Board of Directors
Pastor Carl McCluster
Reverend McCluster serves in his 30th year as the Senior Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is the Founder of Faith Community Development Corporation, the faith-based Community development Corporation chartered by Shiloh Baptist Church. Pastor McCluster served as the Chairperson of the South End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone in Bridgeport, working on Development, Planning and Education issues in the South End Neighborhood and city of Bridgeport. He is also blessed to serve as the Advisory Board Chair for Faith Acts, the Faith-Based Educational Advocacy Organization Headquartered in Bridgeport, CT. Reverend McCluster is a Lecturer on Financial Affairs and Consultant for Housing & Development with the Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention. Pastor McCluster has also served as the Economic Development Coordinator for the New England Missionary Baptist Convention (9 States throughout New England). He is a former Board Member of the Greater Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and Neighborhood Housing Services of Bridgeport, as well as the United Way of Greater New Haven and H.O.M.E. Inc., a non-profit community housing development agency in the same city. Committed to Sustainability, Reverend McCluster led Shiloh to become the first African- American Church in Connecticut to become Energy Self-Sufficient through Solar. Pastor McCluster serves as the Managing Director for F.R.E.E.D.O.M. (Faith Restoration Empowerment & Economic Development Outreach Ministries, Inc.) a National consulting firm initiated while at Shiloh, empowering faith-based Organizations, Community Economic Development Corporations and Communities with offices and/or projects and affiliates in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Connecticut, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Little Rock, New Orleans, Oakland, Orlando, Providence, San Antonio and Washington, D.C. F.R.E.E.D.O.M.’s client portfolio includes consulting for FDIC, HUD and The Federal Home Loan Bank as well as myriad national and regional financial institutions and serving as a Trainer for Neighbor Works America, the largest HUD national housing intermediary. Pastor McCluster’s private sector work experiences include Assistant Vice President for the former Manufacturers Hanover Investment Banking Division, Xerox Corporation and Proctor & Gamble Corporation. Reverend McCluster received the Meritorious Service Medal when he was honorable discharged from the United States Army. A former U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet, Reverend McCluster holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Economy from the Colorado College and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. He has also studied at the Yale School of Organization & Management in pursuit of a MPPM Degree.
Pastor Sheldon Williams
Rev. Dr. Sheldon E. Williams was born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, New York. He graduated from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx. After graduation, he attended C.W. Post College in Greenvale, New York, and received the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Academic Scholarship in 1974. In 1978, he graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Secondary Education. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Rev. Dr. Williams was brought up in the Co-op City Baptist Church. He attended Sunday School and was baptized in the Church. As he grew more mature in the Lord, he taught Sunday School and became a walking deacon. Rev. Dr. Williams was licensed to preach the gospel in October 1984. He received his Masters of Divinity from the New York Theological Seminary in May 1988, and became an ordained Baptist Minister in November 1988. He was the recipient of Who’s Who Outstanding Young Men of America in 1988. From June 1989 until June 1992, he was an Associate Minister at Community Baptist Church in Jessup, Maryland. While there, he worked with the prison ministry, headed Vacation Bible School and worked with the youth ministries. It was a period of growth and preparation as the Lord continued to prepare him for the pastoral ministry. On October 4, 1992, Rev. Dr. Williams became the Pastor of the Co-op City Baptist Church in the Bronx, New York. Under his leadership, the Church has grown spiritually, financially and in membership. His goal is to lead God’s people through the guidance of the Holy Spirit during the 21st century. The Church has purchased property and plans to build a new edifice in the near future. Dr. Williams has been blessed to minister in Africa and the West Indies. Rev. Dr. Williams received his Doctorate of Ministry from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio in May 1995. He was elected to the Executive Board of Directors of the NAACP Coop City Branch, on December 22, 1996. In January of 1998, Rev. Dr. Williams was elected to the Executive Board of the Coalition of African American Churches and Community Organizations of Co-op City. Dr. Williams has received various prestigious awards from