Angels Nest Executive Director, Arzo Yusuf, receives Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award

Century City, CA – February 26, 2025 – Angels Nest is proud to celebrate our Executive Director, Arzo Yusuf, for her work and dedication to the foster youth community. Arzo was recently honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award by President Biden just before he left office in 2025, for her commitment to service in uplifting current/former foster youth through the Resource Navigator Program at Angels Nest. This award is one of the highest honors a person can receive in the United States.

During a roundtable meeting with Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, President Biden appointee Michael D. Smith (former CEO of AmeriCorps), and iFoster CEO Serita Cox, the Angels Nest team of former foster youth spoke about being resource navigators uplifting other foster youth in Los Angeles by connecting their peers to resources for rent, housing, books for school, tuition and other life emergencies through the Angels Nest Resource Navigator Program. This program was made possible through the support of Americorps in partnership with iFoster which led to Arzo receiving the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.

We asked Arzo about her award and she said, "I feel incredibly grateful to have been selected for such a high honor. Service to my community is an important value that I've lived by my entire life. But to be in a country where not only is service valued, but celebrated in such a meaningful way by The Office of the President of the United States is truly remarkable and a testament to the culture and strength of America."
Aside from her work with Angels Nest, Arzo’s been a longtime advocate for youth experiencing foster care. Her dedication to this cause inspired her documentary film, Breaking the Cycle and the TED Talk, End Sex Trafficking By Helping Foster Youth.

To learn more check out the recent features in Shoutout LA about Arzo's work with Angels Nest and Voyage LA about her life's journey starting as a political asylum refugee that led to nonprofit work helping foster youth.

About Angels Nest: Angels Nest works to create a “foster care to success pipeline,” providing critical support for former foster youth to live independently and thrive. With 40% of Los Angeles’ homeless population once part of the foster system, Angels Nest serves as a bridge, helping young people find stability, resources, and a future full of possibilities.

Get Involved: To learn more about the plight of foster youth & link to homelessness, what Angels Nest does to help and what you can do to create change, reach out to schedule a lunch & learn.

Media Contact: Arzo Yusuf, Executive Director Email: arzoyusuf@angelsnesttlp.org
For more on our mission, visit www.angelsnesttlp.org.