Meet Kevinee Gilmore
Founder of Foster Share House and Creator of #FosterCare campaign
Kevinee Gilmore is a consulting guru for non Âprofits and child welfare strategist for foster care initiatives. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio she grew up in 13 placements ranging from group homes, psychiatric wards and foster homes. After aging out of foster care, Kevinee was told she could not stay with her foster parent unless she paid $250.00. Kevinee could not afford the rent so her social worker proposed college. She attended college only to have a place to live and still found herself homeless during holiday breaks. Despite the startling statistics that fewer than 3% of kids in the foster care system graduate from college, Kevinee earned a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Cleveland State University.
Kevinee has worked closely with Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of the State John Kerry, and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. Kevinee founded Speak Life Academy, a nonÂprofit organization that assists aged-out foster youth through their completion of high school to their higher education. Having lived through the hardships of leaving foster care, Kevinee has been called upon to provide input during child welfare forums and panels focused on creating new solutions for transitioning foster youth.
Kevinee also worked with Cleveland State President Ronald Berkman for programs to support foster youth, which led to the University receiving a $2.3 million gift to the Sullivan-Deckard scholarship for foster youth.
Poised, passionate, and personable, Kevinee has served as the Cleveland liaison for Black Entertainment Television (BET) Foundation recruiting over 250 girls for an empowerment summit at John Carroll University. She is also the founder of #FosterCare & #Foster Care LGBTQ a media campaign that includes celebrities, elected officials and former foster youth. The campaign’s mission is to bring awareness and empower foster youth nationally and internationally. Kevinee Gilmore's #FosterCare media campaign has attracted everyone from Stevie Wonder, Hill Harper, DMC and Angela Davis to name a few. She now has foster care correspondents in Atlanta, Baltimore, Alaska, New Orleans, and Brooklyn, New York.
As she continues to beat the odds, Kevinee uses her story to bring awareness and resources to aid others in foster care. “I want foster youth to feel good, and I think it’s my duty as a former foster youth to give back and provide solutions and opportunities for these youth to succeed financially, professionally and personally in adulthood." She credits a bulk of her success to Seanine Cook, a social worker from Cuyahoga County Department of Children & Family Service, who has been the driving force behind her success. However, Kevinee considers her biggest life accomplishment to be her son Kadin Larry.