice of resource and adoptive parent experience. 

What other work are you involved in outside of FAPAC?

I work for the US Environmental Protection Agency to authorize development while protecting and restoring streams and wetlands. We have three daughters and two dogs that also keep my wife, Kate, and I very busy.

What has been one of your favorite memories/experiences with FAPAC?

The annual holiday party is a wonderful event and opportunity for foster kids to just have fun, get presents, and celebrate with their birth and foster families together. I have many fond memories of attending with foster children and their birth families, volunteering at it, and coming together as an organization to make it happen and clean up afterwards.

We asked Najiba Hlemi, FAPAC’s Executive Director, a few questions to get to know her better.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

Where do I begin? On any typical week, I am figure out ways to better serve children and families, editing grant applications, submitting reports to funders, meeting with stakeholders or our team, strategizing on our various goals, moving boxes, ordering supplies, answering phone calls and emails, looking for new funders, catching up on recent studies and trends in the foster care world, and so much more. No two days are the same for me, and I love every minute of it!

How did your journey at FAPAC begin? What drew you to this organization?

It feels serendipitous that I get to work with youth and families in foster care, being that I also came out of foster care. If you told me years ago that I would have the opportunity to lead a foster care organization, I would not have believed you. This work we accomplish with an incredible team of amazing people feels like a dream because I get to do what I love daily for a cause that is dear to me. My background is in marketing and nonprofit management and working with various nonprofit organizations. FAPAC became my home because of its mission and the opportunity to work directly with families involved in foster care.

What was your background prior to joining FAPAC?

Prior to FAPAC I was the Executive Director for an after-school program for underserved youth, and before that for an association where I really got to sharpen my legislative advocacy skills. Before that I worked for a teacher’s union, and then prior to that I was in sales. I have a master’s degree in nonprofit management, an MBA, a bachelor’s in business marketing, and another in French. I love being able to market and grow nonprofit organizations.

How has FAPAC changed over time? What is something you’d like to see in the future?

FAPAC has had a strong history in advocacy for foster parents, and my predecessor and our co-founder was an incredible advocate with exceptional knowledge. Thanks to her leadership at FAPAC, critical policies were developed and implemented in the DC child welfare system. Looking forward, we seek to bring more voices to the table to expand our services to foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and youth with lived experiences. In the future, I would like to see youth and parents come together more frequently to problem-solve to better the “system”.

What has been your favorite part about working at FAPAC? What makes your role and this organization so special to you?

My favorite part is our team! When we’re together, we do amazing things, but we also laugh a lot and enjoy being with each other. My role at FAPAC is to be a servant leader. Whatever my team needs, I will step in, as we all are willing to do. This is our work of heart!

We asked Donna Flenory a few questions to get to know her better.

What inspired you to get involved with the foster care community?

I was invited to participate in a pilot program for highly-at-risk youth in foster care. The program was supposed to last six months and turned into ongoing fostering. The guidelines were one youth, one home and you could not work outside of the home– which was perfect for me. Fostering has taken me places I never thought I would go.

How long have you been involved with FAPAC?

I became involved with FAPAC in 2000– the year I began fostering and the year they gained their autonomy as an organization. I was somewhat of a groupie and hung out at the office a lot, so they put me to work. I would do whatever was helpful and was asked to join the board in 2007.

What do some of your responsibilities look like?

I roll up my sleeve and work wherever needed by FAPAC. My previous responsibilities included but were not limited to conducting the board meetings and communicating and partnering with sister agencies in the city. I represent FAPAC at the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect (MACCAN), as well as on other councils like the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and the Children’s Round Table. 

What other work are you involved in outside of FAPAC?

I foster a male teenager, which fills a lot of time!

What makes FAPAC special to you?

The foster parents in DC need an advocate to hear their concerns and aggregate those that are showing a pattern. These issues are systemic in nature, so we present them to CFSA (Child and Family Services). When I first started out as a foster parent, I needed all the help I could get. FAPAC was there for me. They taught me what they knew and developed my skills as an advocate. Now, I help other parents.

We asked Tiffany Dean, facilitator for our Families Growing Stronger Together (FGST) program, a few questions to get to know her better.

Tell us about the Families Growing Stronger Program

The Families Growing Stronger Together Program is a course that parents take to learn new and better ways of raising their children. Participants can network with other parents and build a strong community while helping each other raise healthy and confident young men and women.

What do you enjoy most about facilitating this program?

I enjoy being able to share new techniques to pinpoint behaviors and ways to praise children without breaking your pockets.

What other programs outside of FAPAC have you been involved in?

I worked for SOME (So Others Might Eat) and Daybreak Ministries.

We heard you were the affirmations lady, can you tell us more about that and how that started?

I started the “affirmation lady” as a result of depression. Picking affirmations helped me spread positivity into my life, even when I sometimes didn’t believe it. I started writing affirmations on slips of paper and placing them in a basket for people to pick when they walked past my desk. I saw how it made people feel and decided to print out affirmations and pass them out to random people. When I didn’t have any money to spare for homeless people, I would give them an affirmation, and they seemed to appreciate that even more. I continue to remind people of how awesome they are because we all should know how awesome we are. 

What do you enjoy the most about working at FAPAC?

What I enjoy most about working for FAPAC is the opportunity to learn and grow. I enjoy working with a team whose heart is in the right place and who is willing to do the work to help people.