Today in the US, more than 2.4 million children whose parents are unable to care for them live in grandfamilies, where they are raised by grandparents or other loved ones. Until recently, their experiences have been all but invisible.

Donna Butts is a Senior Fellow and former Executive Director at Generations United. In that role, which she held for more than 27 years, Butts testified before Congress, addressed the United Nations, spoke before the Federal Reserve Board, and presented in more than a dozen countries.

Her new book, Grandfamilies: Stories of Children and the Loving Relatives Who Raise Them shines a light on the ongoing fight for resources and recognition these families deserve. Butts will be in conversation with Adele Ryono – a high school student; member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging and Youth; founder of reGenerations, a nonprofit oral history program; and CoGen Voices Fellow. Ryono’s own close relationship with her grandmother shaped how she thinks about family and about working across generations for social change. 

Join this 30-minute conversation about what it takes to hold a family together when the usual roles don’t apply.

Today in the US, more than 2.4 million children whose parents are unable to care for them live in grandfamilies, where they are raised by grandparents or other loved ones. Until recently, their experiences have been all but invisible.

Donna Butts is a Senior Fellow and former Executive Director at Generations United. In that role, which she held for more than 27 years, Butts testified before Congress, addressed the United Nations, spoke before the Federal Reserve Board, and presented in more than a dozen countries.

Her new book, Grandfamilies: Stories of Children and the Loving Relatives Who Raise Them shines a light on the ongoing fight for resources and recognition these families deserve. Butts will be in conversation with Adele Ryono – a high school student; member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging and Youth; founder of reGenerations, a nonprofit oral history program; and CoGen Voices Fellow. Ryono’s own close relationship with her grandmother shaped how she thinks about family and about working across generations for social change. 

Join this 30-minute conversation about what it takes to hold a family together when the usual roles don’t apply.