Wayne Carson, Ph.D., has 27 years of experience working with children and families in a variety of roles, the last 17 years as Chief Executive Officer of ACH Child and Family Services (ACH). With a focused mission to "Protect Children and Preserve Families", and 300 dedicated staff, ACH operates 14 different programs in 19 counties to both prevent and treat child abuse, neglect, homelessness and family separation. In 2014, ACH was chosen by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to launch the first Foster Care Redesign project in an urban area in Texas. This community based, regional approach to care involves overseeing services for all children in out-of-home foster care in a seven county area known as Region 3b in north Texas. The initial results of this project have generated very promising results in bringing much needed improvement to some of the chronic problems in Texas' foster care system. Dr. Carson holds a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, and masters and doctorate degrees in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington. He serves on the boards of the Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County and the state board for the Texas Alliance for Child and Family Services. Dr. Carson was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of the University of Texas at Arlington in 2009, and Not-for-Profit CEO of the Year by the Fort Worth Business Press in 2015.