Anthony James Miami University Roudi Roy and Tiffany L. Brown California State University Long Beach Donovan R. Roy Western Michigan University Sheldon Smith Loma Linda University Nancy Dayne California State University Long Beach Translating Discovery Science. Variation in Facilitator Characteristics in Ethno-Racial Minority Fatherhood Program Outcomes and Processes: A Translational Science Brief Report Objective: Investigation of whether the charac- teristics (i.e., gender especially) of fatherhood program facilitators infuence dynamics in group sessions and program outcomes. Background: Within the past decade, policy ini- tiatives have spurred an increase in fatherhood programs. As a result, empirically examining the factors that support effective programming is essential. Previous research highlights program facilitator characteristics as one of these factors but facilitator gender is one characteristic that needs more attention. Methods: This study used data from six focus groups conducted with 40 fathers and one-on-one interviews with fve fatherhood Department of Family Science and Social Work, Miami Uni- versity, 110B McGuffey Hall, 210 E. Spring Street, Oxford, OH 45056 (anthony.g.james@miamioh.edu). Key Words: facilitator characteristics, group process, man- hood, masculinity, support systems. program group facilitators in a western U.S. urban community. Results: Our fndings revealed that fathers care deeply about learning how to be better fathers and that having female facilitators lead pro- gram sessions can promote qualitatively differ- ent skills in fathers relative to male facilitators. Results also lend support to program structures where male and female facilitators colead group sessions together. Conclusions: The characteristics of the session facilitator can change both the dynamics of the conversations in the session and the nature of the skills that are produced among participating fathers. Implications: Fatherhood program adminis- trators may want to think critically not only about what content they want to deliver in their programs but also about the characteristics of the facilitator(s) delivering the content and how the latter can potentially infuence program outcomes. 956 Family Relations 69 (December 2020): 956–966 DOI:10.1111/fare.12512