Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia are excited to welcome Dr. Mary Ann McMillan to the podcast. According to recent statistics, there are more than 330,000 children currently in foster care in the United States. Research on adverse childhood experiences continues to demonstrate that early trauma and family separation can have lifelong effects on mental health, relationships, physical wellbeing, and sense of identity. In today's episode, Dr. Mary Ann shares how churches can become long-term communities of care, healing, and belonging. “Bridging Resilience: A Guide to Healing for Adoptees and Former Foster Youth, Families, and the Leaders Who Walk with Them” (B&H Publishing, July 2026), author, professor, and advocate Mary Ann McMillan explores the lifelong impact of early separation, identity disruption, and attachment trauma. Mary Ann McMillan is a former foster youth and adoptee whose life has been shaped by the realities of family separation, identity rupture, and the lifelong search for belonging. Now a professor, researcher, and global advocate, she writes and teaches at the intersection of trauma, justice, and healing. She holds a doctorate in education and teaches courses in human rights, criminal justice, and international relations. Her academic work focuses on vulnerable children, both in the U.S. and globally, including time spent in Rwanda researching family systems, orphan care, and post-conflict restoration. A follower of Christ, Mary Ann is passionate about integrating spiritual formation with therapeutic insight. She speaks regularly to churches, universities, and conferences, offering honest, theologically rooted conversations around adoption, foster care, orphan care reform, and human rights. Through her work, Mary Ann invites readers to listen to those who’ve lived through the system, to parent with sacred responsibility, and to believe in a kind of healing that holds both truth and grace. #kidmin #preschoolministry #childrensministry #administration #fosterfamilies #adoption
