Lola’s Bio Pic

Lola D. Adebara, M.A.

Founder and CHIEF Executive OFFICER

Her Experience …

Lola’s expertise in child welfare encompasses training curriculum development, systems reform, legislation/policies, and youth advocacy; all of these experiences highlight why she has become a much sought-after professional for almost 20 years. She has served as a former guardian ad litem, child advocate for foster and adoptive youth, and a children’s worker specializing in youth aging out of care in Minnesota. In addition to her professional experience in social work, she has a background in research and evaluation conducting participatory evaluation in the field of youth development, juvenile justice, and social work. She is also the founder of the Minnesota (MN) Our Voices Matter Foster Alumni and Adoptees Support Network, which has been successfully managed since 2009.

Her Role…

She is often described in the child welfare field as an “inspirational and transformational” training expert. Her professional experience and expertise in the field of child welfare includes: child welfare training consultant for private and public agencies, Program Director of the Our Voices Matter (OVM) Youth Advocacy program through Minnesota Adoption Resource Network (MARN), Youth Coordinator/Specialist of a statewide service learning program in Atlanta, Georgia; where she worked with at-risk and aging-out youth in the foster care system, and has also served as the Program Manager of MN Youth Support and Advocacy (YSA) program for foster and adoptive youth in Minnesota. Her professional certification and educational training experience in: crisis intervention, conflict resolution, and mediation for Family Court/Child Protection related issues make her a much sought-after practitioner. 

Lola has served on several human services and child welfare committees related to runaway and homelessness initiatives for juvenile justice and at-risk youth aging-out of the system. Her volunteer work serving on statewide committees includes: Heading Home Discharge Planning Committee, Minnesota Ending Homelessness Initiative, Children’s Law Center Foster and Aging out Youth Legislative Advocacy group, and Ramsey County Adolescent Living Skills Program planning committee. She currently serves as a MN Supreme Court Justice appointed committee member of the Statewide Children’s Justice Initiative (CJI), and appointed by an Hennepin County Commissioner to serve as a member of the Child Wellbeing Advisory Committee.

Her Accomplishments…


Lola’s educational experience earned her a Master’s Degree and soon pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Organizational Leadership. She was awarded the 2008 Betty R. Green Memorial Award in Sociology and Community Service from Hamline University, Program Director of the Year and Outstanding Youth Advocate for foster and adoptive youth in Minnesota from OVM Network. In 2009, she was featured as the program director of a statewide youth advocacy program, highlighted in the 2009 Kids Count Data Book by Children’s Defense Fund.

She also co-founded and organized the Ramsey County Youth Advisory Group (YAG), MN Foster and Adoptive Youth Support Network, and Aging Out Youth Support Group through the Adoptees Have Answers; a program funded by the MN Department of Human Services. She has worked with multiple stakeholders in developing policies and intervention programs for at-risk youth and foster/adoptive young people in Minnesota.


Special highlights fRom work in child welfare systeM


Case Study about Partnerships for Permanence (P4P)

by: Propel Nonprofits


Partnerships for Permanence

Podcast Interview with GIFT Family Services

Adoption coaches and parents, Joann DiStefano and Susan David host the third in a four part series of special editions of Essentials for Adoption-attuned Parenting.  They'll be joined once again by colleagues, Gayle Swift and Sally Ankerfelt, for an interview with  special guest Lola Adebara, Founder and Executive Director of Minneapolis based Partnerships for Permanence.


Juvenile Supervision Research and Evaluation Project Feature

Research and Evaluation project about Minneapolis Juvenile Supervision Center (JSC) in Hennepin County. Read a summary about the JSC project conducted with her research and evaluation colleagues in the 2014 National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Newsletter.


“Stars of the State” Feature from Children’s Defense Fund

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A feature story in the Children’s Defense Fund’s: 2009 Kids Count Data Book. The feature in this report also recognized the well-known MN program, Our Voices Matter (OVM), as one of the “Stars of the State.” OVM was statewide program that Lola Adebara served as Program Director in 2009.