Founder and Exective Director of River Jordan Inc.
Aland Stamps is a passionate advocate, author, podcast host, and community leader who has dedicated his life to empowering young people transitioning out of foster care. Having experienced childhood trauma, the foster care system, homelessness, addiction, and incarceration, Aland understands firsthand the challenges many foster care alumni face as they enter adulthood. Through his own journey of healing, recovery, and personal transformation, he founded River Jordan Inc. to provide young adults aging out of foster care with the housing, guidance, life skills, and support necessary to build independent, successful lives.
Aland is also the creator of the I Changed My Story Childhood Trauma Recovery Model, author of the I Changed My Story Recovery Workbook and Toolkit, and developer of the Foster Care Peer Support Training Manual – First Edition, a 40-hour training program designed to equip individuals with lived foster care experience for meaningful peer support and paraprofessional opportunities.
He is also the founder and host of the I Changed My Story Podcast, a platform dedicated to sharing powerful stories of adversity, resilience, healing, and personal transformation. Through meaningful conversations with individuals from diverse backgrounds, the podcast explores how people overcome life’s challenges, change the narratives that have shaped their lives, and discover greater purpose.
Through River Jordan and his other initiatives, Aland continues to turn his lived experience into purpose, creating opportunities for others to overcome adversity, discover their potential, and build a future that is not defined by their past.
I Changed My Story Film Documentary
A Documented Journey to River Jordan Inc.
Copyright 2018 River Jordan Inc. Directed By Brandon Webb/Aland Stamps. A Foxx Called Moon Film I Changed My Story is a true film documentary about a man who changed his story in order to save his life. Childhood abuse and neglect was the author of Aland’s story and the framework of his belief system. He lived the lies he told himself until years later when his self destructive story finally left him no where to run. He was faced with a decision to either change it or carry out his planned suicide. What happened after he changed his story will leave you in tears as well as provoke you to look at your own story.
Creator of the I Changed My Story Childhood Trauma Recovery Model
Author - Foster Care Peer Support Training Manual and 40-hour Training
As the founder of River Jordan Inc., Aland Stamps developed a comprehensive 40-hour Foster Care Peer Support Training Program designed to equip foster care alumni with the knowledge and skills to provide meaningful peer support to individuals with lived experience in foster care or adoption. He also authored the Foster Care Peer Support Training Manual – First Edition, creating a structured educational resource to support this specialized training. Beyond peer support education, Stamps developed the program with a broader vision: to establish meaningful paraprofessional career opportunities for foster care alumni within agencies and organizations serving foster youth, former foster youth, and individuals who have been adopted. His goal is to create pathways for individuals with lived experience to turn their personal journeys into purposeful, paid employment—allowing them to earn a living while giving back to their communities and supporting others navigating similar experiences. Through the generous financial support of the Dow ALL IN ERG Fund, the development, writing, publication, and delivery of this training program were made possible. This initiative reflects Stamps’ ongoing commitment to empowering individuals with lived experience, recognizing the professional value of their perspectives, and creating opportunities for them to build meaningful careers while making a lasting difference in the lives of others.
I Changed My Story Podcast
Expanding his mission to inspire hope, healing, and personal transformation, Aland Stamps created and hosts the I Changed My Story Podcast, a platform dedicated to sharing powerful stories of resilience, recovery, overcoming adversity, and personal growth. Through meaningful conversations with guests from diverse backgrounds, Stamps explores how life experiences shape our beliefs, decisions, and the stories we tell ourselves. Drawing from his own journey and the four principles of his I Changed My Story Childhood Trauma Recovery Model—Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance, and Forgiveness—the podcast encourages listeners to reflect on their experiences, challenge limiting beliefs, and discover new possibilities for their future. The podcast’s central message is that while we cannot change what happened to us, we can change the meaning we give those experiences and the direction we choose for our lives.
