Foster Care, Prioritising Reunification and Building Community with Ellie Coburn

The Amateur Activist is joined by Ellie Coburn to chat through her experience fostering and adopting. Ellie is a 25 year old photographer, writer and storyteller from San Diego, California who began fostering at 21 years old. Four years later, 14 foster placements, and now two beautiful children she’s adopted, Ellie and Isabela talk about her philosophy around adoption, her unlearning of the nuclear family, and the “unconventional” practices Ellie has implemented throughout her journey as a foster parent in order to prioritise reunification. She also shares wisdom on how to use vulnerability and transparency to build strong community and support. This is the first episode in what will become a mini-series about the foster care system. In upcoming episodes, Isabela will sit down with former foster youth, social workers, caseworkers / case managers and other foster parents to look at this topic in a holistic way. You can find Ellie on Instagram @elliecoburn We would love to hear from you - send us a message @amateuractivistpod or @belagiirrll or leave a review on Apple Podcast.