organizations such as the NAACP, the Retirees of Co-op City, Town & Country Family Center, just to name a few. He has also received awards from political leaders Councilman Larry Seabrook and Congressman Joseph Crowley. Dr. Williams has been selected as a member of Who’s Who In Executives and Professionals for the year 2002-2003. In September of 2005, Dr. Williams started the Co-op City Intergenerational Outreach Center, Inc., where he serves as the Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Williams is the author of Principle Centered Living: 9 Reasons To Maintain Your Values In A Pressure Filled World. He is also the President and CEO of SEW Universal, LLC. Dr. Williams also co-hosted the radio show Principle Centered Living Radio on WMCA 570 in New York for several years. Dr. Williams serves as the Chairman of the Ministerial Alliance for the National Black Church Initiative and also serves as the President of the National Black Religious Broadcasters Online. Rev. Dr. Williams is married to the former Marilyn Cecelia Townes and they have one son, Sheldon Emery Williams, Jr. The family resides in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Pastor Terry Thomas
Pastor Terry Thomas was born in Chicago ,Il. On September 3rd, 1954. He attended Holy Name of Mary Elementary there where he was baptized and confirmed and served as an altar boy at the age of twelve. Terry moved with his family to Denver, Co, at fifteen and attended Manual High School, It was there that he met the love of his life Tommie Jean Hamilton. They married in 1973 and celebrated 50 years of Holy Matrimony on December 28th, 2023. Terry is a Viet Nam era veteran having served in the United States Navy and was Honorably Discharged in 1976. Terry’s Ministry began in Denver’s Children Hospital in 1988 while his 17 year old som=n was battling brain cancer. As they mourned over their own loss, The Lord was calling Them into Ministry. Their first assignment was ministering to other families facing similar circumstances, by leading them to Hope in JESUS. Terry and his wife were licensed and ordainedAt Now Faith Christian Center Church in Denver, Colorado. Terry found gainful employment with The IBM Corporation as a Field Engineer after his military career, but found it unfulfilling after the loss of his son. He then accepted a more fulfilling position with The Hope Center in Denver, Colorado. They were led to move to Colorado Springs In 1992 when he accepted employment with The Xerox Corporation basically for the money. They started a bible study in their home which led to them being faithful to his vocation and the planting of Lifting Up JESUS Church. Terry has served as the Senior Pastor there to this day. In February of 2015 he founded The Black Prayer Network. The Network is dedicated to intentional, focused Intercessory Prayer during Black History Month. Terry is truly a gifted preacher and teacher with a double portion of compassion, developed by his personal experience with grief and struggle. Terry earned a Master’s Degree General Christian Counseling conferred by James Dusault University. His life statement is “ To leave a Godly Seed in the earth”. The foundational scripture propelling and sustaining until this very day is Isaiah 6:8, “ Also I heard the voice of The Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here I am send me”.
David Cherry
David Cherry is City Leader of the All Stars Project of Chicago and a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the All Stars Project. His extensive and first-hand knowledge of the social issues in poor African-American and Latino communities, particularly those confronting inner-city youth, has been invaluable in his work to replicate the All Stars Afterschool Development model in Chicago and to provide input and expertise in shaping the organization’s strategies nationally. Since the launch of the All Stars Project of Chicago in 2007, David has successfully implemented two of the All Stars leading programs: the All Stars Talent Show Network and the Development School for Youth. He has worked tirelessly to build the All Star Project’s trademark partnership between business professionals and inner-city youth – a key to the growth of the Development School for Youth, and all of our programs in America’s third largest city. David is also a leader in convening community leaders, educators, innovators and others in Chicago’s afterschool arena. David is convenor of the Afterschool Development Working Group and Conferences, which involves youth and non-profit organizations from across Chicago who collaborate on best practices of youth development. David is also President of the Leaders Network, an organization of faith and community leaders on the front lines in Chicago advocating for racial, social and economic justice. David is currently working as part of the organization’s leadership team to bring a community credit union to the west side of Chicago. For more than 30 years, David, a highly skilled and dedicated community organizer and activist, has been helping diverse communities develop around issues of democracy, social justice and inclusion.
