Rev. Christy Ann Clark

Rev. Christy Ann Clark is Executive Director and pioneer of Strengthening the Black

Village (SBV), clergywoman, mother to 15-year-old Shaun, and wife to Marlon, her high school sweetheart. Through facilitating Effective Black Parenting courses, leading parent support groups, and training individuals and congregations to conduct parenting courses, Christy stands in the gap for system-impacted families. She helps others firm up strong foundations and prevent family separation and disunity. SBV was born out of her vision to unite faith, government, and community leaders in a shared mission of “weaving together villages of care for the nourishment of the souls, bodies, and minds of our children.” Christy earned a Master’s of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and is working on her Doctor in Ministry from Fuller. She also earned double B.A. Degrees from California State University, Monterey Bay, in Human Communications and Social Work.

Raised in a combination of foster homes, group homes, and kinship care settings, God helped Christy overcome traumatic beginnings, and called her to support, inspire and guide others to see hope, love, and joy in their futures. Christy, a beloved, faithful, courageous Black woman with a visual impairment and a rough beginning, stands as a testament to God‘s grace, love, and power.

Aims & Objectives for Christy's Workshop:

1. Give families an overview of the SBV Effective Black Parenting curriculum.

2. Demonstrate how African and biblical Proverbs impart instruction and inspiration for parenting.

3. Model and teach pride in blackness to promote high self-esteem, positive cultural identity, and assurance of belonging in our families.

4. Provide practical tools for effective communication, single and co-parenting, helping our children and youth avoid street pressures, alternatives to corporal punishment, and more.

5. Empower families to lead with greater intentionality and consistency through the Thinking Parent’s Approach.

6. Individuals and families will identify existing and possible villages of care and support networks for themselves and their families.