Sade Anderson-Brown, Ph.D. is a mother, birth worker, scholar, organizer, and racial equity consultant. Sade has been a part of social and racial justice movements including prison abolition, birth justice, as well as food justice and food sovereignty over the last 15 years. Dr. Anderson-Brown has a Bachelor's degree in History with a concentration in Pan African Studies from the Historically Black College, Bowie State University, a Master's Degree in Africana Studies from Cornell University, and a Doctoral Degree in Anthropology with a focus on African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.  Sade's PhD dissertation on food apartheid experienced by Black residents in Wards 7&8 allowed her to combine her belief in the power of African Diasporic foodways with her understanding of our racialized food system and its effects on Black communities' well-being. Sade is part of the COEP Action Team, a group of 12 food system disrupters who launched the Blueprint for Community Ownership, Empowerment & Prosperity  guidelines for food justice and sovereignty in the Chesapeake Region.  As a member of Black Dirt Farm Collective, Sade helps to promote Afro-ecology, a methodology that assists in reconnecting Black communities to land, food, and healing. As a racial equity consultant Dr. Anderson-Brown supports organizations on their journey to naming and dismantling the many forms of oppression that exist under the system of white supremacy within ourselves, our communities, institutions, and society.  

Battalion Chief Tiffanye Wesley, is a long-time firefighter and the first female African American Deputy Fire Chief in the Arlington County Fire Department’s 71-year history, as well as the first in Northern Virginia . she has served in numerous positions within the department. The most notable positions were a Nationally Certified Bomb Technician and Bomb Commander, Station Commander for the largest and busiest firehouse in Arlington, and Acting Fire/EMS Battalion Chief from December 2016-June 2017.

Pastor Chenda Innis Lee is Associate Pastor at Fairlington United Methodist Church.  A gifted preacher and teacher, she has served as an associate and senior pastor of churches in the Northern Virginia region of the Virginia Annual Conference. Her ministry is deeply influenced by Jesus’ message of inclusion for those on the margins of society and a desire for all God’s people to live fully and freely in the abundance of God’s grace. A native of Liberia, West Africa, she came to the United States when she was sixteen after surviving Liberia’s civil war.  She and her husband, Asa, met during their time at Wesley Theological Seminary. Their lives revolve around four spirited daughters and ministry with God’s people.

Reverend Vahisha Hasan is a faith-rooted organizer moving at the intersections of faith, social justice, and mental health. She is the Executive Director of Movement in Faith, a project of Transform Network. She is a powerful public speaker, transformative facilitator, social justice trainer, minister, and writer with a deeply prophetic voice and imagination for how faith communities can be an active part of healing and collective liberation. She is the Director of the SEAL Initiatives at American Baptist College in Nashville TN (Social Justice, Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership). Vahisha is also a core team member of TRACC4Movements (Trauma Response and Crisis Care), providing supportive tools for wellness for those who labor in freedom and liberation. 

The Reverend Violet L. D. Lee, Ph.D. is Executive Program Minister of Christ Church, United Methodist, New York City.  She also serves as Academic Advisor to M.Div./MS(S)W students enrolled in Columbia University and Hunter College’s Social Work Programs and is a regular Adjunct Professor/Visiting Lecturer for Union Theological Seminary. Having served in both the public and private sector, Dr. Lee has also served as a Pastoral/Church Consultant and was recently elected to the Board of Directors for New York State Council of Churches and the Methodist Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation.   

The Reverend Canon Terence Alexander Lee is the Rector of the historic St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem, NY. He has also served as Rector of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Hollis, NY, in the Diocese of Long Island and as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Springfield Gardens, N.Y, as well as Canon Pastor of The Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Bennettsville, South Carolina.  Father Lee’s love and passion for serving God’s people holistically has led him to participate in safe church, sexual ethics, and anti-racism training. 

Cicely Whitfield is Chief Program Officer of Bridges to Independence, which provides housing and other services to homeless women and families and those at risk.  She previously served as the Executive Director of the Bonder & Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation.  A native Arlingtonian, she a has a passion for serving the Arlington community as an advocate for the underserved, promoting equality and equity and fighting for justice for those who have been dismissed and/or disenfranchised. 

Reverend Terrance M. McKinley

Director of Racial Justice & Mobilizing at Sojourners

Reverend Aundreia Alexander, Esq.

Associate General Secretary, Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace

National Council of Churches

Christian S. Watkins

Justice Advocacy and Outreach Manager

National Council of Churches

MODERATOR:

Dr. Lorena M. Parrish, Ph.D.

Director, Community Engagement Institute &

Center for Public Theology at Wesley Seminary