The Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson is the president of Auburn Theological Seminary, a spiritual and educational force for cultivating a multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-generational, and multi-ethnic democracy. Born and raised in Newark, N.J., she was a first-generation Fisk University, Union Theological Seminary, and Drew Seminary graduate.
Before taking the helm of Auburn Seminary as its first Black woman and non-Presbyterian president, she served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Children’s Defense Fund–New York, Girls Incorporated of New York City, and as executive vice president of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.
The second woman ordained at The Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, N.Y., she serves on the boards of NYC KidsRise, FPWA, American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York, Faith Matters Network, and Western States Center.
She and her husband are proud parents to three amazing adults.