Charles Lerner is the State Director of Massachusetts CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). He is a previous foster youth and an adoptive father through kinship care. He believes his greatest asset is his lived experience. He is led by empathy, vulnerability, humility, passion, and the pursuit of justice. Charles has worked in the fields of child welfare and mental health for over 20 years. His previous work has included leading the first LGBTQ+ foster-to-permanency program in California, running an organization for unhoused young adults that provides support for up to 20 years, as well as teaching at multiple universities including California State University- East Bay and Harvard University. He holds a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. Charles believes that you’d be hard-pressed to find a social issue that at its root does not involve inequity and injustice. Therefore, the pursuit of justice should be part of EVERY organization’s mission. Charles is now at a point in his career where he’s done talking about problems. He wants to devote his time to helping solve them.