Inaugural cohort to spend the summer learning and applying nonprofit best practices at faith-based organizations in the Washington, DC region
CONTACT:
Meg Biallas Henry, Director of Communications
202.491.8025
meg.henry@cpjustice.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2018) – This week, the Center for Public Justice welcomed a group of twelve seminarians as part of the Sacred Sector Fellowship initiative. The program kicked off with a five-day intensive training in Washington, DC. From there, the seminarians will work as consultants for several faith-based organizations located in the Washington, DC region.
Sacred Sector Fellowship is an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, a Christian civic education and public policy organization. The week of training included seminars led by Sacred Sector Director Chelsea Langston Bombino and Coordinator Virginia Creasy, along with a number of guest speakers including the Center for Public Justice CEO Stephanie Summers, World Vision’s Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Steve McFarland, Standards for Excellence Director Amy Coates Madsen, and Director of the Christian Life Commission Gus Reyes.
“We are incredibly impressed with this year’s cohort. These students represent a range of seminaries, and also come to us with a variety of professional interests and experiences,” said Chelsea Langston Bombino, Director of the Sacred Sector. “After a week in the classroom with them, I am hopeful about the energy they will be bringing to their job placements.”
Sacred Sector Fellowship equips current or recently-graduated seminarians with the skills and experience to lead within the faith-based nonprofit sector. The program provides emerging leaders with a holistic framework to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of non-profit governance. Fellows receive training in public policy, organizational best practices, and strategic positioning.
This summer, fellows will spend eight weeks working with a faith-based non-profit in the D.C. area, where they will apply what they have learned in training. As strategic consultants, fellows will target areas for growth and seek to equip faith-based organizations to embody their sacred mission in every area of their organizational life.
A unique part of the Fellowship includes special resources from Standards for Excellence®, a national initiative that promotes ethical practices and accountability in the non-profit sector. The Center for Public Justice, through Sacred Sector, is a replication partner of the Standards for Excellence® program. The Standards for Excellence code covers the following areas of nonprofit operations: Mission, Strategy and Evaluation, Leadership Board, Staff and Volunteers, Legal Compliance and Ethics, Finance and Operations, Resource Development, and Public Awareness, Engagement and Advocacy.
Sacred Sector Fellowship welcomes the following students as members of the inaugural cohort:
Eyasu Gebrehiwot, Calvin Theological Seminary
David Tassell, Calvin Theological Seminary
Hunter Ross, Duke Divinity School
Dominique Robinson-Coleman, Fuller Theological Seminary
Yosam Manafa, Fuller Theological Seminary
Patrick Wallace, Fuller Theological Seminary
Denise Strothers, Howard University School of Divinity
Ryan Slaughter, Princeton Theological Seminary
Romee St. John, Princeton Theological Seminary
Kerwin Webb, Princeton Theological Seminary
James Harris, Reformed Theological Seminary
Teaira Parker, Wesley Theological Seminary
CPJ launched the Sacred Sector initiative in February 2018, thanks to a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. Along with the fellows program, Sacred Sector also runs a six-month learning community for faith-based nonprofits.
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Sacred Sector, an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, is a learning community for faith-based organizations and emerging leaders within the faith-based nonprofit sector that seek to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life.
The Center for Public Justice is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Working outside the familiar categories of right and left, conservative and liberal, we seek to help citizens and public officeholders respond to God's call to do justice.