1. First Star
1666 K Street, NW, Suite 300 · Washington, DC 20006 · www.firststar.org
2. FIRST STAR IMPROVES THE LIVES OF AMERICA’S PROGRAMS
ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN BY
By promoting best practices and better outcomes, First Star
STRENGTHENING THEIR RIGHTS, ILLUMINATING works to improve life for abused and neglected children in the
SYSTEMIC FAILURES AND IGNITING NECESSARY United States. Our programs concentrate on a nonpartisan,
REFORMS. WE PURSUE OUR MISSION THROUGH multidisciplinary approach that fosters collaborative action
RESEARCH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, POLICY among organizations, advocates, practitioners, government
agencies and policy makers.
ADVOCACY, EDUCATION AND LITIGATION.
REPORT CARD PROGRAM
First Star fights for a future in which America’s abused and
neglected children will have won their right to be heard and A core function of First Star is to work collaboratively with
the Children’s Advocacy Institute (CAI) in the research and
will be protected by the systems legally entrusted with their publication of report cards to assess state laws that protect
care. We envision a future in which those systems are fully abused and neglected children. Our State Secrecy and Child
resourced, transparent and accountable to the public. Deaths in the U.S. Report Card evaluates each state’s public
disclosure practices regarding cases of child abuse or neglect
that have resulted in fatalities and near fatalities. Our
National Report Cards on Legal Representation for Children
review and analyze the laws of all 50 states and the District
G UIDING PRINCIPLES of Columbia with regard to their provision of attorneys to
abused and neglected children in dependency cases.
• Systemically Focused: We work towards a day when
all systems entrusted with the protection of neglected FOSTER YOUTH ACADEMIES
and abused children do so excellently, using every
First Star promotes success after foster care through residential
available resource of skill, caring and science. Foster Youth Academies housed on college and university
campuses. First Star’s Foster Youth Academies aim to change
• Synergistic: We pursue each of our goals through a the odds stacked against foster youth and to level the field
multi-faceted approach that combines research, public for all young people by providing supportive, educational,
engagement, education, policy advocacy and litigation. residential and day programs. With a grant from the Mario
Batali Foundation, First Star is consulting with national experts
to create a well-planned program that will model the necessary
• Collaborative: We work in coalition and in partnership professional guidance that these foster youth deserve. Our goal
with others to pursue our goals. We reinvent no wheels. is to perfect the initial model and then replicate the program on
campuses nationwide.
• Results-oriented: We work diligently, in the most
challenging of areas, to track and report our findings. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF CHILD
ABUSE AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
• Entrepreneurial: We continuously explore new and First Star is excited to partner with the Steve Nash
creative methods and opportunities to fulfill our mission. Foundation to advocate for a National Institute for the Study
of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence. This national
• Bold: We take on issues that may be considered entity would house, consolidate and disseminate the science
controversial by others in the field. of child abuse in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
The science of child abuse and interpersonal violence
has advanced considerably, leading to knowledge of the
• Non-Partisan: We believe that child maltreatment is physiological, economic and societal consequences of
not a partisan issue and work to engage people across violence endured and witnessed by children. It is no longer
the political spectrum. viable to consider child abuse an isolated issue. The pervasive
nature of child abuse warrants the more concentrated effort
• Expert-Driven: The leading experts in the field inform that can only be addressed by a national institute.
the content and quality of our programs.
TARGETED LITIGATION
In addition to ongoing public policy and public awareness
initiatives, First Star advocates for the rights of America’s
foster children through carefully targeted litigation. Usually
taking the form of amicus curiae briefs, First Star’s legal
projects seek out specific cases involving children in which
the court’s decision may have a much broader impact on
foster youth nationwide.
3. F IRST STAR LEADERSHIP Robin Sax, Esq.
Former Los Angeles Asst. District Attorney
Peter Samuelson, First Star’s Co-Founder and President, is First Star Children’s Counsel
a media executive, President of splashlife.com, and founder
of the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation and EDAR Kimberly M. Thompson, ScD
(Everyone Deserves A Roof), Inc. Kid Risk, Inc.
Sherry A. Quirk, Co-Founder and Vice Chair of First Star, is Eileen Weber
a Partner at Schiff Hardin LLP and past President and Founder
of One Voice and the National Alliance for Abuse Awareness.
Kevin J. Reardon, First Star’s Treasurer, is a retired U.S. YOUTH AMBASSADOR
Navy Captain who has held senior executive positions in
business and the U.S. Government. Dakota Fanning
Elissa T. Garr, Executive Director of First Star, has worked
in education for over 15 years and was previously a Trustee
FOSTER CARE AMBASSADOR
of First Star.
Shawn M. Huff
D IRECTORS AND OFFICERS
TRUSTEES
Peter Samuelson
Samuelson Productions Norman Aladjem
President and Co-Founder, First Star, Inc.
Renee Cliff
Sherry A. Quirk, Esq. Bruce Eskowitz
Schiff Hardin, LLP
Vice-Chair, Secretary & Co-Founder, First Star, Inc. Giselle Fernandez
Susan Fleishman
Elissa T. Garr
Executive Director, First Star, Inc. Cindy Gardner
Richard Garr, Esq.
Kevin J. Reardon, PhD
Captain, US Navy (Ret) Melissa Helmbrecht
Treasurer, First Star, Inc. Tia Hoberman
Susan Kay Barker-Clem Louise Horvitz, MSW, PsyD
Tamara Houston
Professor Robert C. Fellmeth
Children’s Advocacy Institute Gale Anne Hurd
University of San Diego School of Law Sarah Ingersoll
Honorable Charles D. Gill Neil Kaplan
Connecticut Superior Court Kathleen Kennedy
Emma F. Hand, Esq. Sir Ben Kingsley
Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP Michael Piraino
Barbara K. Heffernan, Esq. Jonathan Sackier, MD
Schiff Hardin, LLP Rick Sands
Gary Levine Karenna Gore Schiff
WSI Internet Marketing
Honorable Charles. B. Shudson
Professor Kathleen Kelley Reardon Stephanie Sperber
University of Southern California
Jane Spinak, Esq.
Distinguished First Star Fellow
Bonnie Stylides, Esq.
Lewis Pitts, Esq.
Legal Aid of North Carolina Professor Clarice Dibble Walker
Advocate for Children’s Services Honorable Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld
4. 1666 K Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
For more information on our sponsors and how to become a sponsor, please visit www.firststar.org
SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE CONTRIBUTING ORGANIZATIONS
Schiff-Hardin, LLP
WSIWebMark
