The Reverend Dr. Gina Marcia Stewart is a pastor, preacher, builder, mentor, adjunct professor, and daughter of Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee.  She has led the congregation of Christ Missionary Baptist Church since March 1995.  She is a native Memphian and “daughter” of Christ Missionary Baptist Church where she was baptized, and mentored for ministry by her predecessor and former pastor, the Rev. Eddie L. Currie. On March 4, 1995, she was elected by majority vote to serve as the pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church.

Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. is one of America’s most influential leaders. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, his Master of Divinity degree from Morehouse School of Religion/Interdenominational Theological Center and his Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary.

Reverend Dr. Renita J. Weems is a writer, a minister, a biblical scholar, public intellectual, and ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. Dr. Renita Weems earned a Ph.D. degree at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1989 making her the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in Old Testament Studies. She received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary, and her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. In addition to being a former professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School (1987-2004), Rev. Dr.

The Rev. Judy Fentress-Williams’ doctoral dissertation entitled, “What Has Happened to the Son of Kish? A Dialogic Reading of Saul in I Samuel” reflects her interest in a literary approach that celebrates the multiple voices and inter-textuality of scripture. With a passion for an equipped and informed laity, Dr. Fentress-Williams lives at the intersection of the church and the academy.

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where he still resides today. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Howard University, serving as Student Government President and graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and then graduated from the University Of Maryland School Of Law. Congressman Cummings has also received seven honorary doctoral degrees from Universities throughout the nation.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the General Secretary/President of the National Council of Churches representing 37 communions, 100,000 churches and 35.5million people. She is also the 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is the first female elected to episcopal office in the more than the two century-old AME Church and is the first female to serve as President of the Council of Bishops and President of the General Board.

Dr. Susie C. Owens is a native Texan and a product of the Boston Public School System. She is a graduate of Bethel Bible Institute, where she earned an Associate of Arts degree in New Testament Studies in 1970. Understanding her call to teach, she pursued the field of education, graduating from Brooks College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education. In May of 1999, she received a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Howard University School of Divinity.

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool is  is a former Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University’s Edmund A Walsh School for Foreign Service  where he worked in the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, advancing an alternative paradigm to the inertia of Orthodoxies in the face of Extremisms. 

Dr. John W. Kinney is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia and Virginia Union University of Theology in Richmond, Virginia, respectively. He was awarded the Ph.D. from Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary in New York.

Bishop Yvette A. Flunder founded the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in 1991 in order to unite a gospel ministry with a social ministry. City of Refuge is a thriving inner-city congregation that celebrates the radically inclusive love of Jesus Christ. Preaching a message of action, the church has experienced steady numerical and spiritual growth and is now located in the south of Market area of San Francisco at 1025 Howard Street.