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BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT for the REV. DARRELL L. ARMSTRONG, M.Div.,
Ed.S-MFT
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Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong is a native of South (Central) Los Angeles,
California where he was born and raised. He is married to the former
Melanie L. Pinkney, Esq., who is the Executive Director of the Division
of Civil Rights and Affirmative Action for the NJ-Department of
Transportation. They are the proud parents of Amaris Kayla (7-years) and
Daniel LaRue (5-years).
The Rev.
Armstrong is in his 12th year of service as the pastor of the historic
Shiloh Baptist Church of Trenton, NJ. Shiloh is a thriving community of
faith rooted in a worship tradition which represents the richness of the
African diaspora. He is only the church's third pastor in the last 108
years!!! Under his leadership, Shiloh has more than tripled its budget
to $1.7M and nearly tripled its membership to 2,200+ (approximately
500+families).
His policy
training at Stanford University (BA in Public Policy), theological
training at Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and
therapeutic/clinical training at The College of New Jersey (Ed.S. in
marriage & family therapy) have uniquely prepared the Rev. Armstrong to
be a respected voice in the national and international child
welfare/family strengthening communities.
He is a
certified trainer in the following fields:
=> Child
Sexual Assault (05/2012)-Ms. Fndt's-Enough Abuse Campaign;
=> Infant
Mental Health (08/2011 - YCS Institute on Infant Mental Hlth.);
=> Fatherhood
Training (08/2010 - Ntl. Partnership for Comm. Learning);
=> Family
Development Credential (08/2009)-Cornell University;
He is
committed to making ALL families stronger by addressing issues which
impact their physical, mental, and spiritual health and well-being. As
such, he is considered a national leader on issues pertaining to child
welfare and family strengthening, particularly foster and kinship care.
He is a
former member of the NJ Governor's Cabinet for Children (2002-2005) and
recently co-chaired the Child Welfare Transition Team for NJ Governor
Jon Corzine (12/05-01/06).
From March,
2006-April, 2009, the Rev. Armstrong served as the Director of the
Division of (Child Abuse) Prevention and Community Partnerships (DPCP)
for the NJ Department of Children and Families. In this position, he
oversaw a budget of greater than $100M+ in primary, secondary, and
tertiary prevention funding, and was responsible for New Jersey's
statewide strategy to prevent child abuse and strengthen families.
Upon leaving
state government in April, 2009, he founded the Institute for Clergy
Training (IFCT). The IFCT is dedicated to helping clergy of all faiths
better understand and implement in their houses of worship, stronger
family engagement programs that strengthen overall family functioning
and well-being.
Since it's
inception in 2009, the IFCT has trained dozens of clergy of ALL faiths
to better understand the intersection of child welfare, intimate
partner/domestic violence, family violence, substance abuse, and mental
health.
He is a
member of several national boards among which include (1) the National
Advisory Board for the federally-funded Quality Improvement Center on
Early Childhood, and (2) Prevent Child Abuse - America (headquarted in
Chicago, IL).
He is the
author of two books:
(1) "The
Scent of Water: Reflections of Resilience , Hope and Inspiration,"
(11/2010) and
(2)
"Snapshots of a Foster Child" (11/2008) which chronicles his and his
family's experience in the child welfare and county welfare systems in
Los Angeles.
He is
currently working on a multi-volume book series featuring the prolific
sermons of his mentor and predeccesor of 53 years, the late Rev. Dr.
Samuel Howard Woodson, Jr., who was also the first African American to
be elected speaker of any state legislature in the history of the United
States!
The Rev.
Armstrong has been officially recognized and honored by numerous
governmental, religious and civic organizations.
=> In 2001,
he was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch for the 2002 Salt Lake City
Winter Olympic Games. In 12/2001 he carried the torch in NJ's Capital
County (Mercer) on behalf of America's 400,000+ foster children!
=> In May of
2010, he was chosen to be the 1st non-Presbyterian member of the
Princeton Seminary Board of Trustees in its 200-year history
(1812-2012).
=> Most
recently, in January, 2012, he was chosen by Black Village Magazine as
one of NJ's "50 Most Powerful Blacks!"
He is a
Member of Chi Sigma Iota Intl. Honor Society for professional
counselors, counselor educators (Alpha Epsilon Chapter) and a proud
member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (Lambda Lambda Sigma Chapter),
a historically Black Greek Letter Organization founded in 1914.
Rev. Darrell
L. Armstrong, M.Div., Ed.S.-MFT
www.ShilohTrenton.org
www.ClergyTraining.org
www.NAFCInc.org
www.VirGenice.org
To invite the Rev. Armstrong to
speak/present at your upcoming function or event, email:
Prevention@vzw.BlackBerry.net or log onto any of the following webs:
www.ShilohTrenton.org
www.ClergyTraining.org
www.VirGenice.org
The Rev. DLA Prays at U.S. Congress:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USAUnZgnXLQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Rev. DLA Interviewed on PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week911/interview2.html
The Rev. DLA Carries
Olympic Torch:
http://www.ycminc.org/newsarticles/NEWSARTICLE.OLYMPICS.06-03-06.pdf
The Rev. DLA Speaks on
Child Abuse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0xSqedTocg
The Rev. DLA (in Haiti/’10 Erthquake):
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/01/14/news/doc4b4e9686cec93318195192.txt
http://www.njn.net/about/pressrelease/10archive/10may-njperspectivesonhaiti.html
http://www.njn.net/television/njnseries/anotherview/season09-10/2306.html |