Wednesday, April 26, 2006

My NPR interview on "Improving College Prospects for Foster Care Youth"

Here is my interview.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5225094

Big Country begins.


Today I have started a blog, knock one off the life goals list.

I should be leaving for Peace Corps in the Pacific Islands in September 06.

I thought this would be a good time to start a blog as I am getting ready for a major change in my life. I will be leaving the work I have loved for the past 2 1/2 years. (see my Bio below) by this coming June.

(Lee Klejnot is an experienced youth advocate, having worked at the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) for the past two-and-a-half years and prior to that having interned at both the state and federal Congressional levels.

At OFA, Lee administers the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) programs for the states of Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina, disbursing over $1.64 million annually to over 400 students. In his role as ETV coordinator Lee works with financial aid offices and social workers to ensure that students get the funding they need. He also works directly with students, advising, guiding and encouraging them to make the most of their educational opportunities. Lee has been involved with the program since its inception in the 2003-4 academic year, and was instrumental in developing the program mechanisms that have brought OFA to the forefront in ETV administration nationally.

Lee graduated from Purdue University of the B.S. in Organizational Leadership and Supervision. As a student he interned with the State of Indiana as well as with the House Republican Conference in Washington D.C. He spoke before the Congressional Roundtable on Foster Care and the Pew Commission on Foster Care, and was a featured speaker at the Casey Family Programs’ It’s My Life Conference. Most recently, he was interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR) on outcomes for foster youth in post-secondary education.

Lee will be leaving OFA in July to start service with the Peace Corps, for whom he will volunteer as a youth development specialist in one of the Pacific Island countries. )