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Board

President

Lance Johnson

Lance Johnson is the Parks, Golf and Open Space Manager for the City of Westminster where is has worked for 29 years. He is a Certified Golf Course Superintendent and oversees the City’s two premiere golf courses, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve and Legacy Ridge Golf Course, the City’s 63 parks and multiple amenities, 3,700 acres of open space, and 120 miles of trails . He grew up in Fairfield, Iowa and attended Arizona State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management.

Prior to working in golf course maintenance, Lance umpired professional baseball in the minor leagues for three years. Lance is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association (RMGCSA) and the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). He is past President of both the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association and the RMGCSA non-profit organization, Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute. Lance also chaired the state-wide committee that created the Colorado Golf Industry Best Management Practices Guide for Golf Courses that was published in 2019.

Lance serves on the Board of ALL IN Fostering Futures (AIFF). He helped plan, implement, and participated in the first two inaugural AIFF retreats, a Co-Ed retreat held in Lakewood, CO in August of 2021 and the recent Men’s Retreat held at Spring Valley Ranch in Eucha, OK in May of 2022.

Treasurer

Matt Peiffer

Matthew Peiffer went thru 13 years of abuse before entering foster care at 16 years old with his two sisters. After entering foster care and moving 8 homes in two years he found the courage to speak up and use his voice to help others who went thru similar experiences. After losing his younger sister to suicide in 2016 he started moving to national policy work to ensure no young person had to go thru the abuse that he did. He won his first national award in 2019 with T-Mobil which came with funding and then from there he started his own Non Profit in Muncie Indiana called A VOICE FOR KIDS INC. He helped with over 8 different bills, worked with the Department of Justice, has won Congressional awards and most recently was on the front page of USA TODAY in August speaking in regards to adoption. He’s loves to spread smiles wherever he goes and is known in his community as Muncie’s Smile Man. He believes that everybody from the cashier at Walmart to the Law Enforcement officer on the street can prevent child abuse!
Secretary

Tiffany Dixon

Tiffany has always been compelled to debunk statistics and overcome stereotypes. As a youth, she was indignant and adamant not to repeat generational cycles so she sought and won support from the Horatio Alger Association, Casey Family Programs, and others to pursue post-secondary education at Ohio University. She thrived during her university experience as a tour guide for the Office of Admissions, an AmeriCorps participant, and a member of the Global Leadership Center while completing her bachelor's degree in public relations from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

After more than a decade in the field, in 2021, Tiffany stepped away from a successful and fulfilling career as a public relations and marketing strategist having supported brands including Whole Foods Market, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Nestle, Bob Evans Farms, and Big Lots in earned media, influencer relations, event strategy, and social media campaigns. Her pursuit for more meaningful work collided with her experience in the child welfare system when God led her to First Star Academy.

It's Tiffany’s privilege to bring her robust experience as a leader, planner, and communicator to projects that move the needle for youth experiencing foster care. As the current director for West Virginia’s chapter of First Star Academy, Tiffany has exposed dozens of transition-aged youth to diverse opportunities and experiences intended to spark their curiosity and empower them to dream, thus propelling them forward into higher education. As a lived experience consultant, Tiffany helped shape the nation’s first-ever middle college exclusively for youth in care at Fairmont State University and continues to provide resource coordination and peer mentorship for the program’s students. She also serves as an advocate, organizing community-wide, church-based support networks for foster families and transition-age youth.

To this day, Tiffany’s drive to improve statistics remains. She is passionate about equity, and helping youth develop life skills and healthy habits as they age out of the system. Above all else, she fiercely believes everyone deserves stability, safety, and support to achieve a healthy, happy future.

Tiffany’s other life's work includes being a homeschooling Mama to two boys and an aspiring homesteader in the hills of West Virginia.

CEO/ Founder

Lynn Johnson

As president of AIEF, Lynn A. Johnson Drives the mission, fundraising, operations, and engagement with the board of directors and volunteers. Her focus is to bring AIEF to a national initiative that empowers communities, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations, government, and businesses to combat the crisis of children aging out of the foster care system, adoption, poverty, and human trafficking. Her determination, passion, and strong belief in the dignity of all people are paired with her deep faith in Jesus Christ to bring value and dignity to all people no matter their challenges.

Exuding to her solid & compassionate leadership style, Lynn has held many positions in human services and, most recently, served as the assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families in the US Department of Health and Human Services in a Senate-confirmed appointment. She led an agency with a $60 billion budget and over sixty programs designed to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children, individuals, and families.

