Summary:
Dynamic executive leader experienced in nonprofit management, blending expertise in leadership, program management, and staff supervision. Proven track record in budget management, fostering strategic partnerships, and advancing mission-driven initiatives. Highly skilled in public speaking, community engagement, relationship building, and event planning, with a commitment to interfaith dialogue and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Adept at developing communication strategies to maximize resources, achieve organizational goals, and drive positive social change.
Click Here for Full Resume
Ministry Experience
I currently serve as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Martinsville, VA. Prior to my current position, I served as Pastoral Resident at River Road Church, Baptist in Richmond, Virginia. This position consisted of intensive, post-graduate pastoral training in a teaching congregation.
I have also served as Interim Minister of Christian Education & Spiritual Formation at River Road Church from September 2015 to December 2017, focused on planning & implementing the church’s ministries of education, spiritual formation, and leadership development.
I have also been ministering among various congregations through supply preaching, education, and missions since my ordination to the Gospel ministry in December 2010.
Other Work Experience
In the field of immigration law, I spent a decade as an Immigration Paralegal at a prestigious law firm, working directly for former Chief Counsel and Acting Director of USCIS (a shareholder at the firm). My work in immigration law makes me uniquely qualified to discuss matters of legal importance, especially in this field. My research and legal writing skills, along with years of professional administrative experience set me apart from other ministerial candidates with similar educational backgrounds.
Education
Completed a Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus in Justice & Peacemaking at McAfee School of Theology in December 2019, with a thesis entitled, “Learning to Dialogue and Discern: Conversations that Matter in the Local Church.”
Completed a Master of Arts degree at the University of Virginia in Theology, Ethics, & Culture in May 2015, with a thesis entitled, “Privilege, Risk, and Solidarity: How Christian Feminist Ethics Speaks to the Issue of Undocumented Immigration.”
Completed a Master of Divinity degree at McAfee School of Theology (Mercer University) in Atlanta, Georgia in December 2010, with a concentration in Academic Research. My M.Div. thesis explores how Baptists can best think about, teach about, and react publicly to the polarizing issue of undocumented immigration – using scriptural exegesis, church history, and legal research.
Completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. Graduated summa cum laude, with minors in Religion and English. Studied abroad in Seville, Spain with The Center for Cross-Cultural Study in January-Spring 2006. As a member of the Academy of Aristaeus honors program, I presented a senior thesis entitled, “Spanglish: Una Mezcla Positiva for the 21st Century?”
