November 1st, 2026 | 1:30 - 4 PM

Grace Central Coast SLO Campus
1350 Osos St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Register here

Vision:

 

We are honored to welcome Kondo Simfukwe as our special keynote speaker as he shares a vision for what it means to love vulnerable children and step into this vital ministry.

Whether you are already a foster or adoptive family looking for resources, or you’ve been feeling a nudge to get involved, we invite you to join us for the Adoption & Foster Forum. You’ll hear from Kondo and have the opportunity to choose from one of four breakout sessions.

 
 

Keynote Speaker:

Kondo Simfukwe 

Born in England, raised in Zambia, and educated in Australia and the United States, Kondo's global journey has shaped a remarkable career as a pastor, communicator, host, and advocate. Kondo is a husband, father of five, speaker, pastor, and sports broadcaster with a passion for people and the hope of Jesus. He and his wife, Melissa, have five children, including three siblings adopted from Haiti. Their family’s adoption journey has deepened Kondo’s passion for vulnerable children and the Church’s calling to care for them as an expression of the Gospel.

 

Breakout SESSIONS:

Here are the 4 breakout sessions. Please choose one when registering:

1) Exploring Foster Care and Adoption.
 Info and Q&A for those interested in or considering foster care or adoption. Come get your questions answered and learn about local options and agencies. 

2) Ask Anything- Q&A and encouragement from parents who have been there!
 Bring your questions and get advice from a panel of foster and adoptive parents. Their experience includes international adoption, special needs, medical needs, teenagers, and includes the perspective of an adult adoptee and bio sibling in a foster/adoptive family. 

3) Fostering Support: What to do When You Can't Bring a Child Into Your Home.
Did you know that nearly 50% of first-time foster families quit after their first year? Why? They lack the proper support and care needed to succeed. Consistent support is the foundation for building a successful foster family, and we believe that no matter what season of life you are in, everyone can do something! In this session, you will hear encouraging stories and receive practical tips on how to use your unique skills and talents to tangibly and meaningfully serve families in your community. You will also learn about our brand new partnership with Foster the City, an organization committed to serving children and families through consistent support teams. 

4) Not Losing Heart in Doing Good: Finding Fresh Strength for the Foster and Adoption Call - Daniel Carlisle

Register HERE!

View the San Luis Obispo Interactive Downtown Parking Map HERE

 

Ron Huxley:
Ron Huxley, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 34 years of experience in the mental health field. His specialty is creating practical tools for individuals and families in adoptions and trauma-informed care. Ron is the author of the book “Love and Limits: Achieving a Balance in Parenting” and the founder of TraumaToolbox.com and FamilyHealer.tv media.

Lindsey Clark:
Lindsey Clark is a stay-at-home mom, foster mom, and homeschooler on the central coast. She has been married to her husband Brendan for 13 years. Together they have 3 biological children and have fostered 6 infants. She specializes in medically fragile and drug exposed infants and fosters through SLO County’s Options for Recovery (OFR) program where she meets with and mentors birth parents while working towards reunification. Lindsey also grew up in a family that fostered and has had 40 foster siblings.

Becca Lenz:
Becca Lenz has served on the Grace Central Coast Foster Care and Adoption team since 2015. She and her husband Tony first became interested in foster care after several friends began to foster, and they would help provide childcare. Shortly after, they became licensed foster parents and had three short term placements. Becca and her husband decided to transition to a support role and serve foster families in other ways. From making meals, sending encouraging messages, purchasing needed supplies, to serving as an Advocate for Foster the Central Coast and overseeing Support Teams, Becca has found great joy in supporting foster children and their families.

Brent Estes:
Brent Estes, LMFT, is in private practice with an office in Pismo Beach. He specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and their families. He has been a presenter at various local, state, and national child and adolescent conferences. Brent has worked with numerous orphan, foster, and adopted children/teens for 33 years in residential, hospital, school, and outpatient settings.

Daniel Carlisle:
Daniel Carlisle is a seasoned Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 19 years of experience in providing counseling and support to individuals, couples, and families. With a passion for helping others navigate the complexities of relationships and family dynamics, Daniel brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and empathy to his work. In addition to his professional experience, Daniel is also a dedicated foster parent and adoptive parent, with firsthand experience of the joys and challenges involved in caring for children from diverse backgrounds. Through his personal journey as a foster and adoptive parent, Daniel has gained invaluable insights into the unique needs and experiences of families who have opened their hearts and homes to children in need. As a workshop trainer, Daniel combines his clinical expertise with his personal experiences as a foster and adoptive parent to offer practical guidance, support, and encouragement to couples seeking to strengthen their marriages while navigating the challenges of foster care and adoption. His workshops are known for their warmth, insightfulness, and practical strategies that resonate with participants and inspire positive change.

