Teacher, writer, coach, facilitator/trainer, and preacher with over 13 years of experience leading institutional change. Dedicated to racial and gender justice, trusting that even the smallest actions create big change.
the birth of courageous spaces
As a woman of color, I am all too familiar with the voices telling me to maintain the status quo and squander my gifts/talents. Many times I am left wondering, “Am I making a difference OR am I being appeased just enough to stay?”
Courageous Spaces is my response to a personal and professional desire for marginalized voices to find a place to transform the world. Sometimes transformation involves disrupting the institutional norms which manage the contributions of those in their midst. Other times, an exit strategy is necessary to find or create a more life-giving setting. Still other situations require self-preservation to uphold one’s own identity and value.
Radical transformation is possible when our voices are centered. No matter what the need (known or yet to be discovered), a courageous space within and outside of ourselves celebrates all that we are and all that we are created to be.
A bit about me…
I have dedicated my life and career to racial and gender justice. I am interested in the ways that the church and society can faithfully live out its call to be a body that celebrates all of its members. All of my work is infused and influenced by an antiracist approach. I have served at all levels of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), including serving as the Vice-Moderator to the 221st General Assembly, where I was able to challenge the current structures and assumptions of our life together. I am a regular speaker and preacher at conferences, retreats, meetings, and in congregations. I am a founding board member of the Collective Foundation, a non-profit seeking to highlight the fundraising practices of Christian Communities of Color..
I am an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I earned my undergraduate degree at Rutgers University and M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary. My ministry started with a pastoral residency program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. It was there I learned and practiced the importance of active listening and reflection during moments of trauma and transition. I then moved to Chicago to serve as an associate pastor overseeing a Friday evening program for at risk LGBTQIA+ youth as well as the young adult ministries of the church. I have since served congregations throughout New Jersey as well as in Queens, NY and Greenwich, CT. I have also served as the Director of Church Relations at Princeton Theological Seminary, Resource Presbyter for the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and the Transitional Presbytery Leader of the Presbytery of the Coastlands.
I am currently the Transitional Head of Operations for More Light Presbyterians and an Antiracism Coach with NEXT Church. I founded Courageous Spaces in 2021 after years of planting, cultivating, and awaiting the fruits of this passion to emerge.
Certifications and Training
Administrator, Intercultural Development Inventory, 2021
Executive Coaching, Holmes Coaching, 2020-2021 (ACC Credentialed through ICF)
Mediation Skills Training Institute, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, 2020
Foundations in Design Thinking, IDEO, 2018
Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising, Lake Institute, 2018
The Art of Asking, Institute for Charitable Giving, 2016
Media Training, Auburn Seminary, 2014
Interim Ministry Training I, 2014
CPE Residency, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 2007-2008
