International Women’s Day 2021

In 2020, Ohio CASA was honored to recognize Lisa Dickson for International Women’s Day. This year, we are proud to share our appreciation and admiration for two women from Ohio who go above and beyond. Cloe Cooper and Juliana Barton are our International Women’s Day 2021 honorees for their dedication to improving the experience and eliminating barriers for those involved in the child welfare system.

Juliana Barton is a member of ACTION (Alumni of Care Together Improving Outcomes Now) Ohio, whose mission is to bring together the voices of youth in foster care, foster care alumni, and allies to create lasting change.

Over the past two years, she has flourished in her position as Governmental Liaison, where her focus on research, data review, and policy recommendations strengthened the continuum of care for youth and families in Ohio’s child welfare system. She was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine to serve on the Children Services Transformation Advisory Council, where she faciliated the forum held in Columbus. Additionally, she ensured those with lived experience were able to submit their solutions-focused testimony for lasting and positive change. In 2020, Juliana hosted focus groups at Columbus State Community College for input and ideas for the Scholar House III development. 

If Juliana seems like a familiar face, it’s because she is also a past-partner of Ohio CASA, where she was part of our Every Child campaign in 2020.

Of all foster care alumni in the state, Cloe Cooper was one of four ambassadors chosen to meet with HUD and federal legislators over the last year, as a result of her work with ACTION Ohio. As she helped lead the FYI (Foster Youth to Independence) and FSHO (Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities) Act initiatives, Cloe also ensured that youth voices across the state were represented through testimony.

Cloé founded her own student organization at The Ohio State University, Fostering Achievement Network, to support foster care alumni in higher education. She dedicates much of her time to a partnership with Columbus State Community College Scholar Network as the sister programs strive to empower those with experience in the child welfare system. She also serves as a Peer Mentor through AmeriCorps working with young adults who have already or who will soon emancipate from care. Her roles allow her to provide mentorship, peer support, and leadership guidance to others with lived foster care experience while pursuing and completing their higher education and workforce goals.

We look forward to seeing what Cloé accomplishes next with Fostering Achievement Network at OSU as well as Project PASSION, a program that provides no-cost professional attire to foster alumni entering the workforce that she facilitates through the non-profit organization El’lesun.

Special thanks to Lisa Dickson for her input and helping us recognize this year’s honorees. 

If you are interesting in nominating an individual with lived experience for recognition, please email ohiocasa@ohiocasa.org. We hope to celebrate foster youth and alumni throughout the year.