2012 Featured Speakers

Ashley Rhodes-Courter was born in North Carolina in 1985 and entered the Florida foster care system at the age tender age of three. Over the next nine years, she lived in 14 placements before being adopted at age 12 by Phil and Gay Courter of Crystal River, Florida.  Ashley graduated with honors from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she completed a double major in Communications and Theatre with a double minor in Political Science and Psychology.  In 2008, Simon and Schuster published her memoir, Three Little Words which quickly became a New York Times Bestseller and has received many national and local awards. She is currently maintaining a full calendar of speeches and workshops all across the country. She has a passion to tell her story and share hope with other foster children and encourage adoption and permanency. Visit www.rhodes-courter.com to learn more about Ashely and her work.


Jayne Schooler -  Jayne and her husband David’s journey into the world of foster care and adoption began with a simple question from a 14 year old boy. “Would you become my foster parents?” Agreeing to become foster parents in 1978, set the course for life experiences that continue today.  The Schooler’s served as foster parents from 1978 to 1986 with Warren County (Ohio) Children Services. In 1983, they adopted their son, Ray, who was 16 years old. Ray is now 44, their birth daughter, Kristy is 34 and also an adoption advocate.  Jayne’s passion for over 25 years has been the training and education of adoption and foster care professionals and families.  She has been a featured speaker at numerous state, national and international conferences and trains regularly for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program.  She is the author/co-author of seven books in the adoption field, including her newest, Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Parents. To learn more about Jayne visit her blog Journeys of Adoption.

Last modified: January 19, 2012