Mara Cooney (she/her) is a first year student at the Silberman School of Social work concentrating in Community Organizing. Mara has worked in the field of child welfare, specifically foster care, for several years and is focused on the intersection between sexuality and gender leading to youth homelessness. Mara is committed to researching and developing LGBTQ affirming social work practices for practitioners and foster parents in the foster care system to support and nurture LGBTQ youth. Additionally, Mara is interested in advocating for systematic change in the child welfare system to address the disproportionate population of queer youth in foster care.