William Allen, MDiv

William Allen III is a young man full of fire and a burning passion to
spread the love of God through community development and
leadership training. He acknowledged at an early age that God had a
special plan for his life; and unlike many others he did not run or hide…
but rather, he embraced his call wholeheartedly. Born the only male child to William Jr. and Charletter Allen, William developed a love for the church, and his community.

Although he is a young man, Mr. Allen is well respected among members of the community and clergy and is recognized as a young man who is full of wisdom. His passion and vision are to empower this generation to live in abundance, and to walk in the plan of God for their lives.

In 2012, Mr. Allen earned a Bachelor of Science in Management from Delaware State University. In 2014, while diligently serving in many capacities, William began the journey of matriculation at the Howard University School of Divinity in their Master of Divinity program. In 2017, Mr. Allen earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree.

Presently, Mr. Allen serves as the Senior Pastor of City of Our God, Inc., Covenant Church, as the President of Positive Outlook Guidance Services, Inc., and Chief Executive Officer of Allen Management Services.

DuEwa Batson

DuEwa Bailey is a Fiscal Accounts Technician who specializes in performing financial reconciliations of child support accounts, certifying and maintaining the accuracy of account balances.  With many years of financial analysis experience, Mrs. Bailey previously worked as a Revenue Examiner for the Comptroller of Maryland, specializing in personal and business tax assessments, collections, investigations and examinations independently and with her team.

DuEwa is currently matriculating at Salisbury University, earning a degree in Finance. Mrs. Bailey is a Board Member and the standing Resident Agent for Hurlock Multicultural Enrichment Center, a nonprofit organization founded by her family.

While wearing many hats, the most important to DuEwa is that of a wife and mother of her beautiful 4 year old son, Noah. Her work is focusing on holistic financial literacy for those who are underprivileged.

Dr. Robert Bannister

Robert Bannister is a music teacher with DC Public Schools instructing students primarily in instrumental music, including string orchestra, keyboards, and pitched percussion.  Robert believes that the education and development of students prepares them to be productive citizens and provides them with the means to lead a quality life. Robert has been a teacher for 18 years in Baltimore City Public Schools, The American International School in Cairo, Egypt, and DC Public Schools.

In addition to his position as teacher, Robert has spearheaded school enrichment and intervention initiatives, developed school-based parent and community involvement plans, chaired school improvement teams, served on instructional leadership teams, and co-wrote the submission for the state and national Blue Ribbon Award for his school, which was awarded in both instances.

Robert studied music history, with a violin minor, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University. Robert also holds a Master of Arts in teaching from Morgan State University and a Doctor of Education Administration and Policy from The George Washington University. He has conducted extensive research around high school dropout, student engagement, and grade configurations. Robert has also served as Scholarship Chairman, Guide Right Chairman, and Kappa League advisor for the Silver Spring MD Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

Dr. Jemine Wayman, DPN

Dr. Jemine Wayman is a Certified Nurse Midwife.  She has been a nurse for over 20 years and a nurse midwife for over 14 years. She presently delivers babies at Yale New Haven Hospital and works for Connecticut Coastal OBGYN where she has worked for three years.  She is also involved in home health care where she provides nursing assessments and maternal support to families who have newborns that are discharged home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  In addition, she teaches virtual birthing classes for Yale New Haven Health. She also is involved with training midwifery, nurse practitioner students, and residents.  Presently she has answered the call to be involved with Yale New Havens Crush Covid pandemic response, where she prepares the vaccine and /or administers the vaccine.

Dr. Wayman’s educational achievements include Bachelor of Science in Public health, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master’s Degree in Nursing: as a clinical nurse specialist, Certificate in Legal Nurse Consulting, certified as a Certified Nurse Midwife, and Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Dr. Wayman has been married for 16 years, she has 3 children ages 13, 14, 34.  She states they are the love of her life.  She presently resides in Bridgeport, Connecticut where she enjoys family time, volunteering and mentoring the youth in the community.  She is a Minister and leads the Outreach Ministry at her church.  This involves feeding the less fortunate, establishing food and coat drives and providing prayer for those in need.

