Education: BBA. University of West Georgia; MDiv, Harvard University; PhD., Purdue University
Been a part of Fathers and Families Center: Since the beginning!
Wallace O. McLaughlin, MDiv, PhD – a native of Fort Valley, Georgia – is the founding President/CEO of the Fathers and Families Resource/Research Center dba Fathers and Families Center. Originally serving as the Program Director for Wishard Hospital’s Father Resource Program in 1993, Dr. McLaughlin expanded program services; transitioning from a hospital-based program into a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit agency in 1999 while maintaining its affiliation with Eskenazi Health (then Wishard Hospital). In 2003, the agency received United Way of Central Indiana accreditation. Since its inception, Dr. McLaughlin has been responsible for the overall vision and leadership of the agency; assisting over 20,000 fathers in achieving self-sufficiency, strengthening their families, and impacting 50,000 children.
Recognized as one of the early national leaders in Responsible Fatherhood field in the 1990s, he – with 17 other members – chartered the National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families with support from the Ford Foundation. Under his leadership, the agency was selected to participate in a 10-city national initiative to promote responsible fatherhood and increase child support among poor, single fathers in 1999. Under his leadership the Center has secured federal, state, and local funding to support initiatives promoting responsible fatherhood and economic and family stability. Additionally, the agency was one of the first recipients of the national Responsible Fatherhood grant, and a subsequent recipient of HHS/ACF’s Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Relationship Education grants for over ten years.
Immediately upon graduation from the University of West Georgia (1978), Dr. McLaughlin was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1979. In 1991, he resigned his commission as Captain after serving 12 years on active and reserve duty. While serving in the military, Dr. McLaughlin was ordained as a minister in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. After completing his military service, he attended Harvard Divinity School and was awarded an MDiv degree in 1986. He then went on to Purdue University to earn his PhD in Family Studies in 1993.
Dr. McLaughlin has served on national boards and state task forces and commissions for Governors O’Bannon and Bayh. He is a national speaker, trainer, and consultant on the issues of fatherhood. Most notably, his consulting helped found the Fathers and Families Support Center in St. Louis, MO. His leadership and vision in designing and developing model programs for at-risk African American men in the community has been recognized in two Indianapolis Mayors’ Task Force Reports on Crime Prevention and in HHS’s National Spotlight.
In 2005, he was selected as a member of the Inaugural Class of Hoosier Fellows. In 2006 he received the Stew Wood Youth Advocacy Award for outstanding youth advocacy in the community. In 2008, the agency received the US Department of Labor Champion of Compassion award. In 2009 he received the Greater Indianapolis NAACP Humanitarian Award. In 2016, Dr. McLaughlin received the Jefferson Award and the Center for Leadership Development’s Minority Achievers Award in recognition of outstanding public service. In 2019 he was presented the Hoosier Heritage Night Award in recognition of a lifetime of achievement and contribution to Indianapolis communities. Currently, he serves as Pastor of Covenant Community Church in Indianapolis as well as a member of the Indianapolis Chapter of 100 Black Men’ Board of Directors as Chaplain. He is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is married to Karla Ann Hay of Toronto, Canada and they are the proud parents of one son, Jackson Karl McLaughlin.
