Firstladydom in the Black Church

Shevalle Turner Kimber, a native of New Haven, CT, is a product of the New Haven public school system; after she graduated from high school, she attended the Amore Institute of Hair Design and has been a successful licensed cosmetologist for the past 25 years, and was forced into early retirement in 2009, after an injury to her right wrist.
Shevalle is a Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention Christian Leadership School graduate with a Biblical Studies diploma. She is a proud graduate of American Baptist College of Nashville, TN, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and received a BA in Bible and Theology. She was also inducted into the Delta Epsilon Chi, The Association for Biblical Higher Education Honor Society.
Shevalle graduated from Yale Divinity School with a Masters of Divinity, M.Div. Shevalle is forever mindful of 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV), "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Rev. Kimber answered her call to the ministry of preaching and teaching on April 25, 2016, preached her initial Sermon on July 3, 2017, entitled, Don't Be Scared, Let the Lord Use You, and she was ordained on July 1, 2018.
She is married to Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber, Senior Pastor of the First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, CT, where she has served side by side in leadership for the past 20 years. She is the very proud mother of Ronald, Shevalle, and Savion and is happy to be the grandmother of Sean, Tristan, and London.
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Fannie B. Stokes is the principal creative mind of the Get Fit with Fannie B. movement, an online platform focused on providing resources, encouragement, empowerment, and community. She hosts daily and weekly broadcasts through Facebook and YouTube.
Fannie began preaching in formal ministry in 2008 and received her ordination through the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She is a 2011 graduate from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she then served as a minister on staff at a local church and eventually pastored at Workman Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church. Fannie currently lives and serves in ministry in Cleveland, Ohio.
Through Stokes Literary Service, Fannie works as a freelance editor focusing on helping aspiring authors conceptualize and materialize their work. She also works as an academic consultant, assisting non-traditional students in navigating the changes and requirements in academic programs of higher learning.
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Minister Kristen Smith is a native of Hartford, Connecticut, where she was formally educated in the Hartford/Bloomfield school systems. Kristen has an extensive customer service background, which includes services provided through The Hartford Insurance Company, IKON Office Solutions, and Aetna Life Insurance. She maintains her impeccable record of service as she works in the healthcare industry.
Kristen is the wife of Pastor Robert L. Smith and the mother of four vibrant and intellectual children: Reyanda, Michael, Robert Jr., and Morgan Smith. Kristen finds great joy and privilege in being both a parent and a wife. For the last seventeen years, she served as the First Lady of Mt. Calvary Deliverance Tabernacle, where she continues steadfastly, by grace.
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Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Sapp Jones is a bi-vocational preacher employed with the company she founded, ETEP Consulting, where Exceptional Talent Empowers People. Her company provides business management solutions, staff training, and development, as well as coaching and counseling services for leaders, teams, couples, and individuals. An advocate by nature, she fused her keen business acumen with her love of people to create an organization that is dedicated to both. Dr. Jones is a powerful, dynamic, and sought-after preacher, businesswoman, teacher, counselor, and coach who is passionate about helping individuals and organizations reach their fullest potential. Her unique blend of business savvy and psychoanalytic theory makes her exceptionally gifted to make real transformation possible.
Dr. Jones' formal education includes a Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from Hebrew Union College, New York, a Master of Divinity from Howard University School of Divinity, District of Columbia, an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut, Connecticut and an undergraduate degree from American University, District of Columbia where she majored in international business and finance. In short, she has been educated, trained, and knows how to execute beyond the pulpit to ensure that God's work is not just a concept that is preached but rather one that is brought into fruition.
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Mrs. Ella M. Wade is a native of Daingerfield, Texas. She graduated with honors from J.J. Rhodes High School and attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, on a four-year flute scholarship and sang in the Colebridge Taylor Choral Society. After Mrs. Wade married Rev. James Commodore Wade, Jr in Van Alstyne, Texas, she worked as a substitute teacher and served at Samaria Baptist Church and Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. After relocating to East Chicago, Indiana, Mrs. Wade served forty-five years in the Music Ministry at Zion Missionary Baptist Church. She instructed and directed the numerous choirs, from children to seniors. She now serves as Executive Consultant for the Music Ministry.