Under this appointment, she created the ALL IN for Foster Care and Adoption Challenge - a national call for partners in every state, including governors, agencies, courts, churches, community organizations, foster alumni, and the public, to commit to being ALL IN for finding “forever families” for the 122,000 children per year awaiting homes. These children are at imminent risk of ending up in other systems like juvenile justice, homelessness, or human trafficking. Lynn believes that these are “America’s children.” With a combined strategy of primary prevention on the front end, when families need intervention and wrapping around those who step up to adopt youth waiting for homes, the 122,000 children would be rapidly reduced. Lynn knows we all have a role to play and is making connections for success for vulnerable families and children.

As the executive director of Jefferson County, Colorado, Department of Human Services, she provided dignity and respect for our most vulnerable community members to end poverty, eliminate abuse and neglect, and stop the trafficking of children. Lynn served as chief of staff for former Colorado Lieutenant Governor Jane E. Norton. She was also deputy director for policy and human services policy advisor for former Colorado Governor Bill Owens. With her expertise in child welfare, welfare reform, and criminal justice, she has been appointed to numerous committees and won multiple awards for excellence in human services transformations and customer service.

Lynn has been married for thirty-nine years. She has three adult children, two beautiful daughters-in-law, an amazing one-year-old granddaughter, and numerous chosen foster alumni young adult children.

Director

Justin Brown

Justin Brown served as Oklahoma’s Cabinet Secretary of Human Services and Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from 2019 to 2023. In July 2023, Brown stepped away from state service with confidence in the transition strategy and with a deep commitment to continue human services transformation across America. While serving as Secretary of Human Services, Brown focused on transforming the culture of the human services system through his ‘True North’ strategies and developed a target culture built on the framework of the Science of Hope and Human Centered Design. Further, his focus on transforming the delivery model for human services through developing a ‘proximate’ model for human services delivery resulted in improved outcomes stemming from deep community relationships and innovative real estate modernization. In 2022 & 2023, Secretary Brown served as Chairman of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) Leadership Council and as a member of the Governing Board of Directors, as well as a member of the National Governor’s Association’s (NGA) Core Advisory Board for Children and Families. Currently Brown serves as Chief Executive Officer of Global True North, a Public Benefit Corporation (globaltruenorth.org) a health and human services consulting bureau. Additionally, in 2023, Brown, alongside other HHS leaders, founded the Center for Public Sector AI (cpsai.org), a non-profit organization that supports government leaders in minimizing risk and maximizing impact of contemporary technologies in their agencies. Brown currently serves his community a member of the governing board for the City of Oklahoma City’s Continuum of Care, helping support a transformative approach to addressing homelessness in the 20th largest city in America. In addition to his public service, Brown has built a passion for serving non-profit organizations including the Alzheimer’s Association, Children’s Hospital Foundation, YMCA, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, among others. Brown and his wife, Kelly, have been married for 23 years and have two children, Hannah and Ford.
Directors

Ken & Debbie Summers

Ken and Debbie Summers are Colorado natives currently living in Canton, Georgia. Debbie is retired from a 43-year nursing career. Debbie holds a B.S. degree in nursing from the University of Northern Colorado. Ken has a Business Education degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Nonprofit Management degree from Regis University.
Ken is retired but is currently serving as an online instructor for Colorado Christian University in the Nonprofit Management Program.

Ken served 28 years in full-time ministry before serving as a nonprofit executive director and six years in the Colorado House of Representatives. He also served a four-year term on the Fort Collins City Council. While serving in the Colorado House, Ken was recognized as a Legislator of the Year by the Colorado Nonprofit Association. He served for two years as the Chair of the House Health and Environmental Committee. They have two adult children and six grandchildren.

Director

Steve Bigari

Steve Bigari is an entrepreneur, leader and innovator with decades of experience in the restaurant space. As the pioneer and driving-force behind leading-edge innovations like multi-lane drive-thru and the first fully-automated food order, he brings unmatched industry expertise and global restaurant relationships to SoundHound where he leads the restaurant division of the world's preeminent voice AI company.

As a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a lifetime Ashoka Fellow, his strong sense of leadership and service to others is always paramount. Steve’s lifelong work as founder of America’s Family has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives. www.amfol.org. Steve and Brenda live lives of servant leadership surrounded by their 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Faith and family come first in everything they do.

Directors

Morgan & Andrew Cox

Andrew and Morgan Cox live in Charlottesville, Virginia with their two children,
Jonathan and Madelyn, and two rescue dogs, Theo and Zoey. They are former foster
parents. During free time, their family enjoys music, hiking, and soccer.

