NFCC STAFF
Robin Nixon, Executive Director
Robin Nixon is one of the nation’s leading child welfare advocates and experts. She joined the National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) as executive director in 2000 when it was then under the umbrella of Casey Family Programs. As the coalition and its role grew, Nixon transitioned NFCC into an independent organization in 2003, remaining as its executive director.
Nixon today provides extensive training and technical assistance to states, communities, and social services agencies in the areas of youth development, youth transition, education issues of foster youth, and other child welfare topics.
From 1994 to 2000, Nixon worked as director of youth services with the venerable Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), in Washington, D.C., where she implemented a positive youth development training program for local agencies, and provided consultation to transitional- and independent-living programs across the country. She was involved heavily in advocacy efforts related to the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999.
As one of CWLA’s representatives to the National Foster Care Awareness Project (NFCAP) prior to 2000, Nixon was very involved in public awareness efforts, including the National Foster Care Month Partnership.
From 1991 to 1994, Nixon served as director of the transitional-living program with Residential Youth Services in Virginia, where she was involved with the Living Independently for Tomorrow (LIFT) program, as well as implementing regional and national advocacy and training initiatives. From 1987 to 1991, she was assistant director of Greentree Family Shelter with Baptist Home for Children in Maryland; and from 1985 to 1987, she was a family teacher with South County Mental Health in Florida.
Nixon holds a BA in psychology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a M.Ed. from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the 2005 recipient of the National Independent Living Association’s Founders Award, and a 2006 fellow of the WT Grant Foundation’s Distinguished Fellows program.
Maria Garin Jones, Assistant Director
Maria Garin Jones joined the National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) as its assistant director in September 2006. Prior to this, Garin Jones was with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) in Washington, D.C., for more than eight years, most recently serving as the division director for Youth Services. While there, she worked closely with its National Foster Youth Advisory Council. She has extensive experience with training and technical assistance in the areas of positive youth development, independent living, and youth engagement.
Before joining CWLA, Garin Jones worked with children, youth, and families involved with the child welfare system in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. Her passion is working with youth people in a variety of community-based settings to promote their successful transitions into adulthood. She continues to be committed to providing a wide range of opportunities for young people in foster care to be meaningfully involved in decisions that impact their lives.
Garin Jones received her BA in education and psychology from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and earned the MSW at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
NFCC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Committee
Chair: Kathi Crowe, Youth Development Consultant & Board Member, National Independent Living Association
Vice Chair: Jeannette Pai-Espinosa, National Crittenton Foundation
Treasurer: Lee Mullane, Director of Communications, Casey Family Services
Secretary: Terry Baugh, President, Kidsave
JooYeun Chang, Staff Attorney, Children's Defense Fund
Chereese Phillips*
LaKesha Pope, Youth Program and Policy Analyst, National Alliance to End Homelessness
Rita Powell, Consultant, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
Krystel Reid*
Susan Weiss, Director of Community Partnerships, Casey Family Programs
M. Carmela Welte, Deputy CEO, National CASA Association
Millicent Williams, Director, Foster Care, Child Welfare League of America
* Youth/Alumni members
