Kaeli Rose Sort holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University (November 2024), graduating with distinction and placing in the top 1–3% of scholars. Her thesis, grounded in participatory action research, advanced understanding of leadership and systems change for former youth in care and was recognized as the most outstanding thesis in the School of Leadership Studies.

While completing her thesis, Kaeli joined the Canadian Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (CANTRAC) and the International Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC), contributing to national and global conversations that make the experiences of youth in and from care more visible and better understood.

Kaeli also earned an Executive MBA from Quantic University (December 2024) earning a perfect score on her capstone project for a real-world business challenge. She previously completed a Bachelor’s degree in Child and Youth Care with advanced honours from the University of Victoria (June 2015).

In the final year of her undergraduate studies, Kaeli became one of the first five recipients of British Columbia’s tuition waiver for former youth in care. She later played a key role in advocating for the program’s expansion, alongside enhancements to MCFD’s Agreements with Young Adults (AYA) and SAJE (Strengthening Abilities and Journeys of Empowerment).

Kaeli’s academic and community contributions have been widely recognized. Her honours include being a finalist for the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award, a nominee for the Royal Roads University Alumni Community Changemaker Award, and a recipient of multiple Impact and Leadership Scholarships. She has also received the BC Graduate Scholarship, the Sheila Verwey Humanitarian Award, and the University of Victoria’s Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award (JCURA), among other distinctions, reflecting a sustained commitment to academic excellence, equity, and social impact.

Kaeli currently leads the Former Youth in Care Community of Practice and Karoso Consulting. She also serves as a foster parent and caregiver support counselor on the Lower Mainland.

She brings decades of professional experience across child protection social work, youth and family counseling, yoga and mindfulness, education, government policy, community-based participatory action research, and consulting.

Offering extensive experience working alongside First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities using a culturally humble, trauma-informed, relationship-centered approach, her past work includes contributing to the BC First Nations Healthy Smiles Initiative, teaching yoga and mindfulness to Elders and participating in wellness fairs on the Pauquachin Reserve, and supporting children, youth, and families at Circle 5 Indigenous Child & Family Services to strengthen family safety and wellbeing.

She has contributed to policy and program development for governments and community partners across Canada. Recently, she provided recommendations to the BC Green Party Leader’s Policy Team, the BC Government Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, MCFD Provincial Specialized Youth Intervention and Youth Justice Branch, among others.

Kaeli’s past consulting work has included MCFD Kinship and Out-of-Care Agreements, Youth Agreements, Agreements with Young Adults Program, and citizen engagement sessions for the Liberal caucus (invited by Lorne Mayencourt). She also contributed to revisions to Baby’s Best Chance and Toddler’s First Steps, ensuring child and youth care professionals were added in the guide.

From 2010-2014, she served as co-researcher and research assistant on the MCFD Youth Engagement Toolkit and Champion’s Guide, which won the Premier’s Finalist Award for Innovation in 2014.

Additionally, she has shared her expertise on panels and at public presentations, including (In)visible Journeys: Experiences of Students and Alumni with Disabilities for Royal Roads University, the 2025 Student Voices on Neurodiversity Panel for BC Campus, the 2024 BCRPA Empowered Youth Conference, and the National Child and Youth Care Association 2022 Conference in Canmore.

Kaeli’s insight, compassion, and curiosity shape how she connects with others and leads meaningful change.

Her experience of both privilege and profound disadvantage gives her a rare, multidimensional understanding of the systems, relationships, and conditions that influence people’s lives.

In 2015, her story was featured in the arts-based advocacy book We Are Everywhere: Stories of Wisdom from Former Youth in Care. She draws on this experience to support individuals and families in strengthening skills and knowledge, deepening connection, and navigating complexity with openness and confidence.

Kaeli intentionally bridges what she has lived, learned, and studied, translating experience into practice through trauma-informed guidance, coaching, and mentorship. She believes adversity can be met through learning new ways, and lives that belief in how she approaches learning and leadership.

Her approach is grounded in personal mastery developed through navigating hardship and cultivating resilience. Through a blend of lived expertise and professional rigor, Kaeli mentors, challenges, and inspires others, demonstrating what becomes possible when courage, curiosity, and commitment are placed in service of community and collective healing.