Rev. Samuel R. Offer
Rev. Sam Offer serves as Vice President and senior consultant with the Washington Consulting Group, a Multicultural Organizational Development Firm located in Baltimore, MD. Sam has served as an educator and administrator for over 30 years.
A native Marylander, Sam holds a BS in Early Childhood Development. Other studies include Sexuality, Religious and Spiritual Pluralism, Religious Issues within the LGBTQ community (particularly through a Christian lens), and Social Justice Education. Sam is an alumnus of Landmark Education and the Social Justice Training Institute where h
e serves as lead faculty for the Student Experience and is a lead facilitator for LeaderShape, Inc.
He has spent many years working with the development of youth and young adults in education and within the community. Rev. Offer is a member of Maryland Black Family Alliance and is an advisor to Marylanders of Faith, organizations advocating for equity of all people. Rev. Offer served as co-chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force premier conference, Creating Change 2012. Sam served as chair of the African American People of Faith Caucus for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. His leadership and efforts helped to uphold the Civil Marriage Protection Act during a referendum in 2012. He has been named as on of the most influential leaders in LGBTQ community in Baltimore, MD. He travels the world advocating social justice and equity for all humanity. He is known for his witty personality, style and love for the work he does.
His work includes developing curriculum and workshops for colleges, universities, government agencies and non-profit businesses; developing and implementing strategies for local religious and community organizations to engage effectively social justice issues in order to build more inclusive communities; developing and implementing curriculum for engaging sexuality, spirituality and religion in the workplace; intersectionality work, facilitating group sessions and trainings on topics including leadership, organizational change development, spirituality, diversity, inclusivity, leadership and social justice. His work is included at major conferences such as: American College Personnel Assoc. (ACPA), National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), The White Privilege Conference (WPC), National Association of Student Affairs Administrators (NASPA), The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), and other national/regional conferences.
Rev. Offer has served in music ministry for more than 40 years and currently serves as Minister of Community Relations and Outreach for Unity Fellowship Church, Baltimore, and is an ordained reverend in the Unity Fellowship Church Movement.
Sam is a sought after national speaker, consultant, facilitator and trainer on Diversity and Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Religion, Leadership, and Community Development. He has a way of engaging participants that will foster effective change in both their personal and professional lives.
Visit www.washingtonconsultinggroup.net to learn more about the Sam Offer, Washington Consulting Group.
www.sjti.org Social Justice Training Institute
www.leadershape.org The Institute of LeaderShape, INC
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington is the President and Founder of the Washington Consulting Group, a multicultural
organizational development firm near Baltimore, MD. He is also the President and Co-Founder of the Social Justice Training Institute. Dr. Washington has served as an educator and administrator in higher education for over 33 years. A native Philadelphian, Dr. Washington earned his B.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Music from Slippery Rock State College, and a double Masters’ of Science degree from Indiana University/Bloomington in Higher Education Administration and Counseling, with a concentration in Human Sexuality. He holds a Ph.D. in College Student Development, with a concentration in Multicultural Education from the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. Washington completed his Master of Divinity program at Howard University School of Divinity with a concentration on Pastoral Care and Christian Social Ethics in May 2004.
Dr. Washington has served on the Vanderbilt School of Divinity Advisory Board for the “Justice through Engagement Project,” a three-year program funded by the ARCUS Foundation aimed at learning how to better prepare ministers to lead organizations and faith communities toward more affirmative stances on LGBTQI justice issues. He has also been a Visiting Professor for a Summer Institute on Creating Welcoming Churches for LGBT Persons at Lancaster Theological Seminary; Chair of the Board of Many Voices (a Black Christian Movement in support of LGBTQA communities); faculty at Camp Pride; and Board member of Campus Pride.
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington has been in “the church” all of his life. He started in the United Methodist Church and has served in the Baptist Church, Church of God In Christ (COGIC), AME, Apostolic, Fire Baptized Holiness and Non-Denominational Churches for over 50 years. He has given more than 45 years of service in Music Ministry. He currently serves as the Co-Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore with Bishop Harris Thomas.
If I can help somebody as I pass along
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song
If I can show somebody that he/she travels wrong
Then my living shall NOT be in Vain.
Rev. Traci Blackmon
The Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Acting Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO.
Initially ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Blackmon served in various ministry capacities for nine years prior to becoming ordained in the United Church of Christ and installed as the first woman and 18th pastor in the 159-year history of Christ The King United Church of Christ. A registered nurse with more than 25 years of healthcare experience, Rev. Blackmon’s clinical focus was cardiac care. In later years, her focus shifted to mobile healthcare in underserved communities, with the greatest health disparities being in her region. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Birmingham – Southern College (1985), and a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary (2009).
