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Crystal McClain

@crystalamcclain

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✞ I love God | 💙 Boy Mom | ✍🏽 Author
Child Welfare Advocate & Entrepreneur
CEO @reviveyouth_mke
Building legacy through service ❤️ ΔΣΘ
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🚨 STATE OF EMERGENCY 🚨 Dear Black Boy, “As an artist my job is to articulate the struggle, speak to the voiceless and give the faith and belief to the masses that it’s possible…” — ikan That gift you have is not a hobby. It’s an alternative. An exit strategy. The streets won’t tell you this. This message was shared during Black Boy Empowerment Sessions at Mesmer High School. This book is written for you— and when schools, community centers, and youth groups bring Dear Black Boy into their spaces, they become part of the Dear Black Boy Conversations. From the forthcoming book Dear Black Boy: Futures Not Funerals by Kwabena Antoine Nixon 📅 3.14.26 📍 Location to be announced 📘 Books available for purchase soon 🔗 https://www.facebook.com/share/1E6GQ1MHbk/?mibextid=wwXIfr #FuturesNotFunerals #DearBlackBoy #BlackBoyEmpowerment
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What perfect pairings! 🤩📚👚🧢✨ By color, affirmation, or both, these tees (and hat 😅) were the perfect pairings for these amazing @orangehatpublishing middle grades books! 👚🧢📚 🩵👚: @selfcareisforeveryone 📖: Crossing the Pressure Line 📝: @laura_at_the_library 🖤👚: @orangehatpublishing @ten16press 📖: The Wordsmith 📝: @dave.malone1 💚👚: @kindcotton 📖: The Oasis 📝: @lorisadwiedenheft 💛👚: @hug.yourhomies 📖: The Invisible Backpack 📝: @crystalamcclain 🎁👚: @disney 📖: My Thousand Treasures 📝: @adventures_of_raini 🩶🧢: @kindcotton 📖: Zak vs. Zombies 📝: @zakvszombies 💬 Let me know in the comments: 📚 Which book(s) have you read? Which one(s) did you add to your TBR? 👚🧢 Which small business(es) have you heard of? Which one(s) did you add to your list to support? #indiepublishing #middlegradebooks #perfectpair #bookrecommendations #kidlit
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Nerd alert 🤓🚨 What can I say—I love to read, and if I can do that while also supporting my fellow @orangehatpublishing (& @ten16press ) authors, why wouldn’t I?! Plus (hear me out—I know I’m biased) their books are AMAZING. 🤩 Find your @orangehatpublishing children’s books and middle grades novels on the Orange Hat website. 🧡🔗 Grown ups, there are novels and nonfiction for you, too! Find the @ten16press imprint books also on the Orange Hat website. 🧡🔗 🤔 OHP authors-I’m still working on reading all of your amazing books and need to add quite a few more to my collection if I am truly going to own them all! Let me know if you see your book in my stack already or if not (yet!), let me know and I’ll connect with you or Michael to get a copy to read & review! 📚🧡 (@allitheauthor - I recorded this before I got Work of Art, but I assure you that I have it & that a full review/post is coming soon! 🎨🖌️✨) #togetherwerise #authorssupportingauthors #indiepublishing
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Updated headshots for the beautiful Crystal McClain! Crystal is a child advocate, foster care expert, and author. She is also the founder and executive officer of Revive Youth & Family Services, a social service agency dedicated to supporting at-risk youth through licensed group home placements and specialized programming. With over 20 years of foster care experience and youth advocacy, Crystal is dedicated to empowering professionals and caregivers with the tools to create lasting change. Check out CrystalMcclain.com for more information on her speaking, consulting and training services. #kalidawphoto #headshotqueen #headshotphotographer #milwaukeephotographer #headshots #businessheadshots #businessprofessional #headshotphotography #mkephotographer #milwaukeeheadshotphotographer #milwaukeeheadshots #fosteryouthprofessional #childadvocate #executive #ExecutivePhotos #milwaukeeprofessional #milwaukeeexecutive
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✨ Chicago, Are You Ready?! ✨ Next Saturday & Sunday, I’m honored to join an incredible lineup of women of color at the 40th Annual Printers Row Lit Fest! You’ll find us at • Tent F – Harrison & Dearborn (Hotel Blake landmark) • Saturday, Sept 6 & Sunday, Sept 7 • 10AM – 6PM Meet powerhouse women of color authors: 🌟 Vivian King 🌟 Imani Spencer 🌟 Sanaa Chege 🌟 Theresa A. Smith-Hickman 🌟 Essie Faye 🌟 Crystal McClain 🌟 Azizi Tuere 🌟 and me, Nia Obotette We’re bringing books, stories, and Black Literary Excellence you don’t want to miss. Mark your calendar & come support! #PrintersRowLitFest #BlackLiteraryExcellence #WomenOfColorAuthors #BlackAuthors #BookFestival #ChicagoEvents #RepresentationMatters #ReadersOfInstagram#BookFestival #ChicagoEvents #DiverseBooks #indieauthor #author #authorlife
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One amazing publisher 🧡 Two imprints for double the bookish possibilities! 🤓✌🏼📚 Kids, teachers, caregivers, and grown ups who love children’s books~ @orangehatpublishing books are for you! 🧡 Young adults and adults looking for fiction or nonfiction~ @ten16press books are for you! 💚 I adore books from both imprints of my indie publisher; it really depends on which genre I’m hoping to read! Regardless of age, there are books for everyone! Find them all at orangehatpublishing.com 📚🫶🏼 #indiepublishing #indieauthor #kidlit #bookrecommendations #fiction #nonfictionbooks
