Rhonda Sciortino was abandoned as a very young child, and became a ward of the court until she emancipated at 16. Except for a brief time with a wonderful foster family who told her that there was a good purpose for her life, those first 16 years were spent in the custody of a mentally ill man and alcoholic and drug-addicted woman–her grandparents.

When Rhonda was eight years old, the little shack where she lived was destroyed by fire. They had no insurance, and for months they were homeless. Rhonda vividly recalls wearing the same filthy sundress and flimsy dimestore flipflops to school day after day for months after that fire.

At age 15 Rhonda decided to seek emancipation. One of the prerequisites was that Rhonda have a job, so she went to work for the first person who would hire her–an insurance agent. When her employer explained the concept of insurance, Rhonda was flabbergasted. “You mean someone would have paid for our house to be rebuilt AND given us money for clothes and a place to sleep?”

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Rhonda learned everything she could about insurance. Despite being denied again and again to be allowed to take her test to become a licensed agent, Rhonda repeatedly petitioned the Insurance Commissioner to allow her to sit for the exam on the basis that even though she wasn’t yet 18, she was an emancipated minor. An exception was finally granted, and Rhonda became California’s youngest licensed insurance agent at 17.

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At the age of 27, Rhonda’s passion for good child welfare providers and appropriate insurance intersected. She found the purpose that her foster father had predicted. She committed herself to protecting people and organizations that protect children. She had personally experienced excellent foster care during her short time with a foster family, and she knew the shame of homelessness as a result of inadequate insurance. Rhonda quit her job and started her own retail insurance agency which was dedicated to protecting and defending the good people and organizations that care for abused children. A few years later, she opened a national insurance program administration firm which helped insurance brokers across the US protect the child welfare organizations in their areas. 

In 2008, Rhonda sold Child Welfare Insurance Services to Markel Insurance Company. After serving for several years as their National Child Welfare Specialist, Rhonda left to serve as the chairperson of Successful Survivors Foundation, a non-profit organization she founded to help survivors of trauma find purpose, meaning, and happiness, what she calls, "real success."

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Rhonda now helps kids and families in her roles as an author, speaker, podcaster, Your Real Success program creator, and as the National Champion for the LOVE IS ACTION COMMUNITY INITIATIVE. 

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Rhonda is happily married to Nick Sciortino. Their greatest joys are their daughter, son-in-love, grandchildren, the awesome Sciortino familia, and their rescue dog, Lucky.  

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