Jackson Carroll is author of God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations (Eerdmans, 2006) and professor emeritus at Duke Divinity School.

Ann M. Svennungsen is president of the Fund for Theological Education, an Atlanta-based ecumenical organization that gives fellowships and support to young women and men exploring ministry, and Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. She was elected Bishop by the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly in 2012.

The Rev. Nathan Kirkpatrick directs Pulpit & Pew, an interdenominational research project that studies pastoral leadership issues.

Center for Black Women in Church and Society at the Interdenominational Theological Center seeks to enhance the participation and relationship with African American women in church and society.

Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana works to prepare lay men and women for more meaningful and effective ministry within the Black community and to inspire leadership among individuals of all ages.

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference works to “strengthen the capacity and network of the African American faith community and its leaders to address the needs of those it serves.”

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organization works to ensure political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

The King Center in Atlanta educates people about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., nonviolent conflict-reconciliation and social change.

Hampton University Ministers’ Conference in Hampton, Va. is the oldest nondenominational African-American ministers conference in the country. The organization works to address the concerns of the African American church and its relationships to the community.