Advocacy for children and families has been a lifelong mission for Lori Heginbotham and is evident in her professional and personal life experiences and choices. Lori is an educator with over 25 years of experience as a teacher in special education and in school administration as an assistant principal. She was the Perquimans-Gates-Chowan Counties' Family Service Coordinator for the statewide initiative Smart Start Partnerships for Children where she coordinated community needs assessments, interagency action committees, program development and grant writing. Lori and her husband were licensed foster care parents under North Carolina's Dept. of Social Services from 2003-2011 and welcomed 7 children into their home while working intensely with those families toward the goal of reunification. She volunteered in the North Carolina court system as a Guardian Ad Litem/CASA advocate and would investigate foster care cases in which she provided the child's voice in court. Lori was the Edenton United Methodist Church's Program Coordinator and played a key role in creating the Language Bridges Program now offered weekly to immigrant families in the northeastern area of North Carolina in partnership with Chowan County Schools. Since relocating to West Virginia in 2014, she continues her service to children and families through her efforts as a Program Manager at the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities.