Executive Director
Lisa Guillette is a nationally recognized leader in child welfare practice and non-profit administration. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Foster Forward, a statewide community based organization that empowers lives impacted by foster care. During her tenure, Foster Forward has earned multi-million dollar competitive contracts and grant awards from the State of Rhode Island, the federal government and private funders. In 2018 Foster Forward’s Works Wonders® program received national recognition as the Child Welfare League of America’s National Blueprint Award recipient and as the unanimous winner of the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance Innovations in American Government Award.
Ms. Guillette has twenty-nine years of professional experience in education and child welfare and has served in her current role for over nineteen years. She has been appointed to several legislative commissions and community boards, and currently serves as the treasurer for the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families. Ms. Guillette has received numerous honors and awards including a United States Congressional Angels in Adoption Award in 2005 and the Women UNITED Award from the United Way of Rhode Island in 2020. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Providence College.