New Chief Executive Officer - Priscilla Manful
Priscilla is a child welfare professional with 20 years of experience in the sector, most recently in the position of Intake Services Manager and a member of the Senior Leadership Team at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS).
Her clinical and leadership skills, as well as desire to espouse Catholic principles, provide a strong basis for her to excel in this role. Having worked at the CCAS for 15 years, she is committed to its success and is honored to be leading the organization alongside its committed and skilled staff into the future.
Priscilla brings her passion and is excited about the sector’s child welfare modernization initiatives that have the potential of transforming child welfare services. She looks forward to collaborating with other CASs, stakeholders and staff to serve families with an awareness of systemic barriers and understanding of intersectionality at the core of the initiatives and actions.
Under her leadership, CCAS has implemented the Africentric Wraparound model. This approach to service delivery examines the service system’s collective response to supporting Black families and most importantly, to disrupt Anti-Black racism and provides identity-affirming services to children, youth and families of African-descent. This has helped reduce Black children and youth coming into CCAS care.
“As the first Black African Chief Executive Officer at CCAS, I am conscious of the substantial role that the organization, in concert with other systems, play in the lives of children, youth and their families in influencing their well-being,” says Ms. Manful. “I also understand the social locations, social identities, disadvantages and the lived experiences of the marginalized groups and individuals that we serve.”
Priscilla comes with a MSW degree from York University and a Bachelor’s degree in law and English from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. She is proud of her husband and 4 children and credits her family, including her mother’s and sister’s support for her accomplishment.
Ms. Manful will take over from her predecessor, Mark Kartusch, who will be joining Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services. The Board thanks Mark for his service and wish him and his new organization well. Ms. Manful will commence her new role on September 1, 2022.