Mrs. Wade completed her Bachelor of Theology in Religious Education at GMOR Theological Institute. She also received an Honorary Degree in Sacred and Gospel Music from Global Evangelical Christian College and Seminary and has traveled to Oxford for extensive biblical studies. Mrs. Wade was the president of The General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Indiana, Matron Auxiliary, and Musician. Director of the "Youth Explosion" under the presidency of Rev. Dr. James Commodore Wade, Jr. She is the author of Simple Steps To Reach Each Child Now. She co-authors a GRIEF workbook that gives practical instructions on overcoming grief. Mrs. Wade was the Executive Director of the Zion Baptist Church Educational School for seventeen years. She served as the director of the Zion Community Development Drug Awareness and Prevention Program and the executive director of the J.E. Wade Ministries, Inc. G.R.I.E.F. outreach ministry and co-hosts weekly broadcasts on YouTube and Facebook Live.
Mrs. Wade continues to reside in East Chicago, Indiana, with her husband of fifty-nine years.
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Lady Kyla Brantley has worked in administrative support for over fifteen years. She is the administrative specialist at Early College High School in the Charleston County School District. As an administrative specialist, Lady Brantley can fulfill her life's desire by helping others envision greater possibilities for themselves.
Developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything Lady Brantley does professionally and personally. Her intense desire to help others lead to her co-founding The Agape Kids Afterschool Program in North Plainfield, New Jersey, and serving as its program coordinator. She has also done extensive volunteer work with children, youth, and women. Lady Brantley has been a planner/facilitator at regional youth conferences and a speaker at women's conferences.
For fifteen years, Kyla Brantley has been married to the love of her life, the Rev. Calbert Brantley. Together they are the parents of Candace Renee.
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Reverend Tracye Colette Chisholm-Penn was born and raised in Harlem, New York, and resides in Hamden, Connecticut. She serves as Minister of Christian Education at the Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut.
Reverend Penn has been involved in ministry for over thirty-five years. She was licensed to preach in 1988 by the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ under the pastoral leadership of the late Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. She was the first woman to be ordained by the Macedonia Baptist Church in Ansonia, Connecticut, under the pastoral leadership of her husband, Reverend David Eugene Penn, Sr.
Reverend Penn earned her Bachelor of Arts from the City University of New York, where she majored in journalism and minored in African American studies. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, where she graduated with honors.
Reverend Penn is the director and COPP Dean of the Boise Kimber Christian Leadership School, an auxiliary of the Connecticut Missionary Baptist Convention Congress of Christian Education. She has been an instructor and a workshop facilitator for the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist, USA Inc. She has authored articles for the Board's Christian Education Magazine--The Informer.
Reverend Penn has been married for thirty-four years to Reverend David Eugene Penn Sr. They are the proud parents of five adult children and fourteen wonderful grandchildren.
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Rosalind Campbell is a representation of grace and power. She is a Florida native and a graduate of Jacksonville University. Whether in ministry or professional life, Rosalind leads loves, motivates, and empowers others.
Mrs. Campbell has a B.G.S. in computer information management and is pursuing an MBA in business administration with a concentration in financial technology. She has parlayed her educational acumen into a career that includes work in various roles such as data management consultant, information management contractor, and system analyst.
Mrs. Campbell's work in the Kingdom of God will have an eternal impact. Her ministry work has consisted of High School Sunday School teacher, young adult Sunday School teacher, women ministry, Vacation Bible School teacher, praise team member, and conference speaker. Mrs. Campbell is currently serving as Recording Secretary of Interdenominational Ministers Wives & Widows Wives of Jacksonville.
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Markesha Jartae was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She currently resides in Houston, Texas. She is the mother to one daughter. She is a middle school social studies teacher and licensed attorney. Markesha Jartae is a proud graduate of Tennessee State University and Western New England University School of Law. She is passionate about helping and motivating others to actively live their life on purpose through teaching and writing. She is an avid fan of learning and the Pittsburgh Steelers. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, bowling, wind therapy on her motorcycle, writing, the outdoors, watching football, and cooking shows.