Countering PUSHOUT Series: Skills to Support Black Girls 2024

MONIQUE COUVSON, ED.D (formerly Monique W. Morris) is an award-winning author and social justice scholar with three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and criminal justice. Her research intersects race, gender, education and justice to explore the ways in which Black communities, and other communities of color, are uniquely affected by social policies. Dr. Couvson is the President and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, which has developed four signature funds, including: the Black Girl Freedom Fund. She is also the Founder and Board Chair for the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. Dr. Couvson’s work has been profiled by MSNBC, CSPAN2, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, and PBS, among other national and local print, radio, and television media.

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.

When grappling with questions about technology and the classroom, Janella is thoughtful and intentional as she navigates policies that affect both the future of the labor movement and public education. She maintains that, even as technology changes, educators must continue to have a voice in working conditions and learning opportunities for students: As one of the union’s chief negotiator for the DOE-UFT virtual instruction pilot — Virtual Learning Classrooms — Janella ensured that our members and students can grow and thrive in digital environments.

Janella’s taken the lead in organizing members to use their voices on the school level through consultation. She has established platforms that allow members to collaborate and develop solutions; she has spearheaded committees and focus groups on a range of issues. She places a special emphasis on student achievement and school safety.

A proponent for equity, fairness and advancement, Janella serves as the chair of the New York Union Child Care Coalition, where she fights for working people to have access to high-quality, affordable child care and advocates for living wages for our child care workers.

As an acknowledged leader in her field, Janella is an in-demand voice on education and labor panels from conferences to podcasts to protests.