One of the most important—and most misunderstood—lessons we learned over ten years of youth engagement is that the strongest relationships with young people are not the ones with the fewest boundaries. They are the ones with the healthiest boundaries. 

That sounds simple. In practice, it is one of the most difficult aspects of youth engagement to learn—and one of the hardest responsibilities for supervisors to support. 

Youth engagement asks adults to share power, build authentic relationships, and genuinely value young people’s expertise. Done well, these principles transform lives. But they can also blur roles if we are not intentional.   

In our first lesson, we shared why we developed a youth leadership curriculum rather than expecting young people to simply “show up” ready to lead. This lesson focuses on the other half of the equation: the adults.

One of the most important lessons we learned over ten years of supporting Youth Advisory Boards was that the words we used created the work we got.

By 2020, we had spent years creating spaces where youth in care felt welcomed, supported, and heard. 

Then we were challenged to ask a difficult question: 

“Were we designing spaces for youth in care to participate—or spaces that positioned them to lead?” 

That question, posed by our Illinois Department of Children and Family Services program monitor, Kevin Walsh, changed the trajectory of our work. 

It wasn’t a complicated question. 

Child- and family-serving organizations understand something fundamental: the earliest years of life matter.

That conviction shapes everything we do. We invest in warm, responsive relationships because they build secure attachment. We fill our classrooms with books because language matters. We create opportunities for play because children learn through exploration. We support parents because strong families are the foundation of healthy communities. We strive to become trauma-informed because we know that early adversity can alter the trajectory of a life.

In other words, we know that what children experience in our care today helps shape the adults they become.

Be Strong Families is closing its chapter as coordinator of Illinois' Youth Advisory Board network — and opening a new one. CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz reflects on a decade of youth-led advocacy, policy wins, and what comes next for BSF's growing youth leadership work nationwide.

When healthy food costs more, takes longer to prepare, and is harder to find, the burden can't rest on parents alone. We explore what family support organizations and early childhood centers are doing to step up as partners in nutritional equity, from two-generation cooking classes to school meal advocacy.

"Real food is elitist" sounds compassionate, but look closer. BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz challenges the assumption that low-income families can't prioritize nourishment, and makes the case that true equity means both upgrading systems and honoring every family's agency.

Not long ago, cooking wasn’t a hobby; it was a basic human skill. BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz traces how we lost that art, what replaced it, and why reclaiming the kitchen may be one of the most important things families can do for their children's health and future.

"I'm going to have to eat vegetables for the rest of my life?!" A ten-year-old's horror at a few microgreens on a sandwich turns out to be a window into how the food industry captured children's palates, and what it will take to win them back.

The most intimate house we inhabit is the body and what we feed our children shapes that house daily. BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz draws on an inherited pocket Bible, a cancer diagnosis, and modern food science to make the case that snacks are not just treats. They are small, repeated acts of protection.

When BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz received a breast cancer diagnosis, the principles she'd spent decades teaching families became deeply personal. Here, she reflects on what a serious illness reveals about how we nourish ourselves and why small, loving changes around the kitchen table can be among the most powerful acts of resilience a family can take.

As an executive director (ED) of a non-profit, building a strong, collaborative relationship with your board of directors is crucial. Many EDs hesitate to communicate openly with their board due to fear of a perceived power differential, but it's essential to remember that while you report to them, no one else does. You are in charge of your staff and operations. If you’re doing your job well, the board will respect and support your leadership. They are looking to you to lead and to structure their role so that they can make a meaningful contribution without it taking too much of their time and energy (they are volunteers which means they generally have lots of other obligations! and this is important to remember as it works in your favor.)

In this blog series, I’ve spoken about my commitment to racial equity and undoing the damage systemic racism has caused all of us. I’ve called out performative allyship, stressing that authentic engagement must come from gut-level and heart-level understanding, born of personal experiences that reveal the real benefits of DEI work. One question that lingers, even if unvoiced, is: Why? As a white person, even my own mother once asked me, “Why don’t you like white people? Why don’t you seem to trust people like you?”

