Between the ages of four and nine J. Justin Pasquariello had lived with two different foster families and his half sister in England before he moved to another foster home. This was to be the place that he could finally call home when his foster family became his adoptive family.
Understanding the importance of a mentor in a child's life, Justin has been a mentor for the same boy since his first year in college. After taking a community organizing class during the fall of his senior year, Justin decided to develop a mentoring program specifically for children with personal experiences in foster care and adoption.
In June 2001 Justin Pasquariello, founder and former executive director of AFC Mentoring, graduated from Harvard College and partnered with Mass Mentoring Partnership to bring the pilot initiative of Adoption & Foster Care Mentoring to the greater Boston area.
In July 2007, AFC brought on its new executive director, Marie French. Marie also has personal experiences in foster care and has served as a foster parent. She has highlighted these experiences in foster care at a recent AFC forum within the honorable ASPAC (American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children) 15th Annual Colloquium (July 11th to 14th, 2007). AFC is proud to have Marie as our new executive director!
AFC Mentoring began its first 1-1 and group mentoring relationships during the early spring of 2002 and has enjoyed continued growth in staff, volunteers, and mentor matches. On January 1, 2004 AFC became an independent 501(c)3 and has grown to include a variety of new programs that serve youth in out-of-home care, from mentoring to internships to volunteering.