Practitioner. Lived Expert. Systems Leader.
About Michael & Selected Work
Direct family practice, institutional understanding, and documented contributions to professional and community conversations.
Professional story
A Practitioner Who Works Across Systems
Michael Cupeles, CCAP
Michael Cupeles, CCAP, is a fatherhood systems consultant, trainer, speaker, and facilitator whose work connects father and male caregiver engagement, parent partnership, lived expertise, family strengthening, prevention, and organizational improvement.
His perspective combines direct practice with fathers and families, organizational learning, cross-sector collaboration, and state and national advisory participation. His experience includes fatherhood work within Head Start and Early Head Start systems.
He is a Certified Community Action Professional and communicates in English and Spanish.
For a client’s project, this experience brings an understanding of family realities, staff practice, and institutional responsibilities.
The people most affected by systems should have meaningful opportunities to inform, shape, improve, and evaluate those systems.
Experience Across Sectors
Organizations connected to Michael’s direct service, advisory leadership, professional learning, and collaborative work.
- Social Current
Professional affiliations and contributions do not imply organizational endorsement.
Selected Contributions
Head Start & Early Head Start
Current employment: Male Initiative Coordinator at Gateway Community Action Partnership since 2018, connecting fatherhood practice, family engagement, and staff learning.
State-Level Fatherhood Leadership
Current role: Co-Chair of the Fatherhood Engagement Committee within NJ DCF’s Office of Family Voice, contributing father and family perspectives to engagement decisions.
Parent Partnership & Advisory Work
Current national participation brings parent perspectives into prevention and family-serving systems. Review the distinct BPAC, BPNN, FRIENDS PAC, and QIC-H2 roles.
Two Child Support Training Engagements
Completed presentations: Annual New Jersey Child Support Training Institute; Vicinage I local training program. These two presentations are separate from committee service.
Co-Facilitation in Puerto Rico
Completed co-facilitation of professional learning with Fathers & Families Coalition of America for Region II Head Start Association. This joint engagement is separate from certification.
Community Engagement & Men of Courage
Current NJCEDV Community Liaison work and completed featured participation in Byron Hurt’s documentary. Explore the community work and film.
Explore the Broader Professional Record
Event completion is updated after confirmation.
Current Roles & Related Contributions
- New Jersey Head Start Association — Serves as liaison, connecting Head Start and fatherhood engagement perspectives.
- New Jersey Courts · Vicinage I — Gun Violence Reduction Initiative committee participant since 2021; separate from the training presentations below.
- Selective Service System · Northeast Region 3 — Local Board member, Northeast Region 3, since 2021.
- Advocates for Children of New Jersey — Workgroup participant since 2024 and co-author of “We’re Here Too! NJ Fathers Share Stories of Barriers, Bias and Invisibility” (March 2026).
- FRIENDS National Center for CBCAP — Parent Advisory Council member and PAC Mentor; co-hosted Prevention Mindset Institute podcast episodes 1–3.
- Casey Family Programs · Birth Parent Advisory Committee — Birth Parent Advisory Committee member, in partnership with Children’s Trust Fund Alliance; membership confirmed May 2026.
- Children’s Trust Fund Alliance · Birth Parent National Network — Birth Parent National Network participant since 2025; distinct from BPAC and FRIENDS PAC.
- Family Network Initiative — Collaborative participant since 2025 in the joint CTFA, Child Welfare League of America, and Corporation for Supportive Housing initiative.
- Family Success Institute Learning Community — Learning Community participant since 2025.
- Quality Improvement Center for Helplines and Hotlines — Current National Expert Board member; contributed practitioner and lived expertise at the Atlanta convening, September 9–10, 2026. The joint project includes Evident Change, Social Current, and Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, through a Children’s Bureau cooperative agreement.
Completed Presentations & Planning
- Burke Foundation + NJ Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics — Planning contributor to the inaugural First 1,000 Days Summit, 2024–2025.
- Institute for Childhood Preparedness — Presented the published Spanish Parent Committee Training on Head Start parent committees and Policy Council governance.
- Alia — Professional learning presenter and facilitator.
- Ohio Children’s Trust Fund — Facilitation contribution to prevention and professional learning.
- Social Current · Professional webinar — Presented “Centering Fathers’ Mental Health as a Core Prevention Strategy,” February 25, 2026; recording available.
- NJ DCF · Fatherhood Engagement Committee — Co-Chair contribution to the September 24, 2026 meeting. Christopher Brown of National Fatherhood Initiative presented the $154 Billion Man material.
Confirmed Upcoming Appearances
- Starting Points · West Virginia — Confirmed upcoming speaker and interactive workshop contributor, October 21–22, 2026, Cacapon Resort State Park: “Building the Village: Prevention, Protection, Partnership.” Morgan County Starting Points, Children’s Home Society of West Virginia (fiscal agent), and Prevent Child Abuse WV are credited in event context.
- National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement — Confirmed upcoming panelist: “Voices from the Field: Lessons Learned from Fathers and Program Staff,” December 1, 2026 · 3:30–4:30 p.m. Eastern.
Men of Courage: Community Work & Documentary Participation
Community engagement
Community Liaison, Men of Courage Network
Michael’s work with the network includes community engagement around healthy relationships, accountability, and the role of men and boys in preventing gender-based violence.
Official NJCEDV Program Reference
Select to load YouTube’s player. The film does not autoplay.
Official player thumbnail and full film: Black Public Media · AfroPoP Digital Shorts.
Documentary · Featured participant
Featured in Men of Courage
Michael is featured in Men of Courage, a documentary directed by Byron Hurt that follows five Black and Latino men engaging their New Jersey communities in conversations about preventing gender-based violence.
Director: Byron Hurt
Distributor / official release: Black Public Media
Content note: Discusses domestic and sexual violence.
Community liaison work and documentary participation are distinct from independent consulting engagements. This website does not imply organizational endorsement or authorization to speak for NJCEDV.