Motivational Speaker/Author

Triumph of the spirit is the only way to describe Regina Louise's trials as an orphan. She was discarded by most - if not all - the adults in her life and prevailed against all odds with a resilience that shined through each attempt to break her. Her sheer will to survive and thrive is a beacon to all.

Author of the bestselling memoir Somebody's Someone (Warner Books), Regina's poignant story has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, The CBS Early Show and in several newspapers and magazines. This moving chronicle of her life in the foster care system is the basis for a film in development and a one-woman show that premiered in 2007 at the Sacramento Theatre Company and is scheduled to open in Los Angeles this May. Regina remembers:

"My whole life, I wanted to hear that I was a wanted and special child. So, I set about imagining what my beginnings would have been like."

Regina was placed in foster care as a toddler when her biological mother abandoned her. At the age of 11, this self-determined child crossed the country on a Greyhound bus to meet a mother she barely knew and found a woman who had long since moved past wanting to be a parent. Regina would end up living in over 30 different foster homes, group homes and psychiatric facilities in California.

Along the way, she met Jeanne, a young counselor at the Contra Costa children's shelter where Regina returned after each failed foster home placement. The two developed a strong relationship and Jeanne attempted to adopt the teenager. Unfortunately, their petition was refused. At the time, it was uncommon for a black child to be placed with a white parent, especially a single woman like Jeanne. Regina was never adopted and remained in foster care until the age of 18.

As an adult, Regina took charge of her life. She became a successful hair stylist and opened salons in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was then she decided to write her life story. In an incredible twist of fate, Jeanne read a local newspaper article about Regina's published book. Although she had lost touch with Regina for many years, Jeanne tracked down an email address and sent her a congratulatory message. The two women reconnected and ultimately fulfilled a wish from long ago. On November 20, 2003, in the same courthouse where a judge had denied their request decades before, Jeanne officially adopted Regina. Regina says:

"I waited for 40 years for somebody to claim me, and I decided it was never going to happen. There I was, with a 17-year-old son of my own, and it finally did. I had someone to call Mom."

Now, as a motivational speaker, Regina's optimism and perseverance leaves her audiences filled with the hope of possibility. Her goal is to share with people in every state in the nation a powerful message about the significance of all children finding lifelong connections to caring adults.