While gender is increasingly understood as a spectrum and social construct, the binary framework of masculinity and femininity remains deeply embedded in cultural norms. Traditionally masculine qualities—such as assertiveness, competitiveness, and decisiveness—continue to dominate perceptions of effective leadership. However, these qualities alone are insufficient for the complex challenges of modern leadership, making it essential to examine the shadow and light of both masculine and feminine traits.

Where do Jews fit in DEI conversations? This blog explores the complexities of Jewish identity in diversity, equity, and inclusion spaces, challenging assumptions and addressing the erasure of Jewish voices. Through personal reflection and real-life stories, it examines how oversimplifications undermine the core values of DEI and calls for a more inclusive approach that honors all lived experiences. Dive in to uncover how we can evolve the conversation to truly embrace empathy, compassion, and the richness of our collective diversity.

DEI isn't a political agenda. DEI is the work of living up to values we've been pledging allegiance to since kindergarten. BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz responds to high-profile DEI failures with a call to lead with love, create brave spaces, and remember that liberty and justice for all was always the point.

True collaboration in racial equity work is harder than it looks — and not always for the reasons we expect. BSF CEO reflects honestly on a dozen dynamics that create no-win situations, stall progress, and complicate even the most well-intentioned efforts toward equity and belonging.

Identity acknowledgment without behavior change is a dead end. BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz reflects honestly on what it means to lead as a white woman in racial equity work, and the difference between leading from privilege and leading as an ally.

Most family support is delivered by professionals, but Parent Cafés were designed to flip that model. We explore how Cafés shift the social service paradigm by putting parents in the lead, building confidence and real-world skills while creating the kind of reciprocal community support that no program can manufacture.

What happens when suit-and-tie bureaucrats sit down with parents from the south side of Chicago? Or when foster parents and birth parents share a table? Magic, according to BSF. We explore how Parent Cafés quietly disrupt bias, shift power dynamics, and create genuine belonging, one conversation at a time.

Loneliness is a public health crisis, and Parent Cafés are part of the solution. We explore the connection between social isolation and family well-being, and why intentionally building social connections isn't just good for parents, it's good for all of us.

Interpersonal trauma is healed through corrective social experiences, which Parent Cafés were designed to create. In this installment of "Why Are Cafés So Great?", BSF CEO Kathryn Leigh Goetz makes the case for Cafés as a powerful, accessible space for healing trauma.

What if Parent Cafés are doing some of the same work as therapy and for some people, working even better? We explore the parallels between Cafés and conventional mental health services, and why peer-based community connection may be one of the most undervalued tools in the mental health toolkit.

BSF doesn't just prevent crises; we help people navigate them. In this edition of "Why Are Cafés So Great?", our CEO reframes the conversation around crisis intervention, asking: what if the real agents of change aren't the professionals, but the community itself?

The winter solstice is upon us — Sunday, December 22. This
On the winter solstice — the day the sun stands still — BSF's Kathryn Leigh Goetz reflects on what it means to turn inward, find stillness, and hold onto faith in the light that's always returning, even in the darkest season.

To the slave master, the auction block was a public space for selling slaves. For the slave and their family, it was a source of fear, shame, and humiliation. There are some public places in America where slave auction blocks remain intact- a daunting reminder of an ugly past. Today, Aug. 20, we honor the memories of our African ancestors that endured the horrors of slavery, a shameful American atrocity that lasted 400 years.

What happens when human services systems put policy before people? Kathryn Leigh Goetz makes the case for flipping the script on intake processes and putting relationship first — with a practical model from a Pasadena coalition that gets it right.

When Germany approved a third gender on official documents in 2018, Kathryn saw an opening to ask bigger questions about gender, identity, and self-determination. Her reflection is both personal and philosophical.

BSF CEO couldn't be in the same room with her Trump-supporting brother after the 2016 election. Then came Thanksgiving. Her honest reflection on family, inclusion, and the unexpected path back to connection is exactly the kind of story that sits at the heart of BSF's mission.