Dr. Marline Francois-Madden is the CEO of Hearts Empowerment Counseling Center, bestselling author of The State of Black Girls, licensed therapist, and speaker. She has over 17 years of experience in the mental health field and has become a sought-after expert in mental health, self-care, and girls' leadership. Marline has shared her expertise at dozens of universities, colleges, community organizations, churches, and conferences. She was listed as a Nominated Changemaker at the 2016 White House Summit during the Obama Administration.
Mindfully intersecting the connections between black girls, policy, and mental health, Marline is a pivotal force who makes it her mission to create equity in black mental health with the astute awareness that equity and equality are not the same.
Marline holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Penn State University and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University-Newark. She completed her Ph.D. at Montclair State University in Family Sciences and Human Development. She was named the 2020 Social Worker of the Year by NASW and was honored on the Forbes Next 1000 List of Entrepreneurs. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Essence, ABC, CBS, WebMD, and dozen of media platforms regarding her expertise on Black girls' mental health.