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Susan L. Stockham, Esq. – Sarasota, FL

Ms. Stockham has been practicing law in Florida since 1982. Her practice is limited to adoption and surrogacy. In her 30 years of practice she has assisted over 2,000 couples in domestic, independent and agency adoptions, and international adoptions. Ms. Stockham is a Florida Bar Board Certified Adoption Law Attorney and a member of the prestigious American Academies of Adoption Attorneys and Assisted Reproductive Law Attorneys.

She also represents parties in relative, stepparent and grandparent adoptions. In addition to adoptions, Ms. Stockham has represented gestational carriers, surrogates and intended parents in building families.

She is a recipient the of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s 2004 Angel in Adoption Award; Lifetime Achievement Award from The Florida Adoption Council, and a Fellow, past Board member, Vice President of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (///A), past board member, Fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys (//ARTA) and has served on many state and national committees on adoption and assisted reproductive technology issues. Ms. Stockham serves on the Florida Bar Adoption Law Board Certification Committee.

In addition to numerous public speaking engagements at state and national Bar associations, ///A and other groups, Ms. Stockham has published numerous articles in the area of adoptions and assisted reproductive technology. She has also assisted in drafting Florida’s adoption and surrogacy legislation and filed amicus briefs to change the Florida Scarlet Letter Law and provide notice to named known locatable putative fathers in an adoption action. She has represented adoptive families and birthparents in contested adoption cases, including intercountry adoption adduction cases. Ms. Stockham is an advocate for the protection of the rights of adoptive children and families worldwide.

Her interests in adoption go beyond her professional work, as she is the adoptive mother of two handsome and happy grown sons and known as a Mom to many others who have become a part of her family, including a beautiful granddaughter!

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Alexia Nechayev

FYS Events & Meeting Chair
(Palm Beach/Miami)

Alexia Nechayev, from Miami, Florida, is a dedicated advocate for youth with lived experience in foster care and with homelessness. After being placed in foster care as a teenager, Alexia experienced firsthand the stigma surrounding the system, as well as the challenges of navigating a system that didn’t provide support for her to advocate for herself. This experience motivated her to create change, ensuring that other youth in care have the tools and resources she lacked.

She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University, and upon graduation worked as a Hope Navigator with the Department of Children and Families which allowed her to assist clients through individualized care plans, further deepening her commitment to improving the lives of marginalized youth. Alexia is now applying to law schools with the goal of advancing her advocacy work through a legal career. As the Events and Meetings Chair for Florida Youth SHINE (FYS), she creates opportunities for foster and homeless youth to collaborate and push for meaningful change. She is also an active member of the Policy and Initiative Team for Florida Youth SHINE, where she helps create and shape policies that directly impact youth in foster care. One of her proudest accomplishments is helping to develop the Foster Care Bill of Rights, a law that she feels would have made a difference during her own time in care.

In addition to her work with FYS, Alexia serves on the Board of Directors for the parent organization of FYS, Florida’s Children First. In this role, she contributes to strategic decision-making while advocating for the rights and welfare of children statewide.

Every year, she travels to the state capitol to advocate for bills she and her peers have helped shape, including key pieces of legislation that benefit foster and homeless youth. However her advocacy extends beyond her state, as she represents Florida Youth SHINE at national conferences such as the National Leaders 4 Change Conference.

Through her internship with the National Foster Youth Institute, Alexia continues to refine her advocacy skills, preparing for a future where she can contribute meaningfully to both policymaking and the legal system. Guided by the belief that “the blue sky is always there,” she remains committed to ensuring that every youth in foster care has the power and support to advocate for themselves.

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