Donna L. Wilson
Policy Fellow
Dr. Donna L. Wilson is a Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall, where she spearheads transformative initiatives focused on technical assistance and capacity building for state systems, with an emphasis on sustainable and equitable strategies in child welfare. Her work is dedicated to enhancing the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families across the nation. Wilson is a respected curriculum developer, qualitative researcher, and published author in peer-reviewed journals and a book chapter.
With over three decades of experience in human services, Wilson has progressed from being a direct service provider to providing executive leadership to several multifaceted, high-performing, and complex projects and teams. Her notable achievements include pioneering the Child Protection Treatment Team for Adams County Human Services and managing Casey Family Programs’ National Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Safety and Risk Assessments. She also served as the Race Equity Consultant for Cuyahoga County Department of Children’s Services and was the inaugural Principal Investigator for the Colorado Child Welfare Training System.
Before joining Chapin Hall, Wilson was Director of Operations and Community Engagement at WellPower, overseeing community-based clinical programs and operations for Child and Family Services. Prior to that, she served as a Program Director for Children and Families at the National Conference of State Legislatures, delivering expertise, research, technical assistance, and training to state legislators for child welfare and early care and education.
Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tuskegee University, a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education and Human Development with a concentration in Administration Leadership and Policy from the University of Colorado Denver. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. Throughout her career, Wilson has dedicated her life’s work to improving human services systems to better serve children and families equitably, making significant contributions to leadership development and policy in child welfare and education.
PhD in Education and Human Development with a concentration in Administration Leadership and Policy, University of Colorado Denver
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, University of Colorado Denver
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Tuskegee University
Distinguished Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leadership Award, American Public Human Services Association, 2022
People on the Move, Denver Business Journal, 2021
President’s Diversity Award for Faculty Leadership, University of Colorado Denver- Anschutz Medical Campus, 2016
Excellence Award, Colorado Association of Family & Children’s Agencies, 2009
Wilson, D. L. (2024, June). Leading upstream: Cultivating an inclusive leadership stance to promote well-being. APHSA Practice and Policy Magazine. Moving Human Services Upstream to Proactively Promote Well-being. Spring 2024.
Wilson, D. L. (2021). More than the sum of their struggles: Success factors of first-generation African American women with doctorates. In A. Griffen (Ed.), Challenges to integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in organizations (pp. 128–147). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4093-0.ch009
Schelbe, L., Wilson, D. L., Fickler, W., & Williams-Mbengue, N. (2020). Bridging the gaps among research, policy, and practice in the field of child maltreatment through cross-sector training and innovation. International Journal on Child Maltreatment, 3, 293–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-020-00054-6
Parrish, D. L. (2016). Culturally responsive parent support training 101: A curriculum for
enhancing culturally responsive practice in SafeCare® Colorado. Aurora, CO: Kempe
Center for the Treatment and Prevention of child Abuse and Neglect.
Parrish, D. L., Howard, M. D., & Wheeler, M. (2011). Achieving racial equity in child welfare services: Training implementation guide. Englewood, CO: American Humane Association.
Wilmot, L., Parrish, D. L., Howard, M. A., Ferguson, J. B., Horner, A., Carlisle, A., & Bedford, K.(2010). Colorado supervision training: Leading the way in child protection. Englewood, Co: American Humane Association.
Wilson (formerly Parrish), D. L., & Hargett, B. A. (2009). Bridging the cultural divide: Innovative supervision practices to impact disproportionality with African American clients in child welfare. Protecting Children, 25(1), 99–108.
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