Meet Us Monday: Mariah Thompson-Grissett

Mariah Thompson-Grissett has several years of lived child welfare experience. She is a Regional Assistant for Strong Able Youth Speaking Out (SaySo), North Carolina’s youth advocacy organization. She advocates for youth in foster care at the county, state, and national levels and is passionate about helping make positive changes to the foster care system. She is excited to be part of a national group exploring improvements to the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. With her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, crisis response training, and personal experience, Mariah understands and values the importance of community resources. She helps make sure all youth and families are aware of available resources so future crises can be avoided.

Mariah serves as a Youth Partner on the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council. She believes that all youth served by the foster care program deserve access to the opportunities needed to thrive. Mariah lends her voice to Fostering Health NC’s Transition Age Youth subcommittee and enjoys bringing new perspectives and innovative ideas to the table. Mariah is a strong advocate for mental health services, social supports, and the improvement of independent living services. She hopes to impact practices, policies and plans to improve the quality of life of youth in care.