EDUCATION05/2026 Ph.D. (expected) The University of North Carolina, Department of Religious Studies, Dissertation: Toward a More Secure South: Sarah Baker Leonard Tupper, African American Missionaries, and the Raleigh InstituteAdvisor: Dr. Yaakov S. Ariel05/2012 DMin. Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia Dissertation: A Model for Revitalizing and Restructuring Peter's Tabernacle Missionary Baptist ChurchAdvisor: Dr. Rodney W. DempseyCommittee Co-Chair: Dr. David A. Wheeler05/2008 Th.M. Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia Concentration in Theology and Ethics Thesis: The Problem of Evil as Expressed in Hip-Hop CultureAdvisor: Dr. Samuel K. RobertsReader: Dr. Katie G. Cannon05/2006 M.A.T Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California Concentration in Theology 05/2005 M.Div. Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia 05/2000 B.A. Saint Augustine's College, Raleigh, North CarolinaConcentration in Theater Arts and Film Production
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION2000-2002 The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2024-Present Teaching Fellow, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2013-2021 Adjunct Instructor, Religious Studies Program, North Carolina Wesleyan University, Rocky Mount, North Carolina Courses Taught:RELIGION 101: Introduction to ReligionRELIGION 342: Professional and Business Ethics
2014-2019 Instructor, Christian Education and Church History, Doctor of Ministry Advisor, Apex School of Theology, Durham, North Carolina Courses Taught: THEOLOGY 623: Denominational Polity and DoctrineCHRISTIAN EDUCATION 102: Theories of Learning CHURCH HISTORY 501: Introduction to Church History CHURCH HISTORY 502: Introduction to Church History
2006-2008 Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina Adjunct Instructor, Department of Religion and PhilosophyCourses Taught:ETHICS 100: Foundations of Philosophical EthicsETHICS 200: Ethical Concepts and IssuesETHICS 300: Professional EthicsPHILOSOPHY 340: Political and Social Philosophy in the Twentieth CenturyRELIGION 402: African Traditional Religions2012-2013 In-School Suspension Coordinator, Warsaw Middle School, Warsaw, North Carolina 2005-2006 NCLB/Common Core English Tutor, Brogden Middle School, Dudley, North Carolina
HONORS2021 Weiss Urban Livability Fellowship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2021 Southern Futures Fellowship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2006 Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Education Doctoral Fellowship2002 Kern Graduate Fellowship
PUBLICATIONSInstitutional 07/19 “From Adverse to Advantageous: How the Adult Studies Program Equips Learners to Thrive”, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Wilmington Business Journal Academic11/24 Best Graduate Student Paper, North Carolina Religious Studies Association Annual Conference 12/12 A Model for Revitalizing and Restructuring Peter's Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/624/
Popular Culture04/13 Anger Anthem: A Brief and Impractical Guide to Girls, Guns, God, Grace and Other Guttural Matters (Bloomington: Xlibris, 2013).
Articles Under Review “Dispersed from Illinois, Delivered in Israel: Examining the Successful Expatriation (or, Repatriation) of the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem.”, Journal of Israel Studies
“Mecca is Within: Religio-spatiality as a Pretext for Black Muslimness in America.”,Journal of Black Studies
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIESPhi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.Society of Biblical LiteratureAmerican Academy of ReligionB'nai B'rith InternationalVice Chairman, Goldsboro-Wayne County Transportation Authority (2014-2016