Meet Our Staff and Board.
Pastors for NC Children maintains an Advisory Committee who serve to ensure we are listening to and representing stakeholders from across NC. Check back soon to see more Advisors who will be named soon. If you are interested in serving as an Advisor for Pastors for NC Children, or would like to have Pastors for NC Children speak for your Community Group or Congregation, contact us by emailing PastorsForNCchildren@gmail.com.
The Rev. Paul Robeson Ford
Advisor
Rev. Ford served as Senior Minister at First Baptist Church Highland Ave in Winston-Salem, NC. He holds standing as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Rev. Ford is a Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theology at the University of Chicago, where his research interests focus on developing a theology of liberation for the situation of mass incarceration in the United States. Rev. Ford serves as Treasurer for Action for Equity in Winston-Salem, a grassroots organization working for equity in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
The Rev. Carla Gregg-Kearns
Advisor
Carla is pastor at Good Shepherd UCC in Cary, NC. She currently serves on the National Board of the United Church of Christ and is the co-founder of the North Carolina Women’s Preaching Festival. She has served as President of the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ. A native of Charlotte, Carla currently lives in Apex with her spouse and daughter where she is active in her local PTA.
Turquoise LeJeune Parker
Advisor
Turquoise LeJeune Parker was a key organizer both in NCAE’s Organize 2020 caucus—the strategic force behind the mobilization–and in Durham County—the first local to organize and inspire other locals to join the mobilization. Turquoise is an incredibly proud graduate of the very prestigious North Carolina Central University, the Vice President of the Durham Association of Educators, the NEA Director for the North Carolina Association of Educators and Media Coordinator and Racial and Social Justice teacher of Mrs. Parker’s Professors at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham, North Carolina. Of all these, her favorite is being the wife of Donald Parker III, an equally proud NCCU Alum.
Tamika Walker Kelly
Advisor
Tamika serves as President of the North Carolina Association of Educators. Prior to her election, she was an Elementary Music Education Specialist in Fayetteville. She previously served on the State Board of Directors for Region 6 of the North Carolina Association of Educators and served as Vice-President of the Cumberland County Association of Educators. She was named Westover District Teacher of the Year in 2015. Tamika is a member at St. Ann Catholic Church, and lives in Raleigh with her spouse and son.