On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by his friend, Pedro Andrade, an Emmy Award–winning journalist, producer, and global storyteller whose work explores identity, culture, and what it truly means to be a family.

Pedro is the host and producer of the HBO Max documentary series Somewhat Familiar, which follows Pedro and his husband as they adopt a baby and travel the world exploring how families are formed across cultures and communities.

One episode of the series is especially meaningful to the Fostering Change community. Episode five featured Rob Scheer and the Scheer family, offering an honest look at foster care, adoption, and what permanency can look like in real life.

In this conversation, Rob and Pedro revisit that experience and explore how storytelling can expand our understanding of family, bring visibility to foster care, and inspire more compassionate conversations about belonging.

Episode Highlights

How media and storytelling can redefine traditional ideas of family

Why foster care stories deserve a place in global conversations about belonging

Pedro’s experience of becoming a parent and how it shaped his perspective on adoption

What the Scheer family story revealed about permanency and resilience

The role of documentaries in shifting public understanding and reducing stigma

About the Guest

Pedro Andrade is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, producer, and global storyteller known for his work exploring culture, identity, and human connection. He is the host and producer of the HBO Max documentary series Somewhat Familiar, which follows Pedro and his husband as they navigate adoption while exploring family structures around the world. Through his work, Pedro highlights diverse stories of belonging and invites audiences to see family through a wider, more compassionate lens.

Connect with Pedro

📸 Instagram: @pedroandradeTV

🎬 Series: Somewhat Familiar with Pedro Andrade on HBO Max

🎥 Watch the full video episodes on YouTube!

Head over to Comfort Cases on YouTube to catch every inspiring conversation:

👉 youtube.com/@comfortcases

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Fostering Change Podcast, Rob Scheer is joined by Temple Lentz — nonprofit CEO, local elected official, and debut novelist — for a thoughtful conversation about what happens when the systems designed to protect vulnerable families don’t always work the way they’re supposed to.

Temple is the author of the novel Not Quite Home, which explores the cracks in America’s social service safety net. While the book is fiction, its themes are grounded in real-world experience. Having worked both inside nonprofit leadership and as an elected official, Temple brings a rare systems-level perspective to the conversation.

Together, Rob and Temple discuss the gap between policy and lived reality, how well-intentioned systems can sometimes cause unintended harm, and why storytelling may be one of the most powerful tools we have to illuminate the need for reform.

Episode Highlights

• Why systems meant to help families often fall short

• The unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies

• What people misunderstand about how social service systems actually function

• Why fiction can humanize policy failures more effectively than reports and data

• How civic engagement and storytelling can open doors to meaningful reform

About the Guest

Temple Lentz is a nonprofit CEO, local elected official, and debut novelist. She earned a BA from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Claremont Lincoln University. Her writing has appeared in outlets including the Portland Mercury, Vancouver Business Journal, Live Wire! Radio, New City Chicago, and the Windy City Times.

Her first novel, Not Quite Home, examines the human impact of systemic gaps within America’s social safety net.

Connect with Temple

🌐 Website: templelentzbooks.com

📘 Facebook: Temple Lentz

📸 Instagram: @gototemple

🐦 X/Twitter: @gototemple

🧵 Threads: @gototemple

🔗 LinkedIn: Temple Lentz

🎥 Watch the full video episodes on YouTube!

Head over to Comfort Cases on YouTube to catch every inspiring conversation:

👉 youtube.com/@comfortcases

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer sits down with Dr. Liz DeBetta — an award-winning writer, educator, and solo performance artist whose work explores adoption, trauma, identity, and healing through storytelling.

Dr. Liz is the founder of Migrating Toward Wholeness, a trauma-informed, arts-based healing framework, and the author of Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal. Her work centers on an often-overlooked truth: adoption isn’t a moment — it’s a lifelong identity journey.

This conversation is especially meaningful for Rob, who reflects on his own experience adopting his son Alex, who joined the Scheer family at 18 and was formally adopted at 22 — a powerful reminder that belonging and permanency have no age limit.

Together, Rob and Dr. Liz explore how adults navigate adoption-related grief and identity, why healing can unfold later in life, and how storytelling becomes a transformative tool for reclaiming voice and wholeness.

Episode Highlights

Late and adult adoption as meaningful and transformative

How writing and embodied storytelling support trauma integration

What “wholeness” means for identities shaped by early loss

The role adoptive families play in supporting adult adoptees over time

About the Guest

Dr. Liz DeBetta is an award-winning writer, educator, and solo performance artist whose work focuses on adoption, trauma, and identity through narrative expression. She is the founder of Migrating Toward Wholeness™, the author of Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal, and the creator of the acclaimed one-woman show Un-M-Othered, which examines adoption and patriarchy through embodied storytelling. Holding a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, she blends research, lived experience, and art to support healing and identity integration.

Connect with Dr. Liz

🌐 Website: www.lizdebetta.com

📘 Facebook: Dr. Liz DeBetta

📸 Instagram: @dr.liz.debetta

🎵 TikTok: @dr.liz.debetta

🔗 LinkedIn: Liz DeBetta, Ph.D.

🎥 Watch the full video episodes on YouTube!

Head over to Comfort Cases on YouTube to catch every inspiring conversation:

👉 youtube.com/@comfortcases

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.