Former Foster Youth Named White House ‘Champion of Change’

Sokhom Mao, a data specialist at the California Social Work Education Center, hosted by UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, was named a White House Champion of Change, a program that recognizes Americans doing “extraordinary things to make a difference” in their communities. Mao was one of 12 former foster youths across the nation honored on May 19 by the White House as part of National Foster Care Month.

Mao was born to refugees who fled Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime. When he was nine, he was placed in California’s foster care system. He eventually landed at the . . .