Correction: FosterAdopt Connect has an operating budget of $21 million. The amount was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
After nearly three decades working on behalf of children as a Missouri teacher and superintendent, Chris Berger has taken on a new role.
Berger became executive director of FosterAdopt Connect , working out of the Springfield office, on Aug. 12. It is a job inspired by his own life experience.
Raised by an aunt and uncle in Gainesville, a small city in Ozark County, Berger and wife, Amanda, have welcomed eight children into their home.
The couple have been foster parents for more than two decades. They have biological children, two adopted daughters and permanent guardianship of two more daughters. An older son, Christopher, is a teacher in Springfield.
“Our experiences in the foster/adopt community is what drew me to this position,” said Berger, 52.
Started in 1998, the mission of the nonprofit organization is to to provide foster and adoptive children a stable, loving and nurturing family environment through support and advocacy for abused and neglected children and the families caring for them.