Equity-Based initiatives to Support Vocational Discernment

Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells (he, him, his) is the Executive Director of the Network of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Colleges and Universities (NECU). NECU is an association of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA.

Wells also serves as Strategic Advisor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Wartburg Theological Seminary, and is the immediate past National President of the African Descent Lutheran Association (ADLA). Previously, he served as Program Director for Campus Ministry in the ELCA (LuMin). LuMin is a network of inclusive faith-based and service communities on and near campuses at over 240 colleges and universities across the USA.

In the course of his career, he has led programs and communities of multiple denominations in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, including having served as the Lutheran Campus Pastor for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Atlanta University Center (AUC).

He earned a Professional Certification in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Cornell University. As a professionally trained coach, he effectively helps individuals, groups, and organizations to unlock their potential and maximize their own performance.

Previously he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Sociology at Morehouse College. Rev. Wells has also earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education and a Master of Divinity in Leadership from the Interdenominational Theological Center/Johnson C. Smith Seminary. He completed Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Emory University. Pastor Wells has studied Leadership at Harvard Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary, and was named a clergy fellow of the Chautauqua Institute.

Pastor Wells is a member of the National Honor Society of Theta Phi and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Along with his years of service, he has received numerous honors and awards signifying his spirit of excellence, including his induction into the prestigious Board of Distinguished Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

A dynamic speaker and prophetic preacher, Wells is frequently called to address organizations, churches, conferences, convocations, retreats, and workshops in various public, social, and ecumenical communities. His prophetic message of ecumenism and social justice motivates him as a leader, team builder, and community organizer.

Rev. Keats Miles-Wallace is a descendant of a border band of the Coahuiltecan peoples, a 2014 alumn of Texas Lutheran University and Pastor of Technicolor MInistries, a ministry of support for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and those who love them.

Dr. Glenell M. Lee-Pruitt is the 13th President and CEO of Jarvis Christian University, beginning her tenure on July 1, 2023. She holds a Bachelor’s and PhD in Social Work from Jackson State University, a Master of Social Work from Temple University, and a Master of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary. An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Dr. Pruitt served in pastoral ministry for 25 years before transitioning to academia.

Her career in higher education spans over 25 years, primarily at historically black colleges and universities. She has held key leadership roles, including Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Jarvis Christian University, and Dean of University College at Mississippi Valley State University. Dr. Pruitt is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and is a proud mother and grandmother.

Marybeth Gasman is Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair and a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice and the Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.

Her areas of expertise include the history of American higher education, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) (with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities), racism and diversity, fundraising and philanthropy, and higher education leadership. She is the author or editor of 30 books, including Doing the Right Thing: How to End Systemic Racism in Faculty Hiring (Princeton University, 2022) and HBCU: The Power of Historically Black Colleges and Universities with Levon T. Esthers (John Hopkins Press, 2024). She has penned over 450 opinion articles for the nation’s newspapers and magazines and in 2024 was listed as #28 on Education Week’s list of the Top 200 Most Influential Public Scholars.

Marybeth has raised over $23 million in grant funding to support her research and that of her students, mentees, and MSI partners. She has served on the board of trustees of The College Board as well as historically Black colleges – Paul Quinn College, Morris Brown College, and St. Augustine College. She considers her proudest accomplishment to be receiving the University of Pennsylvania’s Provost Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring, serving as the dissertation chair for over 80 doctoral students since 2000.

She has spoken about her research to, among others, the U.S. State Department, TIAA, the National Science Foundation, and faculty and students at Harvard and Stanford Universities.

Gloria received her bachelors and masters in social work at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) and a Masters in religious studies from the University of the Incarnate Word. She has been involved in young adult ministry for the past 43 years in areas of campus ministry, parish ministry, vocation ministry and Diocesan Ministry. She is a certified spiritual director and is presently working as the Vice President of Mission and Ministry at OLLU, and has been for the past 16 years.