Morgan Cox formed The Child Advocate Law Firm PLLC in 2017, a firm dedicated to
the representation of children as guardian ad litem. Morgan previously practiced family
law in both Northern Virginia and Northern California. She has received recognition for
her skills by repeatedly being selected as a Super Lawyer in Virginia Super Lawyers
Magazine. She has also earned the distinction of becoming a child welfare specialist
through the National Association of Counsel for Children.

Andrew Cox is an experienced R&D project lead for national security technologies (AI,
machine-learning, Cyber) at Sandia National Laboratories specializing in advancing
research concepts/prototypes to operational/market-ready products. Prior to his tenure at
Sandia, Andrew worked at the TSA, where he played a key role in the rollout of
PreCheck and in modeling terrorism risk analysis.

Director

Carrie Lloyd

Carrie Lloyd is the host of “The Carrie On... Podcast,” a journalist, Patreon writer, and life guide, specializing in authenticity and character. She is the author of three books: The Noble Renaissance (Harper Collins), Ther Virgin Monologue, and Prude. Carrie resides between her homes in California, where she is a foster mother, and Lincolnshire, England.
Directors

Eddie & Becky Spain

Eddie and Becky Spain are celebrating forty-seven years of marriage. They have three adult married children, two granddaughters, and an energetic mini Australian Shepherd dog.

Eddie is the Director of Quality and Clinical Programs at Transcarent. He is a ground-floor contributor providing quality and patient safety insight to change the way health and care are delivered. He serves as the Director of Quality and Clinical Programs for Everyday Care, Behavioral Care, and Pharmacy Solutions. He assists in the development of these programs by utilizing clinical expertise to innovate strategies that encompass high-value care solutions. Eddie is responsible for clinical quality metrics and processes. He ensures the product and design reflect the highest clinical quality patient outcomes for members seeking services. This evaluation leads to the development of an exceptionally reliable member experience that encompasses the complete continuum of care. Eddie is an executive with a proven record of driving visioning, strategic planning, and execution for the development, growth, financial health, quality, disaster preparedness, and operational excellence of neuroscience service lines and practices. He has thirty-eight years of experience in fast-paced healthcare environments at Mercy Springfield, Missouri, and Queen’s Medical Center Honolulu, Hawaii. He facilitated the Missouri Governor’s Taskforce on Time Critical Diagnosis for Strokes and is recognized for his ability to educate, support, and advise leadership teams through critical initiatives and orchestrate key programs. Eddie spearheaded the design and development of thirty-two Centers of Excellence. He established a reputation for building service-focused, high-performing team cultures, prioritizing measurable results and long-term impact. His emphasis is ensuring evidence-based best practices with an ethical approach. Eddie’s goal is to touch the life of one person each day.

By the time she graduated high school, Becky attended fourteen schools. Her dream was to return to her grandparents’ home to live out her adult life. Except for a three-year period living in Hawaii, Becky has called Springfield home for over forty years, making strong commitments to its community through numerous avenues. Becky is a graduate of Evangel University, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration, Management, and a Master of Organizational Leadership. She has served in a variety of professional roles, including serving at Evangel University as the Director of Retention, where she worked with at-risk students as well as an adjunct professor in the master’s program. While in Hawaii, Becky served as a Lecturer at the University of Hawaii. Upon returning to Springfield, Becky served as the Mercy Trauma Services Injury Prevention Specialist and the Director of Safe Kids Springfield. Becky has also been the Manager of Business and Workforce Development with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Director of Community Relations with Bank One. Becky has been active in volunteer efforts in her community and abroad and has served on over forty Boards, Task Forces, Coalitions, and Collaboratives.

Director

Alan Abutin

Alan Abutin plays an integral role as a Student Support Coordinator for SUN Scholars Inc, a 501c3 State Funded non profit committed to improving the college and career outcomes of foster and adopted youth. SUN is the only non-profit in the country where it’s staff are entirely comprised of former foster and adopted youth. He received his Bachelors in Communication with Minor in Social Justice and is now studying for his masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with a focus on Clinical Counseling at Central Connecticut State University. Alan was a two time intern for the Congressional Coalition of Adoption in 2020 and 2021 as well as an intern for Connecticut State Senator Richard Blumenthal. Alan was also a 2022 recipient of the Ebenezer Bassett Humanitarian Award for his spirit of resilience and determination. He tirelessly works to push his students and others to reach and surpass expectations and refuses to waiver in the face of adversity. Above all else, Alan credits his faith in God and love for others for his success.