Ashley Brown has dedicated her purpose to giving back. As the founder and CEO of the Selfless Love Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of transforming child welfare through resource leverage, expertise, and effective solutions, focusing on adoptions, independent living, and advocacy to ensure foster youth find forever families and succeed into adulthood — Brown’s journey to starting the foundation is quite personal. Adopted as an infant, Brown is now driven by a vision of a world where every child’s dreams are achievable through collective impact and a belief in the fundamental right to family.
With the annual Dream Tank Competition, a competition founded by Brown to support young adults in foster care in building essential life and leadership skills, on the horizon on April 5th, Haute Living sat down with Brown for an exclusive interview. Ahead, discover how Brown was able to transform her life story into an impactful foundation and what to expect from the 2024 Dream Tank Competition.
Photo Credit: Nick Mele
HAUTE LIVING: Can you tell us a bit about how you started the Selfless Love Foundation?
ASHLEY BROWN: I was adopted as an infant, and it was my second chance. My parents were amazing, and I always promised to pay forward that blessing. I thought it would be adopting a child, but when my husband Ed and I were planning our wedding, we decided to start a foundation to help children in foster care get adopted and to help aged-out youth successfully transition into adulthood. Selfless Love Foundation was born in 2015.
HL: Why was it important for you to focus on foster children that ‘age out?’
AB: Nearly 20,000 youth age out of foster care in the United States each year without the love and support of a family. Facing adult decisions and challenges without proper guidance makes young adults more susceptible to negative outcomes like homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration. On the other hand, knowing you are loved, wanted, and important to someone impacts your self-worth. My mom and dad gave me that foundation, and that’s what Selfless Love wants to provide for youth.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Olson
HL: The inspiration behind Selfless Love Foundation is very clearly one of a personal journey for you; what has it meant to you to now be able to give back?
AB: We do a lot at Selfless Love Foundation, but I think Ed and I get back even more. We have built a family that we cherish. I still have youth who will reach out to share their graduation photos, a job promotion, or just to say hi. I always feel like a proud mama and get emotional that all these years later they’re still excited to share their victories and we are here to cheer them on.
HL: As you approach the 10th year since starting the Selfless Love Foundation, what have been some of your major achievements or key milestones thus far?
AB: Our advocacy team just had a huge win in the legislative session that will impact every child currently in foster care in Florida and those who enter in the future. Two years ago, during an annual conference, youth who were previously in foster care wanted to change how their personal information and photos were shared on public state adoption listings. Our work has led to a new law that will create a secure statewide adoption site visible only to people who have completed certain steps in their adoption journey. Youth ages 12 and older will also get a say in the descriptions and images that are posted.
Photo Credit: Tracey Benson Photography
I am also very proud of helping more than 400 children get adopted. Some of the most vulnerable children, the ones who often wait the longest in foster care – sibling groups, teenagers, and children with physical or developmental challenges. Through a partnership with Children’s Harbor, we also offer supportive housing at Brown’s Harbor for youth who have aged out of foster care. We have housed more than 600 youth.
HL: Dream Tank is certainly a huge achievement as well. Can you walk us through that concept and how it began?
AB: Our first Dream Tank in 2018 was a spur-of-the-moment event. One of our dear friends and supporters John Paul DeJoria was going with us to Brown’s Harbor. Having watched John Paul on Shark Tank and knowing his success as the co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company, the youth wanted to meet him. We decided instead of pitching a product like on Shark Tank, the youth would share their dreams.
HL: How has Dream Tank evolved since its first-ever competition in 2018?
AB: The Dream Tank Competition has taken off in the last six years. It has gone from being super local to a statewide competition for youth who have experienced foster care. While the competition is still a single day, the preparation is nine intensive months of speech writing and presentation, professional etiquette, and business and investment basics. Our team invests 150 hours in each finalist.
It’s inspiring to see where some of our Dream Tank alums are now, like Diamond who is starting a PhD program, Chloe who is building a pilot nutritional program with Aetna Better Health, and David who is teaching financial literacy to youth who were in foster care.
Photo Credit: Capehart
HL: What are your goals for Dream Tank as it continues to grow and expand?
AB: As part of the preparation for Dream Tank the finalists take Dale Carnegie Leadership Training. We are now offering that course to youth in Texas and Iowa and will have competitions in both of those states in the next five years. It is my vision to someday have a national Dream Tank Competition.
HL: Looking back on the last 10 years of the Selfless Love Foundation, what are you most proud of?
AB: One of the most valuable aspects of Selfless Love Foundations is our collective impact. We work with more than 90 agencies in Florida and across the country. Last year, we held our first National Think Tank, bringing together child welfare experts and youth with lived experience from 28 states to discuss permanent connections for youth in foster care. The report that was generated from the event now serves as a call to action to the states to implement the feedback from youth who experienced foster care to build healthier, connected communities.
HL: Looking ahead to the next 10 years with the Selfless Love Foundation, what do you hope to accomplish?
AB: Our vision is to transform the child welfare system. We began in Florida by impacting adoptions, independent living, and advocacy. We have already expanded to Texas and we will continue to share our research-based programs with other states until that vision is a reality.
