She Didn't Just Study Resilience.
She Lived It.

Foster Care at 16 — With No Warning

Dr. Keating's history with CPS began when she was just two years old. She was homeschooled through her freshman year of high school — missing years of foundational education — until Child Protective Services required her enrollment in public school.

Three days before her 16th birthday, a CPS caseworker arrived and handed her a grocery bag to pack her belongings. She was placed into foster care immediately. Her caseworker reminded her regularly: one wrong move — being late to class, giving an attitude — and she'd be moved to another home.

When she turned 18 in the fall of her senior year, she was pulled out of class and told she had to move out immediately. She couch-surfed through the rest of high school, then moved in briefly with her father — until the environment became unsafe and she moved out on her own at 19.

33 Moves. One Year in Her Car. Still Going.

From age 18 to 24, Danisha moved over 33 times — the post office records show at least that many. She spent a full year living in her car and several years bouncing between friends' couches, wherever she could find a place to sleep.

She enrolled in college and failed her first semester. She didn't quit. Once she learned to navigate community college, she kept going — fighting her way through dyslexia (discovered by a high school English teacher), financial instability, and the absence of any academic support system.

Her story — "33 Roofs" — is now a documentary in post-production. Because that chapter of her life deserves to be told.

Guardian of 5 Siblings. Overnight. At 24.

In 2015, Danisha had just moved into a 500-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with one of her brothers when the calls started coming. First another brother needed a place. Then, within months, she received a call to pick up three more siblings — teenagers, ages 12 to 15.

Overnight, she became the legal guardian of five siblings in a one-bedroom apartment — making only $18,000 a year. The state assistance she received actually decreased when her income went up. She fought the system for years. She never stopped going to school.

Nine months later, with help from her village, she moved her family into a four-bedroom townhome. She kept working. She kept studying. She kept going.

8 Years for a Bachelor's. 1 Year for a Master's. 3.5 for Her PhD. Worth Every One.

It took Danisha 8 years to complete her bachelor's degree — because she was raising children, working full time, and learning how to navigate a system that wasn't built for her. She earned her master's in one year and her PhD in 3.5 years.

During her doctoral program, she was simultaneously managing guardianship of five siblings, working full time, and finishing a dissertation. Her research focused on best practices for foster youth support programs at community colleges — because she lived the gap she was studying.