Rev. Vanessa M. Wilson, JD, MBA, STM

Rev. Vanessa M. Wilson speaking at the launch of the Religion and Global Health Forum - Drew University Theological School

Rev. Vanessa M. Wilson speaking at the  Global Health Catalyst Summit at Harvard Medical School. (2019) 

Vanessa M. Wilson
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Founder & President 

Pastor.
Author.
Scholar. 
Activist.
Strategist. 
Storyteller.
Conversationalist.

Vanessa M. Wilson is the Lead Pastor of The Church of the Good Shepherd in Willingboro, NJ. Ordained in the Interdenominational Church in 2004, she served on the ministerial team of Higher Ground Interdenominational Church until 2010, she then returned to the United Methodist Church (UMC). She has served as a senior pastor in the UMC since 2013, serving in both a cross-racial cross-cultural  and historically African American appointments.
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Serving with the General Board of Church and Society, Rev. Wilson was one of 35 United Methodists who led the United Methodist National Mobilization to end mass incarceration and has continued to work in that area through advocacy, education, and training.

She also served with the Healthy Families, Healthy Planet initiative, funded by a grant from the United Nations Foundation, to educate and mobilize United Methodists in the U.S. on the importance of global maternal health.  Most recently, she served the Greater New Jersey Conference of the UMC  as the Chairperson of the Commission on Religion and Race, where she convened the Conversation About Race starting in 2014 as means of healing, learning and engaging in cross racial, cross-cultural dialogue.  She has worked diligently as an activist for anti-racism and the 2020 Greater NJ Annual Conference she presented a Black Lives Matter resolution which was approved by the Annual Conference. She also served as Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for GNJ Annual Conference. ​ 

Rev. Wilson  has led Mission U study groups for the Greater NJ United Methodist Women; she also wrote the Leader Guide for Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools  for the United Methodist Women 2020 Mission U.   She is also engaged in education, legislative advocacy and public testimony for criminal justice reform, economic justice, racial justice and global health for women and girls. She is an advocate for integrative health and Breast Cancer awareness, prevention, and survivorship. In May 2019 she presented a paper,  “Africana Health Awareness and Action: Global Health through the Integration of Culturally Relevant Religion,  Spirituality and Medicine” at the Global Health Catalyst Summit, Harvard Medical School. While a student at Drew Theological Seminary in the Master of Sacred Theology program, she was a research associate for the Religion and Global Health Forum at Drew University Theological School.

Rev. Wilson is the Founder and President of Sikhona, Inc a nonprofit organization working for elimination of health care disparities and the integrative health care solutions.  A second career pastor, she was an executive in higher education and non-profit organizations. She has extensive experience in strategic management and planning,  training and development,  non-profit formation and management, human resources management and diversity and inclusion training. She is a facilitator, mentor and coach and leads difficult conversations.  
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Rev. Wilson  holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning and Community Development from Rutgers University, a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers Law School, a Masters of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School, a Master of Divinity with a focus on Hebrew Bible and Africana Spirituality and a Master of Sacred Theology with a concentration in Hebrew Bible, Global Health and Integrative Care from Drew University School of Theology.  She is currently pursuing a Doctors degree in Medical Humanities from the Caspersen School at Drew. Her other interests include Transgenerational Trauma, and the intersection of Race, Religion, Law and Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys entertaining,  creating tablescapes, quilting, dancing, traveling, and  laughing with friends and family. She is blessed to be the parent of two wonderful adult sons.

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