Keynote Speaker - Jessica Chandler

Jessica Chandler spent most of her adolescence bouncing between group homes and Juvenile Hall until she emancipated at age 18. Since then Jessica received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Masters of Social Work from Cal State University Northridge.

Jessica is a national advocate for children and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She sits on the Board of Education Coordinating Council (ECC) on behalf of probation youth; The Nehemiah Project LA, supporting transition-aged youth in the LA area; and previously served as the Los Angeles County Ambassador for Child Welfare.

Jessica began her advocacy working with the Alliance for Children's Rights, a non-profit legal services agency where she focused on serving pregnant and parenting teens in foster care, and extension/proper implementation of foster care services until the age of 21 . Jessica has been at the forefront of providing representation and advocacy on behalf of the Department of Children and Family Services and the families they serve for over 15 years. She has traveled the nation as a subject matter expert from local classrooms and locked facilities in Los Angeles County ,California where she was born , to conference rooms , national media networks , legislative hearings, and even the White House in Washington, D.C., on behalf of our nations most vulnerable populations. Jessica participates in various stakeholder’s meetings, taskforce meetings, and implementation hearings across the nation in attempts to improve the outcomes for youth in the foster care/juvenile justice sustem . Jessica has provided numerous testimonies and advocacy for increased services and funding from the LA County Board of Supervisors on behalf of various vulnerable populations in the child welfare system which have resulted in the passage of legislation and the creation of the multiple task force and funding resources. In 2016, Jessica was selected to be a subject of the first ever motion picture documentary film about the Department of Children and Family Services, as a testimony of what child protection agencies can achieve when dedication and passion is coupled with the implementation of best practice and policy. The Documentary " Foster" made its world premiere on HBO in May 2019.

Jessica is a passionate speaker who believes that through partnership and love we can disrupt the negative outcomes prevailing in the lives of our nations most vulnerable populations. She is currently a social worker investigator with the Los Angeles County Dependency Lawyers. Jessica works with parents and families navigating LA county's dependency and juvenile justice systems to with the hopes to encourage and inspire them to overcome case issues and access critical resources to maintain or reunify with their families . Jessica utilized the supportive adults and resources in her life to change the trajectory of her future . Jessica believes that "we are all one caring person away from being a success story!"