Anthony Johnson, Jr., MCE

Mr. Anthony Johnson is a native of Seaford, Delaware. There, he attended and graduated the public-school system. Upon graduation, he pursued higher education at the University of Delaware.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services, Education and Public Policy, minored in History and specialized in Community Services. He then pursued his Master’s Degree in Christian Education from Faith Christian University and Schools.

Anthony and his wife, Shawanda, were married in 2005. Both hailing from Delaware, decided to make their permanent residence in Prince George’s County, Maryland. They have two children, Shanae, 11 and Anthony “Tre,” 5. As a family, they enjoy playing games, watching movies and going to restaurants.

Alongside his many roles, Pastor Johnson is also an entrepreneur, having founded “Ministry for You,” which specializes in providing wedding officiant services, couples counseling, and provides musicians for nearly any event. Anthony extends ministry beyond the walls of the church and into his career. He is an experienced teacher spending over 18 years in the classroom. Presently, Mr. Johnson is a Music Educator and is the grade level chair for his team. Among many of his proud associations, Mr. Johnson is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity Incorporated.

Dr. Sylvia Long, PhD

Dr. Sylvia Long is a Washington, D.C. native who was reared in the Prince George’s County Public School System and graduated from the Science and Technology Program of Charles Herbert Flowers High School (’08). She began her federal career in 2010 as a Pathways Intern for the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and later moved to the Department of Health and Human Services to complete her internship at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Long joined CMS full-time in 2015 as a Management Analyst, leading projects as a health communications subject matter expert and project manager.

In 2019, Dr. Long transitioned to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center where she currently works as the Communications Director in the Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education and collaborates on social science research with the National Cancer Institute. She is also a faculty member at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) at the NIH where she teaches Communication in Biomedical Science, Leading with Emotional Intelligence, and Empathetic Communication in Clinical Care.

Civically, Dr. Long serves as the Program Director of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) division of The A.C.T.S. Movement, Inc., a fully accredited 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to ending hunger in New Hanover County, North Carolina. The A.C.T.S Movement was founded by her husband, Mr. Reddgo Long, Jr.

Dr. Long holds a Bachelor of Science in Management (’12) and a Master of Arts in Organizational Communications (’16) from Bowie State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Studies (’21) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill – Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research interests include patient-provider communication, associations between media perceptions and health care outcomes, and the intersection between empathy and epidemiology.

Dr. LaTonya Pierce, ED.D

Dr. LaTonya R. Pierce is a native Delawarean and educator with over 18 years of combined service, as a teacher and high school Associate Principal.  As an Educational Leader, Dr. Pierce focuses on educator burnout prevention and wellness, along with building leadership capacity. As a result of her desire to help educators flourish, in April 2020 she launched her second book titled, Keeping Your Spark Alive, which is an interactive guide that contains biblical principles and practical activities to prevent burnout.  Dr. Pierce’s most recent manuscript titled, From EBT to ED.D, takes you on her journey of a single woman on welfare to earning her Doctor of Education Degree.  In 2015, Dr. Pierce also authored Elevate Your Faith, a 31-day devotional.

In 2017, she founded Tonya R. Pierce Enterprises, LLC.  Her company provides educational consultations, training, and workshops to churches, educators, and various organizations. Determined to provide inspiration, education and networking opportunities, Dr. Pierce established Educators of Faith (EOF) in January 2018.  EOF hosted its first annual luncheon on May 4, 2019, which brought novice, experienced and retired educators together for a day of worship, empowerment, and fellowship.  Additionally, Dr. Pierce decided to take a leap of faith in November 2020 and began planning her online school for women, L.I.F.E. Institute LLC., which was officially established in December 2020.

She holds an Associates of Applied Science Degree in Human Services, a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science, and a Master of Education in Special Education.  On April 8, 2019, Dr. Pierce successfully defended her dissertation titled, “The Impact of Single Mothers on the Education of Their Highly Successful African-American Male Children,” and was conferred May 19, 2019.

Dr. Pierce has been married to Elder John R. Pierce, Jr. for 24 years.  They have two adult children Breahna and John and one grand dog named Mikey.