Tewabech Genet Stewart

Tewabech Genet Stewart is a visionary leader, abolitionist, and advocate dedicated to creating a world where families are strengthened, not forcibly separated.

Genet spent 22 years inside Florida’s child welfare system. Later, she adopted her son from foster care and motherhood changed everything. Loving him, protecting him, and seeing the system through his eyes deepened her resolve to speak boldly about the harm children endure and to champion a new way forward. One rooted in truth, dignity, and love.

Genet speaks openly about what many never hear: the child welfare system isn’t saving children. It simply trades one set of risks for another. It is not grounded in truth or science, and its foundation rests on flawed beliefs about which families deserve support and which deserve separation. These myths have shaped generations of harm, especially for Black families.

Genet is committed to building an entirely new system; one anchored in truth, compassion, and Biblical principles that honor the sacred bond between parent and child. Through her seven-step framework for a new child welfare system, Genet offers a hopeful and practical path forward. One that replaces punishment with support, surveillance with community, and fear with belonging.

Her leadership has been recognized nationally with honors such as the Association of Junior Leagues International’s 40 Over 40 Award, the Distinguished EDIB Leadership Award from the American Public Human Services Association, and the Mark of Excellence Award from the National Forum of Black Public Administrators.

Today, Genet shares her story to offer something rare in conversations about child welfare: truth, hope, and a clear vision for a better way forward.