SPEAKER BIOS
Jill Ayres
Jill is a passionate speaker and excited about all things foster care. Listen to her stories and experiences, and your heart will begin to break for children and a fire will ignite within your spirit to make a difference. Jill is fueled by her love to see children and parents thrive in all circumstances.
Jill speaks from her own experiences (providing insider information)as a former foster child in the Kansas System. After aging out of the system, she enrolled in college majoring in psychology. She has one biological child and has adopted four out of foster care. She was a foster parent in Omaha, NE for 16 years, and has been fostering in Kansas for 5 years and counting. She has had over 300 children in her home (long-term, respite, and PPC).
Jill has extensive experience with RAD, and sexual abuse victims. She is a TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner, Nationally Certified Parent Support Provider (Federation of Families; Washington, DC), Circle of Security parenting trainer, Trauma Informed Care (ACES, Vicarious Trauma) trainer, TIPPS-MAPP trainer, former CASA worker, and has worked in child welfare for 25 years.
“It can take ten minutes out of one person’s day to change the trajectory of a child’s life forever.”
Nathan Paulus
Nathan the is Lead Pastor at Radiant Church and is passionate about taking the Light of Christ into the dark places of this world. His Father was adopted as an infant, moving his heart and his wife’s to also adopt. They fostered and adopted Ivy Grace, who came to live with them at 16 years old. Nathan loves igniting people’s hearts for the things of God and believes when God’s people work together in unison the unimaginable can happen. It is dream that every child in Kansas (and across the world) would be surrounded by loving families, who are supported by the local church and community.
Seeing the needed support to accomplish in Wichita, Nathan began praying, seeking God, and gathering local church and business leaders to unite to care for the children and families of our city! Those prayers gave birth to Foster ICT.
“My dream is that every child would realize, know, and believe the love of God for them through Christ Jesus, who has adopted us all into his family!”
Hannah Holler
Hannah grew up in the Wichita area where she now works at Radiant Church leading outreach projects and Illuminate Student Ministries. A trip to Kenya in 2022 ignited her passion to help kids in foster care after she witnessed orphans in Kenya being left with no resources, no family, and no opportunities to thrive.
Deciding that every child deserves the opportunity to be cared for and loved, she became a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer in Sedgwick County. Hannah leads Radiant Church’s outreach and support care to the foster community in Wichita. She now serves as the Community Coordinator of Foster ICT to further propel her passion and help give foster kids and parents a hope and a future.
“Everyone can do something right now. What are you waiting for?”