National child welfare nonprofit Foster America has brought in its first head of programs, Brian Clapier, slated to start on Feb. 6.
Clapier will take on the role of senior vice president of programs, focused on supporting local initiatives, helping partner organizations build capacity and spreading knowledge and resources across the child welfare field.
“I am excited to be joining Foster America’s leadership team, advancing a collaborative model for systems transformation,” Clapier said in a press release. “I have long believed that children thrive in the context of supported families and communities — and through effective partnership we can build a future where every child is safe, living in a setting that they view as permanent, and experiencing the highest level of well-being possible.”
Clapier is not new to Foster America — he has previously worked with the organization as a faculty advisor involved in training and mentorship. He’s worked in both the public and private side of child welfare, as well as in research. He’s held leadership roles at the child welfare agencies in New York and Philadelphia and spent time as a policy fellow at the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall. Most recently working as the senior director of data advocacy at Casey Family Programs, he focused on the use of data to transform child welfare. He and his wife have also served as kinship and foster parents.
“Brian has long been an innovator in our sector, working across the nation for 30 years to advance data-driven, equitable systems for children and families,” Foster America’s Executive Director, Marie Zemler Wu, said in the press release. “We’re excited to welcome him and look forward to the ways his immense knowledge and experience, as well as his commitment to growth and learning, will deepen our impact.”
Wu and fellow co-founder Sherry Lachman launched Foster America in 2016 to create a fellowship program in the vein of Teach for America and similar programs, aiming to “serve as an entry point for welcoming diverse, impactful talent” into the child welfare field.
Through six cohorts so far, they’ve had over 60 fellows working across dozens of child welfare agencies throughout the country. Lachman has since left the organization to work for the Biden administration in the Office of Budget and Management.
