Nancy Fortunato

Nancy Fortunato is an impacted parent and advocate with a firsthand understanding of how systemic racism impacts communities of color. She supports system-involved families and shares her story with caseworkers, child advocates, attorneys, judges, elected officials, and other professionals to shape policy change, influence decision-making, and ensure parents under surveillance by the child welfare system are treated with humanity, dignity, and respect.

Nancy started her advocacy career as a Community Partnership Representative at the East Harlem Community Partnership Program. She went on to hold parent advocate positions at the Center for Human Development and Family Services and the Jewish Child Care Association (JCCA) and was a Senior Parent Leader at Rise Magazine. Currently, she serves on the Bright Future Parent Committee and the Parent Legislative Action Network Coalition and is a Peer Navigator at Justice for Families.  

In addition to her lived experience, Nancy’s social justice work is informed by her successful completion of the Child Welfare Organizing Project’s parent leadership curriculum and courses at the New School’s Institute of Transformative Mentoring and the Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM).