Let It Be Us Adds to Board of Directors

Let It Be Us, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to the care of children in the State of Illinois foster care system, today announced the addition of Debra Dyer-Webster, J.D., MSW, to its board of directors.

Dyer-Webster joins the Let It Be Us board with over 30 years of child welfare experience, including more than 25 years with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Currently, she is a Management Consultant on Child Welfare Practice at Public Knowledge. Dyer-Webster holds a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a master's in social work from the University of Chicago. She received her master's in education as well as a bachelor's in social science from Jackson State University.

"Debra is a tremendous addition to our board with her experience and passion for protecting the children who enter Illinois foster care," said Bob Noonan, Let It Be Us board chairperson. "She is thoroughly versed in the day-to-day needs of the child welfare system and always puts children first."

"Despite the difficulties this year has presented, Let It Be Us has seen exceptional results in foster parent recruiting by moving our process online," said Susan McConnell, founder and executive director of Let It Be Us. "Adding Debra to our board strengthens the progress we've already made this year and provides more expertise as we grow and expand."

Launched in 2014, Let It Be Us is a 501(c)3 with the mission to inspire foster care and adoption in Illinois. Let It Be Us locates foster parents for Illinois youth in care needing short term and permanent homes, and in 2018, the organization launched an innovative targeted recruitment program to assist agencies seeking immediate foster homes for emergent cases. Using its proprietary database, Let It Be Us identifies a parent or families that meet a child's specific need for both immediate and adoptive situations. Since inception, the program has helped agencies place more than 250 children in homes.