Quinn Franklin, assistant director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, has been named president elect of the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP), the leading membership association for child life specialists dedicated to advancing the credibility of the child life profession by fostering research and promoting the standards of child life practice on a national and international level.
Franklin will begin her one-year term as ACLP president elect later this month. In addition to supporting the current president with her duties, Franklin will serve on the ACLP Board and Executive Committee and will be responsible for ensuring compliance with board policies and procedures, lead efforts to increase member/leader involvement in Association activities, and proactively strengthen professional network and leadership skills in preparation for assuming the office of ACLP President in May 2021.
“I am grateful to have earned the trust of ACLP members, the Board of Directors and staff that I will be working alongside,” Franklin said. “It is an honor to be selected to serve a profession that helps children and families cope with stress and uncertainty. My feelings of gratitude extend even further when I think of the current state of our child life community due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In her leadership role, Franklin will focus her efforts on supporting the ACLP members across their career trajectory, while also leveraging opportunities to position the field of child life and ACLP for the future. While this is a shift from leading in a clinical environment, Franklin says increased exposure to various types of teams and how they respond to different types of leadership is always informative and insightful.
As part of the nomination process, Franklin completed a self-assessment that included a reflection on her leadership philosophy and practice, where she referenced one of Mark Wallace’s leadership maxims.
“Texas Children’s Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Mark A. Wallace, has 10 leadership maxims. The one that resonates with me is “We lead in our professional lives and we lead in our personal lives.” My approach to leadership is based off a relationship to the people that I am leading but also the relationship to the mission. Establishing a trusting, professional relationship is fundamental to my work as a leader, within my work environments and my personal life. Without establishing a sense of trust, remaining consistent and transparent, it’s impossible to lead. I trust the mission of Texas Children’s and I trust the mission of the Association of Child Life Professionals. It is through that trust that I will be able to build, refine and enhance the relationships in the president-elect role.”
Prior to her position as assistant director of the psychosocial division at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, Franklin joined Texas Children’s in 2003 as a child life specialist in the Emergency Center (EC). It was in the EC where she began to see the true impact of a high functioning team and what her role on the team could be and the benefits it had on the patients and families. Over time, Franklin pursued various clinical, academic and leadership roles which led her to the Cancer Center.
“It is the work that we all do as a team with and for our patients and families that has helped to shape who I am today,” Franklin said.” Our environment and our culture instills a sense of wonder, hope, and innovation. I am grateful to ACLP for this incredible opportunity to serve, but I am also very thankful for my leaders and peers at Texas Children’s – past, present, and future.”