2025 CBCF ALC | Day of Healing Prayer Breakfast Program Book
54TH ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
PROGRAM BOOK #ALC54
September 27, 2025
7:30 am – 10:00 am
Dear Esteemed Guests and Participants,
It is with great joy and anticipation that the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation welcomes you to the Day of Healing Prayer Breakfast, a cornerstone of the 54th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC).
We are delighted to announce that this year’s Day of Healing will feature a powerful message delivered by Rev. Dr. Howard John-Wesley, alongside an unforgettable musical ministry from Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy. Their presence and gifts promise to make this gathering both spiritually enriching and deeply inspiring for all who attend.
The Day of Healing Prayer Breakfast remains a cherished tradition of the ALC, offering a sacred space for reflection, rejuvenation, and unity across diverse communities. Through faith-filled messages and soul-stirring music, this day highlights the enduring role of spirituality in the lives of Black Americans. It is a moment to honor the vital contributions of our community in strengthening our democracy, safeguarding our freedoms, and celebrating our culture.
We are honored to share this sacred occasion with you. Together, we will create an atmosphere of unity, inspiration, and empowerment.
Thank you for your support and participation in the 54th Annual Legislative Conference. We look forward to a day filled with reflection, renewal, and collective purpose as we continue the work of securing justice, protecting freedom, and uplifting our heritage.
With faith, unity, and hope for our future, The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Opening
PROGRAM
2025 DAY OF HEALING – PRAYER BREAKFAST
Music and Video Presentations
Welcome Remarks Nicole Austin-Hillery, President and CEO, CBCF
CBCF Chair Remarks
Call to Worship/Prayer for Peace
Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell, Board Chair, CBCF
Clergy Leaders:
Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef, The Nation’s Mosque
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director, Religious Action
Center of Reform Judaism and Reverend Moyer McCoy, Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
BREAKFAST SERVICE
CBC Chair Remarks
ALC Honorary Co-Chairs Remarks
Sponsor Video and Remarks
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Chair, CBC
Senator Angela Alsobrooks & Congressman Joe Neguse, ALC Honorary Co-Chairs
Monica Howard Douglas EVP and Global General Counsel, The Coca-Cola Company
Leadership Institute Remarks Pax Fordham F ormer CBCF State Farm Communications Intern
Musical Performance Introductions
Senator Angela Alsobrooks & Congressman Joe Neguse, ALC Honorary Co-Chairs
Musical Performance Anthony Brown & Group Ther AP y
Keynote Message
Closing Remarks
Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Senior Pastor, Alfred Street Baptist Church
Senator Angela Alsobrooks & Congressman Joe Neguse, ALC Honorary Co-Chairs
Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley
Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley is the Senior Pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, where he serves as only the eighth pastor in the church’s more than 200-year history. Under his visionary leadership, Alfred Street has grown to more than 12,000 members with a weekly viewership exceeding 25,000, expanding its reach and ministries while steadfastly upholding its call to spiritual formation, social justice, and community engagement.
A nationally recognized voice for justice, compassion, and grace, Dr. Wesley is celebrated for preaching that speaks powerfully to both the heart and conscience. His sermons— including When the Verdict Hurts, A Rizpah Response, and Tell Your Own Story—have been archived in the National Museum of African
American History and Culture and affirmed in national media for their relevance and resonance. In his three decades of preaching, he has led public witness on critical social issues and is widely regarded as a prophetic leader in the contemporary Black church.
As a servant leader, he has guided SEEK, an annual Kingdom-wide fast, uniting more than 25,000 covenant partners in prayer, consecration and the collective pursuit of God’s will. Committed to the spiritual growth of young people, Dr. Wesley has served thousands of young adults through Alfred Street’s CAYA (Come As You Are) ministry. Through his annual conference, The Convening, he mentors and pours into the next generation of emerging ministers, preachers, and pastors.
Dr. Wesley’s influence has been recognized by leading industries and organizations, including The Root 100, the United Negro College Fund, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Honoring his transformative ministry, he received the NAACP Chairman’s Award for Social Justice at the 47th Annual NAACP Image Awards and was inducted into the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.
A native of Chicago, Dr. Wesley graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a degree in biomedical and electrical engineering. He left medical school in obedience to his call to ministry, later graduating summa cum laude from Boston University School of Theology as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar. He earned his Doctor of Ministry in preaching from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds multiple honorary doctorates.
Dr. Wesley serves on several boards, including the Hampton University School of Religion Board of Visitors, the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Missionary Convention, and the Flint Hill School Board of Trustees. He is the former chair of the United Negro College Fund’s National Interfaith and Education Initiative and former vice-chair of the John Leland Center for Theological Studies. He has also served on the Board of Visitors at Duke Divinity School and the Board of Trustees at Virginia Union University.
The proud son of the late Rev. Dr. Alvin and Helene Wesley, Dr. Wesley represents the fourth generation of Baptist preachers in his family. A devoted father, his greatest joys are his sons, Howard-John II (“Deuce”) and Cooper Reece. In his free time, he enjoys golf, movies, spades, and cooking. The 78th Laurel Wreath Laureate and national chaplain, Dr. Wesley is a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., as well as a member of Sigma Pi Phi. More than any accolade, his greatest desire and achievement is to make glorious the name of Jesus.
