Lived expertise for child welfare systems.
Nearly 18 years in California’s foster care system, now helping organizations build services that work for the youth they serve.
Available to work with organizations anywhere in the United States.
Nearly 18 years in California’s foster care system, now helping organizations build services that work for the youth they serve.
Available to work with organizations anywhere in the United States.
Keynotes, panel appearances, and post-screening discussions on foster care, youth homelessness, and access to higher education.
Lived-experience review of program design, funding priorities, and strategy, drawn from board and steering committee service.
Child welfare policy research as a member of the National Youth Advisory Council at National Network 4 Youth.
Trained in facilitation, storytelling, and youth leadership development. I help organizations share lived experience well and safely.
Alexander Ballantyne is a Lived Expertise Professional in southern California. He spent nearly 18 years in California’s foster care system and emancipated just before his 22nd birthday, so he has seen the full range of the system firsthand.
His story is told in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Possible Selves, and he uses it to advocate for other system-impacted youth. He serves on the board of First Star, the steering committee of Foster Care Project in Pasadena, and the National Youth Advisory Council at National Network 4 Youth, where he does child welfare policy research. In 2026 he joined the National Foster Youth Institute’s Congressional Leadership Academy, where he studied how policy moves through the Capitol and shadowed Rep. Don Bacon.
Alongside this work, he is completing a Bachelor’s degree in the Philosophy of Ethics and Public Policy at UC Santa Barbara.
Tell me about your organization and what you’re working on. I’ll reply by email. I work with organizations anywhere in the United States.
Prefer not to meet by video? Use the form, or write directly: aballantyne99@gmail.com