Pastor Haywood Robinson
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Dwight McKee
Dwight McKee is a social scientist with a specialty in Social Policy and Communication. As a teenager, he was a founding board member of SCLC's (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) Operation Breadbasket and Operation PUSH. He was also the National Youth Director of both organizations. His civil rights involvements also includes being chief policy strategist for NAN (National Action Network), the organizational base of Rev. Al Sharpton. Mr. McKee was instrumental in launching Rev. Sharpton's presidential bid. In the field of Communications, Mr. McKee is an architect and innovator in the music and film industries. As the National Program Director of NATRA (National Association of Television and Radio Artists) he was responsible for developing the strategies that advanced the interests of blacks and all facets of media. He was Executive Producer of the highly claimed PBS music special GOSPEL AT THE SYMPHONY, one of the highest rated television specials in PBS history, earning Mr. McKee an EMMY nomination. The soundtrack was also nominated for two Grammys. He created the Lection label at PolyGram Records which, for the first time, brought the major music companies into the world of Gospel music. His unique musical expression, which he labeled “The Neo Gospel Sound,” revolutionized Gospel music, and he is credited with transforming the genre. He has managed and worked with such artists as Edwin Hawkins, Walter and Tramaine Hawkins, Richard Smallwood, The Emotions, and Earth Wind and Fire. He has also developed projects with Sony Music, Buddha, and Motown. His social policy resume includes having led the team that reconstructed Chicago's minority’s set-a-side program after the Supreme Courts' decision redefined the criteria that was the basis of the original program. Dwight McKee's youth initiative, SOY (Save Our Youth), had been responsible for mentoring and training thousands of young people across the country through his affiliation with youth organizations such as Young Life, one of the largest Christian youth organization in the World. He also conducted Christian youth development workshops in the Philippines under the Marcos regime, and was part of a fact finding delegation to Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and East and West Germany, during the fall of The Berlin Wall, exploring the consequences of the fall of Communism on the contemporary church. Proclaimed by Dr. Cornell West as one of the "intellectual giants of our time," Mr. McKee is a founding Director of the NBBTA (National Black Business Trade Association) based in Florida. His primary responsibilities include creating schematics for the growth and development of small black businesses across the country. He is currently Chairman of Star North Communications, a communications and social policy corporation based in Chicago, IL, and Co-Chair of Futures Capital; a think tank developing trade opportunities for African Americans with Africa, China, and Israel.
Pastor Cy Fields
Pastor Cy M. Fields is native Chicagoan who has dedicated 37 years to ministry and public service. In 1996, Pastor Cy was ordained as a minister by the late Reverend Dr. Joseph Sylvester. For the past 22 years he has served as Senior Pastor for New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church. Under his leadership the church continues to be a spiritual landmark within Chicago’s East Garfield Park community and greater westside metropolitan area. He has been the visionary leader that has initiated and cultivates a Social Justice Ministry, Marriage & Family Ministry, Youth Church, Drama and Dance Ministry, Health Ministry, Light in the Night Summer Program, Gospel Justice Center, Adopt a Senior Program, Psalm 91 Emergency Response Team, a Media & Technology Ministry, Annual Toy Drive for homeless children, providing affording housing opportunities, and the opening of a Community Healing Resource Center in 2023 to help survivors of gun violence thrive after the trauma. He envisions the church expanding to create a life giving-life supporting village in the surrounding community. In 2023 the New Landmark was recognized as the “Congregation on the Move” by Life Free Illinois. Pastor Cy’s passion for ministry and public service is reflected in the church’s vision and action statement, “Helping People Win in Life through God’s Word, Great Worship, and Doing Good Works!” After graduating from Mendel Catholic College Prep High School, Pastor Cy earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice, minored in Sociology, earned a Master of Science degree in Counselor Education from Illinois State University, and studied at the Chicago Theological Seminary Master of Divinity Program. In 2024 he received the “Ministerial Leadership of Excellence” award from the Chicago Pastors Rally organization. To “Help People Win in Life,” Pastor Cy has committed time, resource and energy serving in various organizations and movements that promote social justice and community health. This includes; Current President of the Landmark Community Development & Outreach Corporation, current Co-Chairman of the Leaders Network, current Chair of the 11th Police District Faith-Based Committee, current Community Advisory Council Opiod Task Force member, and current consultant with the Alive Faith Network, current board member for Christ the King High School. He is the former Vice President Campaign for Better Transit, Interfaith Organizing Project of Greater Chicago, The Westside Federation, former Community Renewal Society Board Member, and frequent conference speaker for Ministry One African & African American “Coming Home” initiative. Pastor Cy foresees his future ministry and public service energies focusing on helping people and communities win in life and faith, teaching the gospel, reimagining ministry, authoring a book, advocating for economic justice, education equality, and strengthening the black family. The greatest and most meaningful aspect of Pastor Cy’s life is that he shares life, dreams and the joys of parenting with his wife Yolanda. They both delight in the nurturing of their two daughters Summer and Autumn.