MUSICAL PERFORMER
Anthony Jamar
Brown
Anthony Jamar Brown, born on October 22, 1981, is an American urban contemporary gospel artist and musician. In June 2008, he began serving as Assistant Minister of Music and later became the worship leader at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, Maryland—a role he continues to hold. Brown launched his music career in 2012 with the release of Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy under Tyscot Records. The album was a breakthrough, charting on The Billboard 200, Top Gospel Albums, and Independent Albums charts. His background singers, Group therAPy, reference his former group, Answered Prayers, with the capitalized "AP" in their name.
Critics praised the debut album. Andy Kellman of AllMusic highlighted Brown’s "vocal-arrangement chops" and the project’s "uplifting spirit," while Peggy Oliver of Soul Tracks called it "a fresh and joyous" debut.
Members
of group therAPy
Doretha Sampson
Shirley Daley
Ashia Bello
Michelle Thompson
Nicole Wilson
Martellies Warren
Gabriel Hansborough
Javan Bowden
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE ALUMNI REMARKS
Pax Fordham
Irving (Pax) Fordham is an alumnus of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation State Farm Communications Internship Program, where he served in the office of Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05). He is a graduate of Oakwood University.
Imam Dr. Talib M.
Shareef
Dr. Talib M. Shareef is President and Imam of historic, Masjid Muhammad, The Nation's Mosque in Washington, D.C. He is a retired U.S. Air Force member with 30+ years; has a Doctorate from the Global Oved Dei Seminary University, where he serves as a professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Interfaith Council. He served as Imam in 5 U.S. cities and 7 military locations.
His Majesty Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, awarded Imam Shareef the Kingdom’s highest Royal Medal and honor for his outstanding interfaith leadership. He was the first Imam with military service to open a session of the U.S. Congress. He received the U.S. Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden and was selected as the Muslim representative to speak and introduce him at the White House.
He was also recognized for his service by President Obama at the White House as well.
Allen Chapel AME Church.
Reverend Moyer McCoy
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
in 2011. Named one of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek magazine, he is an inspirational leader and tireless advocate for social justice.
Rabbi Pesner’s work focuses on encouraging Jewish communities to reach across lines of race, class, and faith while campaigning for social justice. In 2006, he founded Just Congregations (now incorporated into the Religious Action Center), which engaged clergy, professional, and volunteer leaders in interfaith social justice efforts. Rabbi Pesner was a primary leader in the Massachusetts campaign for health care access that has provided coverage to thousands and became a model for nationwide reform. Over the course of his career, he has also led and supported campaigns for racial justice, economic opportunity, immigration reform, LGBTQ+ equality, human rights, and a variety of other causes. He is dedicated to building bridges to collectively confront antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate.
Rabbi Pesner is a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, speaks regularly on college campuses, has trained students on all four
Partnership for the Environment, and the New England Center for Children. He is a member of the Faith-Based Security Advisory Council for the Department of Homeland Security, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Solidarity Council on Racial Equity and the Leadership Team of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable. He has served as a scholar for the Wexner Foundation, The Chautauqua Institution, American Jewish World Service, the Nexus USA Summit, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies.
Rabbi Pesner was the co-editor of “Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Justice,” wrote the afterword to the newly published “Social Justice Torah Commentary,” and is a widely-published author.
Ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997, Rabbi Pesner was a congregational rabbi at Temple Israel in Boston, Massachusetts and at Temple Israel in Westport, Connecticut. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Bronx High School of Science, Rabbi Pesner is married to Dana S. Gershon, an attorney. They have four daughters: Juliet, Noa, Bobbie, and Cate.
LEADERSHIP
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS FOUNDATION
Board of Directors
CHAIR
REP. TERRI A. SEWELL
U.S. House of Representatives
SECRETARY ALETHIA JACKSON
REP. JOYCE BEATTY
U.S. House of Representatives
COURTNEY BILLINGTON
NATALIE BRUNSON-WHEELER
State Farm Insurance Companies
DALE BURNETT BIG Equity Investors LLC
REP. TROY CARTER
U.S. House of Representatives
URI CLINTON Boyd Gaming Corporation
LADAVIA DRANE Amazon
NONI ELLISON Tractor Supply Company
VICE CHAIR CHAKA T. BURGESS Nation Strategies
TREASURER MARKUS GREEN
PAMELA EVERHART Fidelity Investments
ISAAC FORDJOUR Walgreens
FELICIA HALE The Coca-Cola Company
QUITA HIGHSMITH, MBA Genentech
COLETTE HONORABLE Exelon
REP. STEVEN HORSFORD
U.S. House of Representatives
REP. GLENN IVEY
U.S. House of Representatives
BRODERICK JOHNSON Comcast Corporation
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS FOUNDATION
Board of Directors
REP. ROBIN KELLY
U.S. House of Representatives
MARCUS SEBASTIAN MASON
The Madison Group
REP. LUCY MCBATH
U.S. House of Representatives
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
FORMER CONGRESSMAN
KENDRICK MEEK
REP. STACEY E. PLASKETT
U.S. House of Representatives
NICHOLE FRANCIS REYNOLDS, ESQ.
