The Steering Team: The Heart Behind the Vision

Keith Fortier is a foster and adoptive dad of over ten years and currently serves with Agape of North Carolina as their Director of Advancement, where he builds networks of generous, sacrificial advocates committed to protecting North Carolina’s most vulnerable children. He and his wife live in Raleigh with their six children.

With a background in education and trauma-informed care, Keith spent 12 years as a kindergarten teacher before transitioning into direct support roles within the foster care system. He is a TBRI® Practitioner, Behavioral Health Partner, and community connector.

Keith is passionate about equipping the Church to be a light in the foster care system—mobilizing communities to not only welcome children into their homes, but also create sustainable support structures that allow families to thrive. 

Whether training parents, speaking at churches, or coaching ministry leaders, Keith brings deep empathy, practical insight, and a clear vision for long-term transformation in the lives of vulnerable children and those who care for them.

Sara serves at Apex Baptist Church and helped launch their Village 127 ministry in 2020. Alongside a team of fellow foster and adoptive moms, they created the dream behind Village 127 -- to build a community of fostering and adoptive families where parents and their children felt seen, supported, and equipped throughout their journey. Sara truly believes that it takes a village to care for vulnerable children, and she is passionate about helping the Church step into that role. Sara was officially brought on staff at Apex Baptist in 2024 as the Village 127 Coordinator and loves getting to continue to build this ministry!

Sara is married to her husband, Ethan, and has three incredible children-one of whom joined their family through the gift of adoption in 2024! Walking through this adoption journey has continued to shape and grow her family's passion for adoption and foster care and what it looks like for the Church to get involved in this space.

After Pam's own personal adoption journey, Pam felt called to work on behalf of the children in Foster Care. She has been serving in this arena for the past ten years by leading a non-profit organization she founded in 2011. Pam now serves as co-founder and CEO of Watch Me Rise ministry alongside her adopted son. Together, Pam and Trent serve foster and adoptive families with a vast array of support services. Pam is a TBRI Practitioner, Making Sense of Your Worth Facilitator, Building Freedom From Within, Art Therapy Practitioner, Educational Therapist, Life Coach, and mental health coach. Pam considers it a true honor to walk alongside foster and adoptive families and to guide them to the healing that is found in God.

Trent entered foster care at the age of four due to domestic violence, extreme neglect, and sexual abuse. After traveling a painful journey through the foster care system, Trent was adopted at the age of nine and came to dramatic levels of healing from his traumatic past. Trent, who is now 24 years old, has devoted his life to helping others find healing. Trent is a mentor and public speaker and has authored and published two books. Trent graduated from Arizona State University with a 4.0 GPA with a B.S. in Family and Human Development. Trent is CEO and Co-Founder of Watch Me Rise in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Trent is a trauma consultant and serves as a TBRI Practitioner, Life Coach, Educational Therapist, mentor, and parent trainer. Trent gives all the glory to God for his healing and strives to be a light in the darkness.

Selina serves as the North Carolina Coordinator for Her Plan. Selina supports and grows North Carolina’s pro-life safety net by facilitating collaboration and connections among local assistance providers and organizations that support pregnant and parenting women and families. She organizes state events, visits assistance providers to learn more about their life-affirming work, and connects local providers with other state and national resources across categories of care. Selina brings her experience working at a local pregnancy center in Chapel Hill, where she advocated for women through the lens of trauma-informed care and connected moms with resources to empower them to choose life.

Eric comes from a dynamic youth ministry background and is eager to use his spiritual gifts and education to be the pastor/teacher of Braggtown Church. Eric joined the pastoral staff in the fall of 2020. He is EXCITED for the opportunity to use his ministry experience and education to serve Christ’s Church and the unique makeup of the community. Eric and his wife Carrie are natives of the Durham area; Carrie is a Core Connections teacher at Voyager Middle School. Eric and Carrie are foster parents with Durham County and are blessed with a unique heart to love and nurture foster children who need God’s love and security. The Miller family's focus is to be imitators of Christ, by loving deeply, serving faithfully, and worshipping God with their lives. Eric coordinates an exciting Children/Student Ministry and serves as the Lead Teaching Pastor.

Jodi has spent her career walking closely with foster and adoptive families, supporting them and helping build systems of care that truly serve. She holds a degree in Social Work from Asbury University and currently works as a foster care worker with Agape of NC, coming alongside families as they navigate the foster care journey.

Jodi brings a strong foundation in relational support, program coordination, and administrative organization, which has paved the way for serving as backbone support for RDU for FAMs. She is passionate about collaboration with families, churches, and community partners to build strong, caring networks where families can thrive.

Outside of work, Jodi enjoys time with her family, traveling, hiking and running with her dog August, good coffee, and a love of theater and musicals