FOUNDER & CEO
Darcy Olsen founded the Center for the Rights of Abused Children with a foster baby in her arms and a mission to help children grow up safe and loved.
The seeds of the Center were planted when a social worker told Olsen that city shelters were overflowing with newborns due to the opioid epidemic. It was a call to arms she couldn’t ignore. In just a few years, Olsen took in ten boys and girls… and witnessed firsthand the system’s repeated failures, including sibling separations, prolonged cycles of entry and re-entry, and premature deaths.
The Center’s unique pro bono Children’s Law Clinic provides legal help to children in desperate situations, often making the difference between finding a safe, loving home and being left in life-threatening danger. In addition to providing one-on-one legal aid, the Center is reshaping the future for abused children by securing critical rights and safeguards through reforms and strategic court rulings.
Signature reforms include guaranteeing abused children the right to an attorney in critical proceedings, requiring thorough and ongoing searches for relatives, and ensuring children keep their federal social security and survivor benefits rather than losing them to agencies. The Center has improved educational outcomes by reducing school moves, increasing access to special education, and expanding critical support through college. Additionally, the Center is reducing aging out by holding agencies accountable for finding families for children lingering in care. This work has transformed the life trajectories of countless children across the nation.
In 2024, the Center was honored with the esteemed Norman Borlaug Humanitarian Award, a testament to its far-reaching impact. Olsen’s leadership has earned widespread recognition, including the Adoption Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for helping waiting children find families and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Angel in Adoption Award. Back home, the Arizona Capitol Times has honored her multiple times, naming her Non-Profit Leader of the Year (2023), Public Policy Leader of the Year (2023), and Arizona's Best Non-Profit Leader in 2024.
Before founding the Center, Olsen directed the creation of Arizona’s empowerment scholarship accounts and wrote The Right to Try, spearheading the national movement to give terminally ill patients access to investigational medicines. For her leadership in these critical areas, Olsen received the honorable Bradley Prize.
Olsen graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and earned her master’s degree from New York University. She has testified and lectured on children’s interests at Harvard Law School, in state capitols, and before Congress. Widely published, Olsen has also appeared on numerous public affairs podcasts and shows.
When she’s not being CEO or mom to four, you’ll find Olsen enjoying Fry Bread, popping into hot yoga workshops, or binge-reading with an Americano. Olsen and her four children, all adopted from foster care, have a rescue dog, a rescue cat, and a PetSmart hamster who often needs rescue from all of them.
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