OUR TEAM
LALA LAWHON
LaLa's childhood was marked by abuse and neglect, and at the age of 13, she entered the foster care system. While in the system, she saw a heavy focus on medicating trauma symptoms, rather than promoting true healing. Despite the challenges she faced, LaLa persevered and earned a degree in Sociobiology, with a focus on the foster care system. She went on to confront her own trauma and found healing, forgiveness, and clarity.
With her newfound insight, LaLa founded a trauma-informed summer camp to empower children in foster care to heal and move forward. Her long-term goal is to reform the foster care system to promote healing and allow children to reach their full potential. Through her work, LaLa seeks to provide hope and guidance to those who have suffered like she did and to help create a brighter future for all children in foster care.
Founder and President
LUNA Rose
Vice President and Director of Youth Development
Luna is a trauma-informed coach and youth advocate committed to walking alongside children and families through seasons of growth and healing. As Vice President and Director of Youth Development at Rise Above the Clouds, she works directly with foster and system-impacted youth, developing programming rooted in regulation, resilience, and relational care.
Drawing from over a decade of experience working with youth — including children with intellectual and emotional disabilities — Luna centers her work on nervous system awareness, somatic practices, and the power of consistent, compassionate presence.
She believes that when young people are met with safety and trust, they begin to see new possibilities for themselves — and that lasting change grows from connection.
TONI WATT, PhD
Director of Research & Impact
Dr. Toni Watt is a nationally recognized expert in child welfare, trauma, and foster care systems. With a PhD in Sociology and decades of research experience, her work has focused on improving outcomes for children and youth impacted by foster care through both academic research and applied policy reform.
As Director of Research & Policy at Rise Above the Clouds, Dr. Watt leads the development of our research initiatives, helping translate lived experience and program outcomes into data-driven advocacy. Her work ensures that our healing-centered programming is both evidence-informed and positioned to influence foster care policy at local, state, and national levels.
Dr. Watt’s research has been honored with the Pro Humanitate Literary Award from the Center for Child Welfare Policy for its meaningful contribution to child welfare reform. She is deeply committed to bridging research and practice to create lasting, systemic change for youth and families.
SASHA DEVORE
Sasha DeVore has ten years experience as a Therapeutic Social Behavior Skills teacher at the elementary level, working with children who have experienced an array of traumas and exhibit extreme challenging behavior. Sasha's behavior intervention program is informed by research based frameworks such as Trust Based Relational Intervention and Conscious Discipline.
As an alumni of foster care, Sasha is dedicated to guiding those children in the most vulnerable populations to a life of personal fulfillment and purpose. Sasha graduated from Texas State University - San Marcos with a Bachelor of Science in applied Sociology in 2012. She is a level two reiki practitioner as well as a certified Theta healer, and has a passion for inspiring young people to be the heroes of their own story through the science fiction novels she writes.
Brittney Sifuentes
Board Treasurer and Direct Youth Support
Brittney Sifuentes knows the foster care system because she lived it. After losing her grandmother in 2010, Brittney entered the system at age 14, navigating eight different foster homes, a homeless shelter, and high-level treatment (HTCT) care before voluntarily staying in the system until age 21 to ensure a stable future.
Driven by her journey, Brittney spent years as a Direct Support Professional at Polara Health, specializing in independent living skills for adults with mental illness and trauma-informed mentoring (MRT) for at-risk youth.
Today, she is turning her lived experience into a mission. Brittney poured her heart into this camp to provide foster youth with the specific tools, empathy, and "real-talk" she needed during her own time in care. Her goal is simple: to help kids process their trauma and prove that their history is a source of strength, not a barrier to success.
Priscilla Gorski
Priscilla’s work is shaped by lived experience. Having grown up in environments marked by trauma, instability, poverty, and institutional systems, she understands firsthand the realities many foster youth carry. After being in a group home and then later becoming a single mother and navigating her own healing journey, she came to believe that what is often labeled post-traumatic stress can also reflect post-traumatic resilience — and that healing is possible with the right support.
Her path led her into the behavioral health field, where she blends professional training with lived insight. She approaches healing holistically, recognizing that trauma impacts the body as much as the mind. As a holistic nutritional health and wellness coach, she integrates food education, nervous system support, mindfulness, and lifestyle practices that strengthen emotional regulation and long term well-being. She is especially passionate about somatic healing, including yoga and body-based practices, and is continuing her education in trauma-informed movement.
Her work helps foster and system-impacted youth build confidence, emotional awareness, and real-world skills while reconnecting with their bodies and their sense of agency. She walks alongside them with empathy and accountability, grounded in the belief that resilience can be nurtured and healing is always within reach.