Children & Families First names Mullen chief inclusion officer

Recognized and respected for its expertise in trauma and adversity programs, Children & Families First recently took another bold step forward to lead positive change by welcoming Dr. Julius Mullen back to the organization as its first chief inclusion officer.

“Building a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive future for CFF and for the communities we serve requires that we hold ourselves accountable for the change we want to see,” said CEO Kirsten Olson. “Dr. Mullen’s breadth of experience leading trauma-informed care initiatives, and his knowledge of culturally responsive ideologies will be important tools as we continue to formalize and operationalize our commitment to equity at its intersection with trauma-informed care.”

Previously, Mullen served as CFF’s chief clinical officer for more than 15 years and was executive director for the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence for one year. He continues to lead Impact Delaware, a nonprofit mentoring organization co-created with his spouse Natasha Mullen to help youth ages 10 to 25 overcome challenges caused by trauma and adversity.

“Utilizing a variety of professional platforms, I’ve spent nearly three decades of my life dedicated to helping others recognize their trauma, identify their strengths, and heal toward a promising future, and I have loved every minute of it. In returning to CFF, I am especially excited to hear the enthusiasm, ideas and progress made thus far on the agency’s equity journey, which has been largely employee-driven. What an honor is it is to rejoin a team of talented, compassionate and committed professionals,” said Mullen. 

Protecting and ensuring the safety, health and well-being of all children and families has been the core of CFF’s work for more than 138 years. Acknowledging the ongoing negative impact and intergenerational trauma caused by unaddressed, systemic racial and social inequities, CFF established the equity, diversity and inclusion committee in 2020 and named Edgard Martinez as its first EDI manager. Comprising staff members and led by Martinez, CFF’s EDI committee has made significant strides, such as distributing a monthly EDI-focused newsletter sharing knowledge and resources, offering quarterly webinars with topic-specific experts to build cultural humility and empower solutions, advocating for inclusive policies that have led to Juneteenth being recognized as an official organizational holiday, and empowering individual voices with the establishment of paid time off for staff to participate in elections.

“I am proud of the accountability and action CFF continues to take,” said Martinez. “I am confident that Dr. Mullen’s strategic and operational leadership will further strengthen our long-range work and success.”

In his role, Mullen will partner with agency leaders throughout the organization to build upon several strategic priorities. He will work with the Children & Families First leadership team, staff, consumers and community stakeholders to further embed EDI into every aspect of the organization, including service delivery, human resources and governance. He will also assist with cultivating an organizational cultural driven by compassion while ensuring professional accountability at all levels of the organization. Mullen will also expand on the agency’s professional learning landscape in alignment with trauma-informed care, brain science and other pedagogical methodologies.

“My role is to learn about what’s going well and understand the challenges to gather supports – be it through empirical research, best practices from colleagues around the globe, or our internal intellectual capital,” said Mullen, “This is not a career move for me; this is career alignment. This is the very core of who I am, and I love that this opportunity allows me to further dedicate myself to working collaboratively with many others so all people can have what they need to be successful despite any demographic identity, lived experience or any other life circumstance.”

Research proves that when children and families have the opportunity to reach their full potential, the whole community grows stronger. It is the mission of Children & Families First to champion children and families using evidence-based, equity-centered, innovative approaches to build diverse, healthy and resilient communities where all children and families thrive. For more information about Children & Families First, including employment opportunities statewide, go to cffde.org.