As pastor, Rev. Blackmon leads Christ The King in an expanded understanding of church as a sacred launching pad of community engagement and change. This ethos has led to a tripling of both membership and worship attendance over the last seven years, expanding membership engagement opportunities, and the establishment of community outreach programs. Community programming includes a computer lab, tutoring, continuing education classes, summer programming, a robotics team, children’s library, and girls’ mentoring program. All housed in the church.
Regionally, Rev. Blackmon’s signature initiatives have included Healthy Mind, Body, and Spirit, a mobile faith-based outreach program she designed to impact health outcomes in impoverished areas. Sacred Conversations on Solomon’s Porch, quarterly clergy in-services designed to equip local clergy to assess physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health concerns w
ithin congregational life. Sista SOS Summit, an intergenerational health symposium for women and girls. In addition to, Souls to the Polls STL, an ecumenical, multi-faith collaborative that was successful in providing over 2,800 additional rides to the polls during local and national elections.
A featured voice with many regional, national, and international media outlets and a frequent contributor to print publications, Rev. Blackmon’s communal leadership and work in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, Jr., in Ferguson, MO, has gained her both national and international recognition and audiences from the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack H. Obama.
Rev. Blackmon toured the nation with Rev. Dr. William Barber of Moral Mondays and Repairer of the Breech, Rev. Dr. James Forbes of The Drum Major Institute and Pastor Emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York, and Sister Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus, proclaiming the need for a Moral Revival in this nation.
Rev. Blackmon is a graduate of Leadership St. Louis and currently serves on the boards of The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Chicago Theological Seminary, and WomanPreach! This year, Rev. Blackmon co-authored the newly released White Privilege curriculum through the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Blackmon currently resides in both St. Louis, MO and Cleveland, OH and was recently named as one of St. Louis’ 100 most influential voices. Rev. Blackmon is the proud mother of three adult children: Kortni Devon; Harold, II; and Tyler Wayne Blackmon.
Evangeline Weiss
ReA queer, white, anti-racist social change agent with a twinkle in her eye, Evangeline has over 18 years of community building and organizational development experience working with clients who want to create systems that are healthier and more just. Evangeline facilitates change processes, workshops and ret
reats to sustain leaders on a path towards intentionality, purpose, and impact. After earning a Masters’ degree in educational policy studies, Evangeline has facilitated transformation in public health settings, social justice coalitions and non-profits, as well as schools and institutions of higher education. Evangeline turned her television off in 1984 and occupies her time cooking, walking, making art. She currently calls Greensboro, NC home with her beloved soulmate, 9 year old son, and their adorable dog, Sherlock.
Rev. Brendan Boone
The Rev. Brendan Y. Boone, a native of Southeast Virginia, was raised as a Baptist in the African-American tradition and was nurtured in a church environment which valued and emphasized the importance of living in community with all people, from all experiences of life. Having these principles instilled in him from childhood has fueled his passion for tearing down the walls of the institutional church and building up communities of faith desiring to embody the message and ministry of The Christ.
He completed his undergraduate studies in History/Social Science Education and received his Bachelor of Science Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Hampton Institute (VA.). Formerly employed as a Teacher and Student Activities Coordinator with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, he relocated to Northern Virginia in 1993 to begin his seminary training for professional ministry. In 1996, he received his Master of Divinity Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Boone has been involved in Metropolitan Community Churches for over thirty (30) years, serving in several leadership capacities on the local, district/regional/cluster/network and denominational levels through the years. He has served MCC’s in Virginia, The District of Columbia (Assistant Pastor for Education and Training at MCC-DC) and North Carolina where he was blessed for 14 years to serve as the Senior Pastor of St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, N.C. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities in Raleigh, Rev. Boone also served on the Boards of The Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolinas and the Triangle Interfaith Alliance, and, until 2016, served as the Network Team Leader for MCC churches in North Carolina, South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
A former member of the MCC Moderator’s Theologies Team, he currently serves as a member of the People of African Descent (PAD) Working Group, a member of the 2019 General Conference and 50th Anniversary Celebration in Orlando, FL, Co-Lead of the General Conference Security Team and Lead for the PAD Security Team. He and his wife, Sandra, now reside in Daytona Beach, Florida with their four-legged canine child, Molly.
The Reverend Da Vita D. McCallister
Rev. Da Vita “Day” McCallister is a partner, mother, ordained minister, entrepreneur, philanthropist, writer and advocate for marginalized communities. She currently serves as the Associate Conference Minister for Leadership and Vitality in the CT Conference of the United Church of Christ. Her work includes leading the Racial Justice Ministry and the Clergy and Lay Excellence groups for the Conference. She has served in the national setting of the United Church of Christ, with the Fund for Theological Education and in parish ministry. Rev. McCallister takes great pride in her Spiritual heritage as the great granddaughter of the late Rev. Jesse Baldwin, a pastor in rural Florida for over 65 years.