Fostering Success Summit Speakers

Stephanie is the the Executive Director for Virginia's Kids Belong and has over 14 years of experience in Health and Human Services and is deeply committed to improving the lives of families and children across Virginia.
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A social worker by background, Stephanie has worked both directly with families and children in the child welfare system and on the policy level in various roles in the public and private spheres.

Stephanie received her Masters of Social Work Administration and Policy Practice and a double major in Women’s Studies and Biopsychology, with an African American studies minor from Virginia Commonwealth University. Stephanie is a “bio” mother to a 2 sweet girls, Charlotte and Grace, and a kinship parent to an 11-year-old boy, Isaiah.

Known for her strengths as both a clinical therapist and effective nonprofit leadership, Nancy Toscano never wavers in her compassion and pursuit of life-changing solutions for vulnerable children and families in Virginia.

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Named President and Chief Executive Officer of UMFS in April 2021, Nancy manages the organization’s resources in service of its mission, striving to elevate awareness, engage and build support in the Central Virginia community. A licensed clinical social worker, Nancy believes every child deserves to be loved, protected and empowered, and that caring families come in many varieties.

In 2018, Nancy was invited by Virginia’s Office of Children’s Services and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to facilitate strategic planning for the State Executive Council. She also served as Chair of Richmond City’s Community, Planning and Management team, and currently serves on the Child Abuse and Neglect Advisory Committee.  

Originally from Long Island, New York, Nancy holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in nonprofit leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Siena College and Master’s degree from New York University, both in the field of social work.  

Along with her husband John, Nancy loves exploring nature and supporting their son Jack at football games on Saturdays at William & Mary. ​

Aaron Lambert is President of Anthem Healthkeepers Plus. Aaron has worked at Anthem/Elevance Health for over 17 years. His experience includes president of the Louisiana Medicaid plan and chief growth officer for the Medicaid business. He started in his current role as President, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, in the Spring of this year. Anthem’s Medicaid plan is one of the largest in Virginia , with over 540,000 members served across the state of Virginia. Aaron lives in Suffolk, Virginia with his wife and young son.

Lacey Kangas is a 21-year-old alumnus of foster care who serves as the Youth Development Coordinator at UMFS. Lacey spent most of her teenage years in foster care, moving from one home to another. At age 17, she chose to enter an Independent Living Program (first at VHBG, then at Impact Living Services). But Lacey kept her eye on the ball, maintained employment, recently graduated from Germanna Community College, and then aged out of Foster Care. Lacey plans to continue her education to get her bachelor's degree in human services and then her master's in social work. Before her role at UMFS, Lacey worked for VDSS as their Education and Training (ETV) Administrative Specialist.

GEORGE MACK is Project Manager of the statewide Virginia Project LIFE Program. He has worked as a behavioral specialist at Charterhouse, then at UMFS starting in 2011. In 2012, George became a Project LIFE Consultant, first in the Central Region, then in the Northern Region. George brings 18 years of experience and passionate devotion to working with at-risk youth in foster care, mental health, and independent living.  He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a focus in Juvenile Justice. 

Jannaci Knight-Pollard is the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Administrative Specialist with the Foster Care Youth Services Team at the Virginia Department of Social Services. After an 8 year career in banking, she is now a Master of Social Work (MSW) clinical student attending at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is presently working at FCYS and pursuing a degree as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Jannaci also serves as a Career Coach helping youth explore their career interests and mentors young adults in IL programs. “My passion stems from time spent in the foster care system as a teen and young adult.”

Talia Brown is the Managing Director of the Fostering Acadia Independent Living Program in Central Virginia. She received her Masters in Human Services from Liberty University. She has experience in mediation case management and previously worked with young adults at UMFS. She has much valuable “boots-on-the ground” experience guiding post-Foster Care young adults.

Anna Karnas Knowles is the Director of Network2WorkRVA and Career Services at the Community College Workforce Alliance, a program that connects young adult job seekers with training resources, community service providers, and employers through a technology-based job research platform. She was previously Director of Family Services at Habitat for Humanity and is a graduate of Leadership Quest at Leadership Metro Richmond. She was recognized in 2020 as one of Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40 Community Leaders.

Vicki Wise is Community Engagement Coordinator at HomewardVa. She received her BS and Master’s degrees from VCU. She has 12 years experience as a social worker at VDSS, where she developed a particular interest in housing services for the underserved community. Vicki believes that affordable housing is a human right and this guides her work. She is very active coaching social workers and mentors on how to most effectively work with youth facing housing barriers.

Gary Powers co-founded the Success Foundation of Virginia (TSF), along with Don DeLaney, in October 2018. Gary currently serves as TSFs Executive Director.

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Prior to launching TSF, Gary was a Vice President with Aon Hewitt/Aon Consulting for 18 years and a Partner in the Regional Consulting firm of Williams, Thacher and Rand before selling the firm to Aon in August 1999.

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Gary attended Benedictine High School (Class of ‘71), the College of William and Mary (Class of ‘75) and completed the post graduate program from The Wharton School in 1981.

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Gary has a long history of community service prior to co-founding TSF. He served as a Past Board Member and Board Chair for the Va Home for Boys and Girls from October 2003- September 2017. He is the past President for the Richmond Chapter of the Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, Past President of the Richmond Area Group on Health and the COO for the W&M Lambda Chi Alumni Advisory Board from January 2018-October 2022

Olivia Snoke grew up in and out of foster care in multiple states. She discovered her passion to helping others in foster care and dreamed to make a career of it. Determined to support those on the same path, she became a foster mother and was honored enough to adopt two teens. Olivia has been working with youth aging out of foster care in multiple roles for other 20 years. Her passion and experience compelled her to do more. She started Emerging Phoenix to enact improvements for the foster care system with foster care stakeholder trainings and support for youth transitioning out of foster care. 

Lora Smith Hughes, MSW is the Foster Care Program Manager for the Virginia Department of Social Services. She has almost thirty years of experience in foster care and adoption having worked in both the public and private sector and received her Master’s in Social Work Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked for over ten years for a private non-profit foster care agency in North Carolina before moving to Virginia in 2005. The next ten years were spent at a local department of social services in Virginia where she supervised the foster care and adoption program.

Lora accepted a position with the Virginia Department of Social Services in 2016 and held the position of Foster Care Policy Specialist and was a Subject Matter Expert for the Information Technology team before stepping into the role of Foster Care Program Manager in 2019. Lora & her husband were kinship foster parents to her 17-year-old nephew who entered foster care in MN and has witnessed first-hand the challenges youth face when they age out of foster care.