The Reverend Doctor Sherri E. Wood-Powe (or Pastor Sherri, as she prefers to be called) is an elder in the United Methodist Church. She has been in ministry since 1995, serving in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. Pastor Sherri has served churches in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, and Maryland. In several appointments, Pastor Sherri has crossed race and gender boundaries serving as the first female pastor or first African American female pastor.
In additional to her pastoral appointments, Pastor Sherri has severed as a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Maryland Wesley Foundation; Cluster Leader for the Upper Prince Georges County + Cluster; Presiding Elder for the Greater Washington District; and Chair of the Worship Team for the Baltimore Washington Conference.
Dedicated to assisting others in ministry, Pastor Sherri is a mentor for the Greater Washington District Committee on Ministry; a certified coach through Strengthening the Black Church for the 21 st Century
(SBC21); and an instructor for the United Methodist Church Course of Study Program at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC) teaching worship and Christian formation.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Pastor Sherri attended public schools before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College (Northampton, MA), a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University (Washington, DC), a Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology (Atlanta, GA), and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Saint Paul School of Theology (Kansas City, MO).
Pastor Sherri is married to the Reverend Doctor F. Douglas Powe, Jr., the Director of the Lewis Center and the James C. Logan Professor of Evangelism at Wesley Theological Seminary. Dr. Powe (not to be confused with Dr. Wood-Powe) is also an elder in the United Methodist Church. They are the proud parents of one son, Frederick Douglas Powe III.