Meet Brittney. Brittney is 20 years old and has been in foster care for six and a half years. Brittney has been involved with Project LIFE since 2012 and has served in various leadership roles, including speaking on panels at the statewide conferences and participating in a number of advocacy opportunities. Currently, she serves on Virginia’s youth advisory board, SPEAKOUT.

Brittney is a sophomore in college and plans to double major in criminal justice and neurology. Eventually she plans to earn her PhD in Psychology. Brittney also currently works as a mental health associate at Mountain Youth Academy and is excited to see where her career takes her. In her free time, Brittney enjoys painting, hiking, reading, and writing.

Brittney’s favorite part about being involved with Project LIFE is getting to meet people from all over the state who have been through similar situations. She also loves having the opportunity to use her voice to stand up for what she believes. Brittney is really proud of the fact that she decided to stay in foster care past age 18 and encourages others to do the same.

One piece of advice Brittney would give youth in foster care is: “Don’t allow negativity to change your plans for the future… allow it to be your motivation to go beyond that and more”.

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments, Brittney. We are excited for what the future holds.