This month in the second installation of our PrettiPassionate Profiles series we sat down with Marline Francois - Madden as she shared how she found her purpose & fell in love with helping young women overcome their traumas after being a survivor in her own childhood trauma.

We’re inspired by Marline and can’t wait for you to check out her story!

Name: Marline Francois-Madden

Location: Montclair, NJ

Title: CEO of Therapy Practice and Author

Bio: Marline Francois Madden is the owner of Hearts Empowerment Counseling Center, phenomenal public speaker, entrepreneur and bestselling author of The State of Black Girls: A go-to guide for creating safe spaces for Black girls. With over 15 years of clinical experience, she 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 conference including the Congressional Black Caucus for Women and Girls. She was named by the White House as a Nominated Change maker at the State of the Women summit during the Obama administration.

Driven by passion and purpose, Marline touches the lives of many through her work. She facilitated trauma-informed group and individual sessions for young women in Haiti who were sex trafficking survivors. Her commitment to youth development earned her an invite to speak to young global leaders from countries like Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Israel, Bangladesh and more, about self-care. She also volunteered at a children’s orphanage in Ghana.

Empowerment isn’t what she does, it’s who she is.

Marline has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Penn State University and a Masters of Social Work degree from Rutgers University - Newark. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in NJ. Her work has been featured on HuffPost, Hot 97, Fox5, Bustle, Business Insider, and various media platforms.

Q: How did you stumble upon your amazing path as a Therapist?

At a young age, I always knew I wanted to be a therapist. After being a survivor of child sexual abuse, I dived into therapy books and magazines as an outlet for my healing journey. My dad purchased several psychology books for me as an adolescent and I became very intrigued with the material. I went on to pursue a degree in Psychology and a Master in Social Work. I spent a lot of time seeking guidance from mentors and working in the field to sharpen my skills and develop my purpose.

Q: When was the moment you knew this was your passion and you had to pursue this journey?

My purpose found me. I believe God called me to do this work. I found myself feeling a sense of heaviness for the barriers and challenges many women and teen girls faced and wanted to provide a solution through mental health. The more I worked with adolescent girls and women, the more I found great joy. I found myself wanting to learn new therapeutic techniques to help them.

Q: Who inspired you into taking this path?

My parents have been a big supporter and pushed me to pursue a career in mental health.

Q: Who was the first person who believed in you?

Besides my parents, my 10th grade Social Studies teacher named Mr. Nevil was someone who believed in me. He often shared wisdom in my class and would always tell me I would go on to do great things.

Q: What was the moment you knew you could be successful at your path?

I knew that if God called me to do this, I would be successful and impactful. Oftentimes, we like to associate success with dollar signs and for me, I wanted to ensure my definition of success was rooted in God. As long as I have peace and creating change, I feel successful.

Q: When did you know you could make a living at it?

I am great at creating a strategy and executing, so I knew I had no choice but to make this happen. Once I left my full-time job, I recognized the amount of time I had to leverage my skills to generate multiple streams of income through my purpose.

Q: How do you define success for yourself? How do you define success for the path that you're on?

Success means having peace and joy and creating an impact through my God-given purpose.

Q: Give us a typical day in your life.

Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl? I'm a night owl, but on Fridays I like to wake up at 6am.
- When do you get up? I usually get up at 8am.
- What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Pray, check my emails and have a cup of coffee. My Bustelo coffee is a must for me.
- Do you have a morning routine or ritual? Yes, every morning I have my cup of coffee and spend some time in prayer and meditation. I will also review my daily to-do list to see what I will work on for the day.
- What do you do from 10am to 1pm? It depends on the day, but on Tuesday through Friday I am usually seeing clients or handling administrative duties for my business. On Mondays, I am usually resting or utilizing it as an administrative day.
- What do you do from 1pm to 6pm? I am usually seeing clients in my therapy practice and scheduling sometime for lunch and a nap. I enjoy taking a midday nap in between my therapy sessions.
- What do you do from 6pm until you go to bed? I make dinner, finish my therapy notes and usually spending time with my husband. I may also check my emails later in the evening and do some research work for my business.
- Do you have a pre-bed ritual? Yes, I practice sleep hygiene daily. I use eucalyptus products (my shower gel, essential oil, lotion, pillow mist) and will also use this app called "rain rain" which has relaxation sounds to fall asleep.
- How do define a successful day? I like to tell myself "Marline, you did your best today". I believe there is power in how we talk and think. When I can approach my day from a positive mindset, it helps to shift my day. A successful day to me is being able to come home and relax with my husband.