Question 1

Samantha Kopec | Founder, Media Manager

Accepted Answer

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Samantha is 21-years-old and a first year J.D. Candidate at Brooklyn Law School. Sam is a founder of Feeding the Fosters, plans events, fundraises by writing grants, and manages our website and social media accounts. She was awarded the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award and the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for her work in the community with Feeding the Fosters and has reached out to serve a few foster families in the Miami area during her undergrad. After earning her degree in Music Industry from the University of Miami, she looks forward to learning more about our legal system to eventually advocate for music creators and volunteer as a Guardian Ad Litem.

Question 2

Laura Kopec | Founder

Accepted Answer

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Laura is a 20-year-old junior studying International Politics at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. She recently served as a legislative intern in the office of congresswoman Kathy Castor representing Florida's 14th district. In high school, she was a participant in Girls State and advocated for human trafficked youth. She is an environmentalist at heart and lead the initiative on recycling food surplus. She is also responsible for publishing the Feeding the Fosters cookbook and leading the 2022 auction. She has been recognized with the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award among other academic accolades. Laura will continue to advocate for the community as she broadens her knowledge with a college education.

Question 3

Diana Kopec | Executive Director

Accepted Answer

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The gift of a servant’s heart has been passed down through the generations in Diana’s family. Choosing to follow in her parents’ footsteps, Diana chose a service profession and became a trauma emergency medicine Physician Assistant in Brooklyn, NY. There she met her husband, Dr. Robert Kopec, and they relocated to Florida to start their own family. Opting to stay home to raise her three children, Diana continued to serve the local community. Diana has advocated for children in foster care for many years as a volunteer with the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters. In teaching her children gratitude, the entire family began providing meals for foster families and in 2019 Feeding the Fosters was born.

Question 4

Robert Kopec | Vice President

Accepted Answer

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Dr. Robert Kopec is a dual-certified physician in both internal medicine and infectious diseases. He works as a Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Morton Plant Mease Hospital. As a physician, Rob is no stranger to serving others. He is a devoted husband and proud father of three who supports his family’s work in the community.

Question 5

Christie Ruggiero | Secretary

Accepted Answer

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After growing up in New York, Christie moved to Florida in 2011 to give her son a better life. While in New York, she held multiple positions on PTA boards as well as a vast number of hours volunteering for school fundraisers and Toys for Tots toy drives. In 2017, she met the Kopec family through mutual involvement in volunteer activities with the Tarpons Springs Leadership Conservatory for the Arts. Through our families’ collective experience in this organization, we gave back to the community and spent thousands of hours in volunteer service supporting the arts. When Sam and Laura created Feeding the Fosters, Christie instantly started supporting this organization by cooking for families. Seeing the happiness she could bring simply from giving the gift of time is invaluable and brought her so much joy. She is always available to lend a helping hand and feels beyond blessed to be part of such an amazing organization.

Question 6

Jana Mir | Birthday Coordinator

Accepted Answer

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Blessed to be a blessing is the best way to define how Jana Mir lives her life. It is when she is giving back and investing in others that she finds her greatest joy. Jana has spent most of her life in Pinellas County. She attended Belcher Elementary, Oak Grove Middle, and graduated from Pinellas Park High School. Jana attended University of Florida and graduated with a degree in Public Relations. She has four sons, who she could not be more proud of. She has volunteered in all of their schools, served as president of the PTA, was a member of SAC and has recently become a mentor. Jana was recognized as one of Pinellas County School's Volunteers of the Year in 2014. She has organized toy drives, lead more than 10 mission trips, and is thrilled to put her skills to work as part of the Feeding the Fosters family as Birthday Coordinator, or as we say the "Birthday Queen." Now that her sons are older, Jana is on to her next chapter and is opening a Board and Brush studio in Safety Harbor, where she anticipates many wonderful memories will be made and more doors will open to find ways to give back to her community.

Question 7

Tammy Crum | Foster Parent Advisor

Accepted Answer

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Tammy Crum is the mom of 6 wonderful children.  2 bio and 4 adopted. She has been a part of the foster care community for almost 25years and has had many wonderful experiences fostering over 20 children and celebrating many successful reunifications. She recently gave up her foster license but still would love to continue her calling with the Lord, helping children in any way possible. Tammy will be a foster parent advisor on the Feeding the Fosters board

Question 8

Wanda Rambaum | Director

Accepted Answer

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Inspired by the generous spirit of her family and church community in Tennessee, Wanda learned early in life the profound impact that servant leadership can have on others. Throughout her journey, she has consistently demonstrated her dedication to community service through various leadership roles, including serving as PTA treasurer and a Girl Scout leader.  She served 5 years on the missions committee of her church, served as a leader of the women's ministry, a speaker at the annual women's conference, she hosted many large church gatherings and events at her residence and she actively participated as a leader in many other church functions. Her commitment to making a difference extends to her board position with IRise of Florida, where she continues to champion causes that strengthen families and communities. Having supported Feeding the Fosters from a distance, Wanda is eager to engage more directly in their mission of serving and supporting foster families, bringing her wealth of experience in community service and her passionate giving spirit to this vital cause.

Question 9

Juli-Anne Hipp | Webmaster

Accepted Answer

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Juli-Anne Hipp is an Instructional Staff Developer for Pinellas County Schools, serving in the Library Media Technology division. In this role, she works closely with librarians and educators, providing professional learning and guiding the effective integration of library media programs and technology to enrich teaching and learning experiences. With a strong background in educational technology, systems support, and digital resources, Juli-Anne brings valuable technical expertise that can support an organization’s behind-the-scenes needs, including website management and other technology solutions that help streamline services. Serving as a board contributor is especially meaningful to Juli-Anne because it allows her to use her professional skills to directly support the mission of Feeding The Fosters. She aims to help Feeding the Fosters expand its reach, improve coordination, and reliably deliver essential resources to children and families who need them most.

Question 10

Robert Joseph Kopec | Student Ambassador

Accepted Answer

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Robert is a 17-year-old senior at Palm Harbor University High School in the IB program. Using his passions for fitness, basketball and music, he leads the PHUHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter as well as the CAS Board which recruits students to serve others. Robert aims to increase the meal outreach of Feeding the Fosters to aged-out teens. Bringing students together to creatively serve others to break the cycle of foster care and food insecurity are his ultimate goals.

Who We Are

The Team

Friends of

Feeding the Fosters

Felice's Italian Deli

Eat Pinellas

The Wilder Family

Ari Weisburg