Using Her Past to Impact Others’ Futures

Communications and speech professor Sherri Raftery, DTM, has been a Toastmaster for 21 years, earning accolades and awards as a leader, mentor, coach, blogger, Gavel Club supporter, Toastmasters International Convention Helping Hands volunteer, and District speech contest finalist.

But most of all she is a tireless advocate for foster youth, having both lived and studied their complex lives. Raftery grew up in the child welfare system herself—an experience that taught her many things, including an unshakable belief in education as the path to a productive life.

Raftery is a fervent lifelong learner. Her academic pursuits include a bachelor’s degree in theater arts, performance, and communication from Emerson College in Boston, followed by a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Endicott College. She currently teaches at Fisher College and North Shore Community College in Massachusetts. Along her career path, she dipped a toe into live theater and stand-up comedy.

She approaches Toastmasters with that same learner’s energy. Raftery notes she was so impressed by her first Toastmasters meeting that she joined on the spot. Today, she is a member of three online clubs: Island Foghorns Toastmasters Club, Advanced Articulators Online, and Contest Mastery, where she is a charter member.

She’s working on her sixth DTM. One of her most notable DTM projects was working to reinstate Gavel Clubs in prisons after COVID. She’s helped lead and recruit Toastmasters volunteers for Gavel Clubs since 2006.

Raftery never says “no” to Toastmasters opportunities. Just a year after joining, she accepted an invitation to serve as an Area Governor (now called Area Director). She’s happily taken on new roles every year, at almost every organizational level.

Beyond Toastmasters, Raftery volunteers with child welfare nonprofits, and is a court-appointed advocate for foster youth. As a child, she grew up in The Home for Little Wanderers, which was founded in 1799 in Boston, and is the oldest child welfare agency in the United States. Her hero was the child movie star Shirley Temple. Temple often played an orphan, filled with boundless kindness and optimism, who brought joy to everyone. It was exactly the message Raftery wanted to live.

Raftery’s passion for foster youth was ignited when she was growing up and learned that approximately 50% of them graduated from high school. Just 3% went to college; only 1% graduated. As an adult, Raftery was intensely proud to be among the 1% of her peers with a college degree, but she began to ask herself: Where are the other 99% of us?

Looking for answers led her through a rigorous doctoral program and final thesis, “Foster Youth Mentorship Programs in Higher Education.” When it came time to defend her work, fellow Toastmasters stepped in to mentor her, offering support and feedback as she practiced her speech for months in numerous clubs. They also attended her thesis presentation, which was held virtually due to COVID.

She now uses her heartfelt speaking skills to share sobering stories with community audiences and child welfare professionals about the challenges foster youth face.

Raftery credits Toastmasters for helping her gain the confidence to tell her personal story, but it wasn’t easy at first. One exciting—yet heart-thumping—moment came as she spoke to an audience of 900, when honored for her work by The Home for Little Wanderers.

“I was comfortable in front of people but not in talking about my foster journey. When people came up to me after I spoke, I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to handle it.

“Toastmasters taught me how to balance my story and emotions,” Raftery says.

Today, Raftery continues as a vibrant teacher and Toastmaster. She’s grateful to those who raised and inspired her. She appreciates the opportunity to pay it forward to young people.

“I’m an ordinary person who’s had an extraordinary life,” she says.

Share this article