Rob Grindy:
Rob Grindy has been in his process of daily sanctification for the last 25+ years and has lived on the beautiful Central Coast of California since 2007 with his amazing bride Katy. They currently have four earth-bound children, and an untold number of heaven-bound that they’re excited to worship with in glory! In his spare time, Rob loves coaching and watching his boys play baseball, making his princess laugh, attending church with his family, and enjoying quiet, streaming nights at home on the couch next to Katy.

Chelsea Sobolik:
Chelsea Sobolik serves as the Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy for Lifeline Children’s Services, the leading evangelical child welfare organization in the country. Prior to joining Lifeline, she was the Director of Policy for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). Previously, she worked on Capitol Hill on pro-life policies, domestic and international religious freedom, adoption, and foster care issues. Chelsea has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and others. She is the author of Longing for Motherhood – Holding onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness, and a forthcoming book on women and work. Chelsea was adopted as a newborn from Bucharest, Romania, grew up in North Carolina, and lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Michael. She and her husband are currently adopting from India.

Douglas Murphy:
Douglas Murphy, MD, is a private practice child & adolescent and general psychiatrist with 32 years experience in medicine and psychiatry, practicing psychiatry on the Central Coast since 2000. He is passionate about faith, the bible, worship, neuroscience and psychiatry, and how these inform our understanding of mental health problems, mental illness and the most effective solutions for the suffering they cause.

Susan Boyd:
Susan K. Boyd, a Licensed Marriage & Family therapist in Private Practice for over 27 years, enjoys helping individuals, couples, families and parents! She is a Christian who feels very blessed to be in a job she loves with clients she appreciates coming along side. She’s been a guest on National Radio and Television News Broadcasts. She has given seminars to churches, Christian School faculty, Bakersfield College for parents of foster children, and other organizations. Most recently, she has spoken at the World Conference for the American Association of Christian Counselors in Nashville for four years on the subject of Bullying. She’s authored two books on Bullying and three Step into Scripture Bible Studies and has a fourth to be released in the fall of 2022.

Paul Bautts:
Paul Bautts is a retired pastor, who has 40 years of pastoral experience after graduating from Talbot School of Theology. His daughter has provided foster care for several children, one of whom is now his beloved, adopted granddaughter.

Dori Iunker:
Dori Iunker has a passion for foster care and adoption. She and her husband Larry have been married since 1984 and have six children; two who were adopted through the foster care system and one who became theirs after her mother passed away. Over the years they have been blessed with loving and caring for 40 foster children. Dori has a Bachelor's Degree in Child and Family Development and a Masters Degree in Education: Counseling & Guidance. She has worked for the public school system and in the social work field working with at-risk youth. She is also a Trust-Based Relational (TBRI) Practitioner, helping to train foster and adoptive parents to connect with the children in their care.

Philip Pattison:
Philip Pattison is a Foster/Adoptive Dad, Pastor and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Foster the City, a movement of 300+ churches working together to provide loving homes for children entering foster care. Philip and his family of 6 reside in the San Francisco Bay Area and you'll most likely find him exploring new coffee shops, cheering for his kids at the ballpark or dreaming about ways that local churches can keep moving toward vulnerable children and families.

Brook Cone:
Brook Cone Brooke is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is currently the Social Services Manager for Central Coast Home Health & Hospice. Prior to this Brooke worked at Family Care Network for 13 years & has a small therapy private practice. Brooke’s greatest joy has been being a mom to her daughter’s Rachel & Kaitlynn who both came to her through foster care & adoption when they were teenagers. Brooke has also been a foster parent to other teen girls but currently is just enjoying her adult children, extended family, & being a grandma to one little, energetic, grandson. Brooke knows it sounds so lovely on a bio, but loving children from hard places is an amazing life’s work full of joys & deep sorrows, a work that makes us depend on Jesus.

Todd and Jill Talley:
Todd and Jill Talley are the parents of three children, two through birth and one through adoption. In 2008 they were blessed to be able to fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and bring home their then 18 month old son. Together as a family the Talleys have a passion for adoption, orphan care ministries and mentoring. So much so in 2009, Todd and Jill met with several families from Grace SLO who had adopted or fostered. Together these couples founded the Adoption and Foster Care Ministry at Grace Central Coast. The Talleys currently Co-Lead the Ministry.

Cynthia Fletcher:
Cynthia Fletcher has six children, four of whom are adopted. She has a BA in Psychology, is a TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner, and holds a certificate in Dialectic Behavioral Therapy. Cynthia is a Case Manager at Seneca Family of Agencies in the Family Ties Program. She is also an instructor for many Resource Family Training classes through the Department of Social Services, Cuesta College, and the FKCE program.