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OUR FOUNDER
Reverend J. Frederika Eaddy is an ordained minister, poet, leadership consultant, activist and author. She began serving the community as a teen; bringing awareness to Sexual Abuse and Assault and Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence. As a survivor of sexual abuse and assault, advocacy for survivors is extremely important to her. She believes that the church and the community have not always done a great job in providing ministry to women and children impacted by violence. And her desire is to help churches and community organizations provide safe spaces for women to share their testimony without fear of judgment while receiving support (encouragement, life skills, counseling, etc.). Reverend Eaddy has experience as a corporate leader, providing leadership for areas such as training and development, process improvement, and service delivery. Before entering ministry full time, her responsibilities included providing strategic leadership for up to 500 employees who provided technical and customer support. She was also responsible for budget management, critical analysis, employee development, conflict resolution and community engagement. She served as an Associate Minister at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, Maryland from 2004-2017. In this role, she served in many capacities including Christian educator, Worship leader, Pastoral Care counselor, and most recently as the chair for Public Policy and Social Action. She enjoys art and poetry. Her poems Sleep Without Sleeping and Righteous Rage have been published and shared in a variety of settings for over two years. Sleep without Sleeping was the poem that led to the writing of her first book of poetry and prose, titled Getting Naked to Get Free. The book focuses on one woman's journey to restoration after suffering sexual abuse and witnessing domestic violence at a young age. Each poem is part of a coming of age story where she shares her hopes and fears, the pain of abuse and the battle to find herself. She gets naked (becomes vulnerable in sharing her story) and hopes that in the telling of her story, others might be encouraged as they take one more step toward healing (freedom). She is a 2015 Princeton University Black Theology and Leadership Institute Fellow and a 2016 graduate of The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS and ADVISORY BOARD
