Mablean Ephriam Foundation - Our History

The Founder and President of Mablean Ephriam Foundation is Judge Mablean Ephriam, who presided over the Fox television show, Divorce Court from 1999-2006. She is a mother of four, grandmother of ten. She was born in Mississippi and raised in South Central Los Angeles. She has been admitted to the practice of law almost forty years.

MEF was birthed as an outgrowth of Judge Mablean’s personal and professional experiences. She is keenly aware of what is destroying our communities.  The alarming rate of illiteracy and the declining quality of our educational system, especially in the inner-city schools.  This compounded with the lack of adequate and affordable housing, high rate of unemployment, the dissipation of the family and declining moral values. Judge Mablean observed that these plagues result with the increased rate of fatherless homes, divorce, unwanted pregnancies, drug abuse and suicide, especially in African-American and Latino-Hispanic families. She witnessed the widening gap between the haves and have-nots, the advantaged and disadvantaged. Fed up, she decided to do something to address these conditions and hopefully change the circumstances.

In 2003, Judge Mablean decided to host a brunch and awards program to celebrate fathers. She believed that if the positive is accentuated and the negative de-emphasized; more fathers would become involved in the lives of their children, thus strengthening families. Within three months of that decision, she became the founder and host of the Honoring Unsung Fathers (H.U.F.) Awards and Brunch. This inaugural brunch was held June 15, 2003 in San Pedro, California at the Hilton Marina Hotel. Eight extraordinary fathers were personally selected by Judge Mablean to receive these inaugural awards. The Committee prepared for 250 attendees. Over 400 individuals came. Some even had to be turned away. Due to the overwhelming support for the event, she then decided to make the H.U.F. Awards and Brunch an annual affair.

Judge Mablean used her own funds for the inaugural H.U.F. Awards and Brunch. However, desiring to expand, she decided to apply for non-profit status in order to seek corporate sponsorship and the financial support of other business leaders who shared her concern for better communities. The Foundation applied for its non-profit status in February, 2004 and was granted the same on May 17, 2004.

Given the enthusiasm of the fathers who received the first awards and their families, Judge Mablean decided to open the nominations to the public to allow mothers, wives, children, co-workers, relatives and friends to nominate a father in their lives who deserved to be honored. In 2004, over 75 applications were received. Nominations are now accepted each year in five standing categories: Solo Warrior (single father), Love Cares (married father), Fatherhood Forever (divorced father), Village Dad (non-biological father) and Living Legacy (the elderly role-model father).