The National Foster Youth Institute welcomes Marcus Scribner to their board of directors. Scribner, a 20-year-old actor and activist, brings to the position a commitment to improving outcomes for foster youth and transition aged youth, and an enthusiasm for lifting up their voices.

“I’m proud to welcome Marcus to our board,” said NFYI Executive Director Sally Fairman. “Many of NFYI’s young members have had an opportunity to spend time with Marcus during roundtable discussions and at our annual Congressional Shadow Day program in Washington, DC, where he was the featured speaker in 2019. I’m always struck by how eager he is to listen, learn from them, and amplify their experiences and needs on social media and in the press.”

“I met Marcus at an NFYI fundraiser and got to know him when he invited me to join him on the TV show All Access to talk about my experience in foster care,” said Carolina Wolf, a former foster youth and NFYI member. “I know that he’s going to be an outstanding addition to the board of directors and I think that NFYI’s members will really benefit from having him as an advocate.”

Scribner’s commitment to lifting up foster youth voices was recognized by NFYI in 2019 when he was presented with the Raising Awareness award. He was also the guest speaker at NFYI’s 2019 Congressional Shadow Day. Each year, NFYI takes over 100 current and former foster youth to Washington, DC to spend a day with their members of Congress, telling their stories, and advocating for improvements to child welfare. Scribner joined them to add his voice to theirs and urge Congress to take action.

“Hearing about the foster care experience from people who lived it, learning about how our systems are failing children, and watching them approach their members of Congress with so much passion and determination really opened my eyes and showed me what an important and effective cause this is,” Scribner said. “I’m going to do my best to amplify their voices and spread the word about how everyone in our community can be an advocate and help create brighter futures for foster youth across America.”

Scribner is an award-winning actor, activist, and student. A professional actor since the age of 10, he currently stars on ABC’s Blackish, has a recurring role on the spinoff Grownish, provides the voice of Bow in the animated series She-ra on Netflix, and this year made his Sundance Film Festival debut in the feature Farewell Amor.