Wayfinder Blog

Category: Foster Care and Adoption

silhouette of parent and child holding hands at sunset

Nick’s Journey to becoming a Wayfinder family finding social worker

“My experiences pre-and post-adoption have, without a doubt, led to my career as a social worker today,” says Nick, a Wayfinder family finding social worker. When he was 2 years old, his biological parents left their apartment and never returned, abandoning him and his five older siblings. Nick entered foster care. When he was 3…

Read More about Nick’s Journey to becoming a Wayfinder family finding social worker

Meet Dave Wraa

Member of the Community Council and former member of the Wayfinder Board of Directors Fifteen years ago, friends asked Dave and Grace Wraa if they knew about the foster-to-adopt program to find permanent homes for children in the child welfare system. Admittedly, Dave and Grace didn’t know much about the program, but that would change…

Read More about Meet Dave Wraa

Meet Erica Fernandez

Secretary, Board of Directors and Wayfinder Community Council member “All children deserve to be in a safe, loving home” says Erica Fernandez. This belief drives her ongoing commitment to Wayfinder. Erica has a demanding job as a senior vice president and region manager for California Bank & Trust in Northern California, plus two sons of…

Read More about Meet Erica Fernandez

Meet John Nicolaus Member of Wayfinder’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Wayfinder Community Council

John Nicolaus came to Wayfinder for the landscaping and stayed for the children.  Five years ago, Wayfinder received a grant to upgrade the exterior of its Citrus Heights office to improve access for people with disabilities. “Every ADA upgrade requires a landscape architect to fix it up at the end after the sidewalks have been…

Read More about Meet John Nicolaus Member of Wayfinder’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Wayfinder Community Council

Meet Jean Minton, member of the Wayfinder Community Council

Professionally, Jean Minton is Sutter Health’s neuroscience service line executive. Personally she is passionate about helping children in foster care find their forever families. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Jean witnessed the plight of orphaned children whose parents had died of AIDS. After returning to the…

Read More about Meet Jean Minton, member of the Wayfinder Community Council

A Match Made in Heaven

Alex wanted to be a mom, and Rob wanted to be a dad. With Wayfinder’s help they now have the family they longed for. And their children have the loving home they deserve. The couple approached Wayfinder to adopt through foster care. “I’d seen so many sibling groups be split up between separate homes over…

Read More about A Match Made in Heaven
rainbow chalk artwork

We are 100 Percent In

Elizabeth was in Nebraska for work when she got the call. “We have a baby in the hospital,” said Monica, a Wayfinder social worker. “Can you pick her up tonight?” This was the moment Elizabeth and her husband, Bryan, had longed for. They were going to become parents. After struggling with fertility, they decided to…

Read More about We are 100 Percent In