Junely was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she entered the foster care system at the age of fifteen with her one-month-old son in her arms. After exiting foster care, Junely earned a full-ride scholarship to California State University, Fullerton, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in Mental Health and Community Practice.
Junely is passionate about community engagement and social justice. She devotes herself to advocacy work to raise foster care awareness through social media and her website, merwinjayact.com.
The National Foster Youth Institute is a youth development organization that lifts up foster youth voices to transform the child welfare system.
