Our signature programs create stronger connections between families, professionals, and communities. Through SYNCing Child Welfare and Skin DEEP, we provide education, practical tools, and meaningful conversations that inspire understanding, collaboration, and positive change.
We support organizations, leaders, and individuals serving families impacted by the foster care and criminal justice systems. Through training, advocacy, and community-centered solutions, we help strengthen relationships, improve outcomes, and build healthier communities.
We believe meaningful work should include hope, connection, and joy. By promoting authentic relationships, burnout awareness, and personal well-being, we help individuals and teams stay energized while navigating complex challenges and important missions.
Mark has never accepted “no” for an answer and has fought for justice his entire life.
Known as the “Preacher Man,” Mark prayed for the community he loved—and a community that loved him in return. He spent countless hours in church, learning to listen deeply and love people regardless of their past. A proud follower of Jesus Christ, Mark’s faith has consistently guided his personal life and professional calling.
At the age of 14, that calling was further ignited through exposure to the late Judge Cordell Meeks, Jr., the first Black lawyer and judge Mark had ever encountered. Witnessing Judge Meeks’s impact solidified Mark’s commitment to the legal field and his desire to help others receive justice—much like the man he remembers seeing laid in the street when he was just eight years old.
Despite being told not to run for District Attorney—that it was not his time and that he needed to wait his turn—Mark refused to be deterred. He ran anyway and defeated a 12-year incumbent, proving that purpose, preparation, and faith can overcome expectation.
Shanelle Dupree is a strategic connector with deep Midwestern roots whose life and work are guided by her faith.
As an attorney, she has represented hundreds of families in high-conflict custody and foster care cases. Through her consulting firm, Dupree Perspective, she leads workshops nationwide, helping individuals involved in the family and child welfare system understand, navigate, and engage with it more effectively. Shanelle believes that empowering families with knowledge of the system is a vital step toward achieving equity.
She has educated hundreds of professionals on the history of child welfare through the lens of race, integrating cultural competency into social service and legal organizations. Shanelle also serves as the Executive Director of the Racial Equity Collaborative, a social service nonprofit dedicated to eliminating disparities within helping systems.
An accomplished author, speaker, attorney, course creator, Bible study teacher, adjunct law professor, pastor’s wife, and mother of four, Shanelle brings a unique blend of professional expertise, faith, and lived experience to her work.
Shanelle Dupree is a Strategic Connector with deep Midwestern roots. She is an author, speaker, lawyer, executive director, course creator, adjunct law professor, wife, and mother of four.
Shanelle is the creator and course instructor of SKIN DEEP: The History of Child Welfare by Race. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Racial Equity Collaborative, a social service nonprofit focused on eliminating racial disparities within helping systems.
A trusted advisor, Shanelle was selected to serve on the Governor’s Transition Team to assess the social services system in the state of Kansas. She has worked as a Campaign Director, Advisor, and Copywriter for multiple political campaigns, bringing clarity, strategy, and powerful messaging to complex issues. She has also delivered testimony before various legislative committees on child welfare and juvenile justice.
Shanelle is a Bible Study Teacher and Adjunct Law Professor who creatively engages diverse audiences. Whether teaching God’s Word, instructing CINC 101: Parents for five years to explain the foster care system, or presenting on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within public systems, she communicates with clarity, compassion, and purpose.
Mark Dupree speaks at churches, community meetings,
conferences, & workshops.He speaks on:
Mark Dupree speaks at churches, community meetings,
conferences, & workshops.He speaks on:
Shanelle Dupree speaks, hosts workshops, & facilities discussions on:
Faith is our guiding principle. We believe every person is put on this earth
to help someone else.Our goal is to increase awareness of connection,
protection, bravery, & simple joy.
A community member who saw his community being ignored, and believed Wyandotte deserved better.
A man of faith who believes in prayer and action, and decided to take a leap of faith and run for office in 2017, and is serving his 3rd term in office.
A follower of Christ, who happens to lead a church ministry and a local prosecutor's office.
A husband and father who infuses the ideas of justice, equity, redemption, prayer, and accountability into his personal and professional life.
A public servant who understands progress must be purposeful, but it isn't always pretty.
SYNCing Child Welfare helps bridge the gap between child welfare systems, professionals, and communities. Through education, collaboration, and practical strategies, SYNC supports those working to improve outcomes for children and families while building stronger connections across service systems.
Skin DEEP is a professional development and educational program that explores the history of child welfare through the lens of race and culture. Created by Shanelle Dupree, Skin DEEP helps professionals develop greater cultural awareness, humility, and understanding to better serve children and families. The program includes keynote presentations, workshops, and online learning opportunities.
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