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
FORMER CONGRESSMAN
CEDRIC RICHMOND
CBC CHAIRPERSON
REP. YVETTE D. CLARKE
U.S. House of Representatives
CBC SPOUSES CHAIRPERSON
REV. WILLIAM COLEMAN
MARTIN RODGERS
Accenture
CAC CHAIRPERSON
JOHN MASON
Altria
LISA OSBORNE ROSS
DONTAI SMALLS
UPS
JESSE TYSON
RONDU VINCENT
Bristol Myers Squibb
REP. FREDERICA S. WILSON
U.S. House of Representatives
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS FOUNDATION
Corporate Advisory Council
CHAIRPERSON
JOHN MASON
Altria
SANDERS L. ADU
Wells Fargo
PATRICK EDMOND
CSX Corporation
LAKEITHA ANDERSON
Eli Lilly
CACHAVIOUS ENGLISH
Ford Motor Company
KEVIN J. ARMSTRONG
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
FENIMORE FISHER
Aramark Corporation
KEENAN AUSTIN REED
Alpine Group
HEATHER FOSTER
RONTEL BATIE
Batie Consulting
BENJAMIN BRANCH
ZOE CADORE
KWAME CANTY
Edison Electric Institute
KARIS T. GUTTER
Corteva Agriscience
PHIL A. HANCOCK
Norfolk Southern
CHANELLE HARDY
Google Public Policy
ASHLEY HAYES
Charter Communications
EDWARD W. HILL
ViacomCBS (Paramount)
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS FOUNDATION
Corporate Advisory Council
CORY C. HORTON Entergy
MERVYN L. JONES II MLJ Strategies
FRANCESCA JORDAN Dell Technologies
JACKIE KELLY, JR. FedEx Corporation
ADRIENNE MARKS Visa
WALDO MCMILLAN Cisco LAMELL MCMORRIS
VIRGIL A. MILLER Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
ASHLI NELSON McDonald’s
KATELYN J. NNAKE
CHRIS RANDLE Meta
IBN AKBAR SALAAM, MBA Waste Management, Inc.
MARIE RAY SCOTT M. R. Whitsett, Inc.
CHARLYN STANBERRY National Association of Broadcasters
SHASHRINA THOMAS Reynolds
DANA THOMPSON Fulcrum Public Affairs
DARREL THOMPSON theGROUP
BRANDON WEBB Amazon
ALVEDA J. WILLIAMS, PH.D Dow, Inc.
TIFFANI V. WILLIAMS, JD, MPH The Daschle Group
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus of the 119th Congress
IN ORDER OF SENIORITY
Delegate
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (DC)
Representative MAXINE WATERS (CA)
Representative SANFORD D. BISHOP (GA)
Representative JAMES E. CLYBURN (SC)
Representative BOBBY SCOTT (VA)
Representative BENNIE G. THOMPSON (MS)
Representative DANNY K. DAVIS (IL)
Representative GREGORY D. MEEKS (NY)
Representative DAVID SCOTT (GA)
Representative EMANUEL CLEAVER, II (MO)
Representative AL GREEN (TX)
Representative GWEN MOORE (WI)
Representative YVETTE D. CLARKE (NY)
Representative HANK JOHNSON (GA)
Representative ANDRÉ CARSON (IN)
Representative FREDERICA S. WILSON (FL)
Representative TERRI A. SEWELL (AL)
Representative JOYCE BEATTY (OH)
HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER
Representative HAKEEM JEFFRIES (NY)
Representative MARC VEASEY (TX)
Representative ROBIN KELLY (IL)
Senator CORY BOOKER (NJ)
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus of the 119th Congress
IN ORDER OF SENIORITY
Representative ALMA ADAMS (NC)
Representative STACEY E. PLASKETT (VI)
Representative BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN (NJ)
Representative DWIGHT EVANS (PA)
Senator LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER (DE)
Representative STEVEN HORSFORD (NV)
Representative JAHANA HAYES (CT)
Representative LUCY MCBATH (GA)
ASSISTANT DEMOCRATIC LEADER
Representative JOE NEGUSE (CO)
Representative ILHAN OMAR (MN)
Representative AYANNA PRESSLEY (MA)
Representative LAUREN UNDERWOOD (IL)
Representative KWEISI MFUME (MD)
Representative NIKEMA WILLIAMS (GA)
Representative RITCHIE TORRES (NY)
Representative MARILYN STRICKLAND (WA)
Senator RAPHAEL WARNOCK (GA)
Representative TROY CARTER (LA)
Representative SHONTEL BROWN (OH)
Representative SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (FL)
Representative JASMINE CROCKETT (TX)
Representative DON DAVIS (NC)
Members
of the Congressional Black Caucus of the 119th Congress
