Educating + Inspiring Foster & Adopted Youth
Write Speak Inspire develops creative, educational experiences for young people impacted by foster care and adoption and equips the adults and organizations committed to helping them thrive.
Four connected pathways
Young people navigating foster care and adoption carry stories, questions, strengths, losses, hopes, identities, and possibilities that deserve room to be explored. We create spaces where they can do exactly that.
Creative writing · Spoken word · Storytelling
A creative writing, spoken word, and storytelling experience that helps young people transform ideas, emotions, imagination, and lived experience into powerful expression.
Explore the program ↗︎Youth leadership · Voice · Positive change
An interactive experience that combines practical leadership principles with the power of young people’s own stories, choices, voices, and influence.
Explore the program ↗︎College · Career · Independent adulthood
Interactive keynotes, workshops, and leadership experiences for transition-age youth, college students, and young adults who have aged out of foster care.
Explore the program ↗︎Adults · Organizations · Youth-centered support
A lived-experience-informed training that helps adults better understand, listen to, communicate with, and support young people navigating foster care, adoption, identity, and belonging.
Explore the program ↗︎What possibility looks like
Our programs create room for young people to recognize their strengths, develop their voices, explore identity, lead, and prepare for what comes next.
Stronger sense of voice
Greater confidence
Healthy creative expression
Increased self-awareness
Stronger self-advocacy
Deeper exploration of identity
Leadership and positive influence
Future orientation and hope
Founder + lived experience advocate
Sharlene is a poet, author, speaker, educator, social entrepreneur, adoptee, and former foster youth whose work explores adoption, identity, voice, leadership, and belonging.
After nearly two decades in youth development and education, she brings professional and lived experience together to help young people strengthen their voices—and help adults become the kind of support young people actually need.
In their words
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Sharlene was amazing! Our students loved their workshop and activities. She was flexible and able to keep all students engaged.
The most meaningful topic to me was the Spoken Word Poetry done by Sharlene. Her part in the internship showed me just how important everyone’s voices are and how they should all be heard.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Sharlene for more than a decade. She combines creativity with professionalism effortlessly. She’s a joy to work with, and I recommend her as a speaker, mentor, and writer.
Selected partners
Bring Write Speak Inspire to your school, college, organization, agency, church, or community.