OUR SPEAKER LINE UP IS CURRENTLY BEING BUILT! CHECK BACK AS NEW SPEAKERS ARE ADDED!
Jamie Finn
Jamie Finn is the author of the bestselling book, Foster the Family, and Filled: 60 Devotions for the Foster Parent’s Heart. She is the founder and President of Foster the Family and founder of the Filled Gathering. Her popular social media accounts offer a glimpse into the real life of a foster parent and provide encouragement to tens of thousands of foster and adoptive parents. Jamie is the mother to 7 children through foster care, adoption, and birth. She lives in Sicklerville, New Jersey, with her husband, Alan.
CIndy Wilson
Dr. Cindy Wilson brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her work in foster care. A former foster parent and current foster grandparent, she serves as Director of Education & Equipping at Connected Families and as Executive Director of the Florida Center for Prevention Research at Florida State University. She holds a B.S. in Child Development and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Family Relations, and is a Certified Family Life Educator, a Certified Parent Coach, and holds a Professional Certification in Trauma and Resilience.
Cindy and her husband live in Tallahassee, Florida, and are parents to three adult children and grandparents to four, with their family shaped in part through foster care and adoption. In her local church, she walks alongside other foster families through Foster Crew, a foster care wraparound support ministry where she serves as a parent coach. She is passionate about equipping and encouraging caregivers and believes no foster family should walk this road alone.
Janelle Basham
Janelle Basham is the Executive Director of BraveLove, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the narrative of adoption by honoring birth mothers and fostering understanding through education, support, and storytelling. As a birth mother herself, she brings both lived experience and professional insight to her leadership, helping elevate birth mother voices and create space for honest, compassionate conversations around adoption.
With a background in private adoption and foster care, Janelle has spent her career walking alongside women and families through some of life’s most vulnerable and meaningful seasons. Her work is rooted in advocacy, education, and building community within the adoption space.
Janelle lives in Virginia with her husband, Jason, and they are proud parents of two adult children. She also enjoys an open adoption with her daughter, Katherine, which continues to shape her perspective, and her passion for the work she leads.
Jesse Faris
Jesse Faris is the Director of Community Engagement and Training at Empowered to Connect, a TBRI® Practitioner, and an adoptive mom of fifteen years. With a background in Christian ministry and years of serving foster and adoptive families in ministry and nonprofit settings, Jesse is passionate about helping parents understand trauma through the lens of faith. She loves encouraging foster moms to see connection not just as a strategy, but as a reflection of God’s heart for restoration, grace, and belonging.
Tona Ottinger
Tona Ottinger is the Senior Director of Empowered to Connect and an adoptive mom who has spent more than twenty years walking alongside foster and adoptive families and the faith communities that support them. Through her work with TBRI®, Tona equips parents with practical, trauma-informed tools rooted in connection, compassion, and hope. As a speaker and trainer, she brings both professional expertise and deep empathy, helping caregivers move from simply surviving to experiencing healing and joy in their families.