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THIS. ❤️‍🩹 Author and advocate Crystal McClain writes about James over the course of his life in and out of the foster care system. Readers see how his backpack, both tangible and invisible, becomes filled with things that create ripple effects ~ positive and negative ~ in his life. 🎒 In her author bio, McClain shared that she “is dedicated to serving children in foster care and finding ways to help them heal to increase their quality of life, and she hopes that sharing the concept of the invisible backpack can serve as an eye-opener in their journey towards healing.” ❤️‍🩹 Teachers, caregivers, foster parents, young people seeking healing, readers building empathy for those who are on a healing journey~May this book build that bridge 📖❤️‍🩹 ✏️📖 Author @crystalamcclain 🎨🖌️ Illustrator @jjgillustration 💻🖊️ Cover & Interior Designers @tail_spinner & @kaereadsandthings ✅🖋️ Editors @jazerbel_writes & Shannon Booth 🧡📚 Publisher @orangehatpublishing . . . ⚠️Trigger warnings~dru9s, de@th, abu$e The author tells this story sharing reality and not only the “happy ending” we hope for as readers for these characters and as humans for the children who live this reality. Every situation is written in a way that names this reality while only giving enough details to tell but not fully show young readers what occurs. We see a character lose their battle with dru9s, & while there are foster families throughout the book that genuinely care for James, part of the book shares how one placement involved unwelcomed “visits” by an adult. ⚠️Younger readers of this book may benefit from conversations with a trusted adult about these traumas that young people may be holding in their invisible backpacks. #middlegradebooks #bookrecommendations #indiepublishing #fostercareawareness #theinvisiblebackpack
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Come join these fabulous authors at the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest on TOMORROW at from 1-4pm at Xchange Event & Creative Space, 3334 N. Holton St, Milwaukee, WI. Admission is $10. Children are free. Light snacks provided while supplies last. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/GMBF2025 or pay at the door! I will be on WISN Channel 12 this morning at 11:15am talking about the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest.
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Come join these fabulous authors at the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest on this Saturday, June 21, 2025 at from 1-4pm at Xchange Event & Creative Space, 3334 N. Holton St, Milwaukee, WI. Admission is $10. Children are free. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/GMBF2025 or pay at the door!
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Come join these fabulous authors at the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest on this Saturday, June 21, 2025 at from 1-4pm at Xchange Event & Creative Space, 3334 N. Holton St, Milwaukee, WI. Admission is $10. Children are free. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/GMBF2025 or pay at the door!
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Meet Crystal McClain Crystal McClain has dedicated her life to advocating for at-risk youth, transforming lives through her work in foster care and social services. A Milwaukee native, she grew up in the city’s 53206 ZIP code, where she was fortunate to experience the stability of a strong, supportive family—something many foster youth lack. This foundation shaped her passion for helping children who face instability and hardship, inspiring her to build a career centered on providing hope, guidance, and resources to those in need. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Master of Social Work from UW-Milwaukee, Crystal took a bold step in 2010 by founding Revive Youth & Family Services. Under her leadership, the organization has grown into a multi-million-dollar enterprise, offering critical support to at-risk youth in Milwaukee County. Through housing, educational support, and trauma-informed care, Revive has become a beacon of stability and opportunity for young people facing some of life’s toughest challenges. Beyond her work in social services, Crystal is also an accomplished author. Her book, The Invisible Backpack, shines a light on the emotional burdens foster children carry, offering insight and awareness to both caregivers and the broader community. Website : https://www.crystalmcclain.com/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/crystal.mcclain.33 Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/crystalamcclain Come join Crystal and many other fabulous authors at the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest on this Saturday, June 21, 2025 at from 1-4pm at Xchange Event & Creative Space, 3334 N. Holton St, Milwaukee, WI. Admission is $10. Children are free. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/GMBF2025 or pay at the door!
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Meet Crystal McClain Crystal McClain has dedicated her life to advocating for at-risk youth, transforming lives through her work in foster care and social services. A Milwaukee native, she grew up in the city’s 53206 ZIP code, where she was fortunate to experience the stability of a strong, supportive family—something many foster youth lack. This foundation shaped her passion for helping children who face instability and hardship, inspiring her to build a career centered on providing hope, guidance, and resources to those in need. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Master of Social Work from UW-Milwaukee, Crystal took a bold step in 2010 by founding Revive Youth & Family Services. Under her leadership, the organization has grown into a multi-million-dollar enterprise, offering critical support to at-risk youth in Milwaukee County. Through housing, educational support, and trauma-informed care, Revive has become a beacon of stability and opportunity for young people facing some of life’s toughest challenges. Beyond her work in social services, Crystal is also an accomplished author. Her book, The Invisible Backpack, shines a light on the emotional burdens foster children carry, offering insight and awareness to both caregivers and the broader community. Website : https://www.crystalmcclain.com/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/crystal.mcclain.33 Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/crystalamcclain Come join Crystal and many other fabulous authors at the 17th Annual Great Midwest Book Fest on this Saturday, June 21, 2025 at from 1-4pm at Xchange Event & Creative Space, 3334 N. Holton St, Milwaukee, WI. Admission is $10. Children are free. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/GMBF2025 or pay at the door!
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