Katrina Smith-Morales is a dedicated advocate for child welfare reform from New Jersey who lives in Massachusetts. Having grown up in and out of the foster care system from a young age, Katrina is passionate about empowering foster youth to leverage their experiences to inspire change in public policy, schools, and communities.

Katrina attends the University of Massachusetts Lowell and will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology in May 2025. She emphasized law, mental health, and environmental sustainability in her studies, complementing her research projects concerning child maltreatment and sustainable policies. Katrina manages her university’s sustainability institute’s social media to promote initiatives that advance sustainability and energy innovation, where she has enhanced her ability to advocate for important causes and connect with diverse audiences.  

Katrina serves on the Youth Council of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF). She collaborates with DCF leaders and other foster youth to implement policy improvements that address challenges within the foster care system. In this role, she has prioritized expanding access to case file records for former foster youth. She has also worked on implementing SOUL Family, a program allowing older foster youth an additional permanency option. Her work in these projects, alongside several others, has propelled her advocacy skills to new heights, and she is excited to continue this vital work in NFYI. 

Beyond her advocacy work, Katrina is often hanging out with her cats, exploring cities, making music, or eating good food. Katrina hopes to enhance her public speaking and networking skills through the Congressional Leadership Academy so that she can use her story to inspire foster youth to pursue their dreams, advocate for change, and break the stigma surrounding the foster care system, and believe in their ability to shape a brighter future for themselves and their communities.