Marline Francois-Madden, LCSW

Marline Francois-Madden is the CEO of Hearts Empowerment Counseling Center,  bestselling author of The State of Black girls, licensed therapist, speaker, and entrepreneur. She has over 15 years of experience in the mental health field and has become a sought-after expert in mental health, trauma, self-care, and girls' leadership. Marline has shared her expertise at dozens of universities, colleges, community organizations, churches, and conferences. 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 things. Marline holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Penn State University as well as a Masters of Social Work from Rutgers University-Newark. She is an incoming Ph.D. student at Montclair State University. She serves as the committee chair for the National Association of Social Workers - NJ Chapter for their Legislative and Social Action committee.