Rev. Carol Dougherty Steptoe received her Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) from Payne Theological Seminary, an M.S. in Public Policy and Management with a focus on Family Policy from SUNY Stony Brook, and a B.A. in English Literature from Queens College. She was also a recipient of a Sloan Fellowship, through which she studied at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Institute for Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Rev. Steptoe has received numerous honors, including recognition in Who’s Who in America, the Peter Pauper Award for Distinguished Writing, and the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Award for Eliminating Divisions that Separate Peoples. She is the co-author of the book The Obedience Journey: 21 Steps to Living a Life of Faith, Hope, and Love, as well as a collection of poems, essays, and plays. She is the proud wife of Robert Steptoe and the mother of Isaiah and Christopher. Her mission scripture is found in Ephesians 4:12: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”