Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy Roberts.
Hi Mandy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up in Atlanta, I came from a family of helpers — people who showed up for others. Even so, I spent much of my childhood feeling uncertain of myself, wrestling with self-doubt. That experience quietly shaped everything. I knew early on that I wanted to do work that made people feel wanted, needed, heard, and seen — the things I often longed for myself. What that actually looked like, though, took time to figure out.
I studied social work at a university in Middle Tennessee, and it was during an internship with a foster care agency that everything clicked. It opened my eyes to a world I hadn’t fully understood before, and I fell in love with it — not just because I could help others, but because the work spoke directly to something I felt was missing within me.
After graduating, I went into child welfare, where I learned an enormous amount about the system — including how broken parts of it were. The red tape, the rigid policies, the gaps between what families actually needed and what the system could offer — it wore on me. I became burnt out because I never felt like I was truly helping people the way they deserved to be helped.
But through that season, I discovered CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — and I was captivated. Here was a way to fight for children in foster care without all the bureaucratic barriers, with the freedom to actually see each child and family as an individual. When the opportunity came 11 years ago to join the Savannah CASA team, I didn’t hesitate. I get to do meaningful work alongside some of the most dedicated, selfless people I’ve ever met — our volunteers. They inspire me every single day. As the CASA Program Director, I am proud to lead such an amazing team of dedicated staff and volunteers that truly stand up and advocate for our most vulnerable population.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Not exactly. Working in child welfare is deeply rewarding, but it comes with real challenges that can shake your sense of purpose if you’re not grounded in your “why.”
The constant turnover within the child welfare system is hard. Building relationships and momentum, only to watch colleagues leave — often because they’re just as burnt out as I once was — creates an instability that ultimately affects the children and families we serve. Add to that the ongoing funding cuts that force agencies to do more with less, and there are days when the obstacles feel bigger than the progress.
There were absolutely moments of self-doubt — wondering if I was doing enough, or doing it well, in the middle of so much turmoil. That question sat with me for a long time.
But I always come back to one thought that re-centers me: these children did not ask to be in this situation. They didn’t choose any of it. I, however, did choose to be here. I choose every day to show up, to understand the obstacles standing between them and safety, between them and a permanent home. That choice — and the responsibility that comes with it — has a way of cutting through the noise and reminding me exactly why this work matters.
And that is exactly what our CASA volunteers do. They choose to show up. In the middle of all the chaos and uncertainty these children live in every single day, a CASA volunteer becomes that one consistent, steady presence — someone who is there not because they have to be, but because they decided to be. That kind of commitment is powerful, and it never stops moving me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — is a program that trains and supervises community volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are navigating the foster care system. A CASA volunteer is appointed by a judge and gets to know a child — their story, their needs, their dreams — and then speaks up for them in court and throughout the entire legal process. They are not caseworkers, they are not attorneys. They are everyday people from our community who simply decide that a child’s life is worth their time.
What makes CASA unique is how we work. We operate in close partnership with the Department of Family and Children Services and the court system, sitting at the table where decisions about children’s lives are being made. That collaboration is essential — but what sets us apart is that we aren’t bound by the same caseload pressures or bureaucratic constraints. Our volunteers can go deeper, stay longer, and advocate harder for each individual child.
Here in Savannah, we are incredibly proud to serve nearly 100% of children in foster care in our community — which is rare and something we don’t take lightly. That kind of reach means that fewer children are falling through the cracks, fewer voices are going unheard in a courtroom.
But beyond the numbers, what I am most proud of is what a CASA volunteer represents to a child who may have never had a single stable, trustworthy adult in their corner. For many of these children, their CASA volunteer is something entirely new — a person who chose them, who shows up consistently, who fights for them without being paid to do so. That is transformative. That is what we are known for, and that is what drives everything we do.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Savannah has a way of getting into your soul. There is something about this city — the beauty, the history, the moss-draped squares — that feels unlike anywhere else. But what truly sets Savannah apart, in my experience, has nothing to do with the scenery. It is the heart of the people here.
I have been genuinely moved by the generosity of this community. Savannah shows up for its own. When people here learn about children in foster care — children in their own backyard who need a voice, who need a champion — they don’t look away. They lean in. That spirit is what fills our volunteer program with the kind of people who give their time, their energy, and their hearts to children they have never met before. That does not happen everywhere, and I never take it for granted.
What I like least, though, is something I say with deep compassion rather than criticism — and that is that the need is still so great. Child abuse and neglect does not discriminate, and Savannah is not immune. There are still children in our community who are waiting for safety, for permanency, for someone to choose them. As generous as this city is, the gap between the need and the resources available to meet it — in funding, in awareness, in child welfare support — is something we have to keep talking about and working toward together.
Savannah has the heart to close that gap. I see it in our volunteers every single day. This city is capable of something extraordinary for its most vulnerable children, and I truly believe we are just getting started.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brightsideadvocacy.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightsideadvocacy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightsideadvocacy
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brightsideadvocacy/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@brightsideadvocacy1991?si=MK6QiZvFlhWgDEcd
