Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Christina Killilea is an experienced professional in adoption and counseling, currently serving as the Adoption Program Manager at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption since September 2016. Previously, Christina worked at Licking County Job and Family Services as the Wendy's Wonderful Kids Adoption Recruiter and Adoption Assessor, providing case management and counseling services for children in agency custody. Christina's early career included roles as a Youth Counselor and Behavior Specialist at Stonewall Jackson YDC, where skills in treatment planning and behavior modification were developed, and as a Counselor Intern at Genesis ANB, focusing on anger management and support for domestic violence victims. Christina holds a Master's Degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Sociology from Capital University.
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America's foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs and builds awareness around the growing need and importance of foster care adoption in various ways. We also develop resources for employers and families to support the adoption journey. Through our signature program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the Foundation provides grants to adoption agencies to hire and train recruiters in our child-focused recruitment model to find loving, permanent homes for children in foster care. This model is up to three times more effective at serving children who have been in foster care the longest, including older youth, siblings and children with special needs. The Foundation offers a free library of resources to help families navigate the adoption journey, such as Finding Forever Families: A Step-by-Step Guide to Adoption and Strengthen Your Forever Family: A Step-by-Step Guide to Post-Adoption. The Foundation also works to build awareness around the growing need and importance of adoption from foster care through public service announcements, social media campaigns, articles, events, sponsorships and more.