Rev. Dr. Chelsea Yarborough

Denomination: Baptist (Bapt.)
Organization: The Association of Theological Schools (ATS)

Rev. Dr. Chelsea Brooke Yarborough is the Associate Director of Leadership Programming at the Association of Theological Schools. She earned her B.A. from Elon University (2012), her M.Div. from Wake Forest University School of Divinity (2015), and her Ph.D. in Religion from Vanderbilt University (2021). Her research reimagines preaching and worship by exploring the methodologies that emerge from the rhetorical and ritual practices of Black women throughout history.

Her new book, Proclamation Beyond the Pulpit: The Expansive Homiletical Practice of Black Women, considers the preaching insights from Fannie Lou Hamer, Nannie Helen Burroughs and Sojourner Truth. Yarborough’s work seeks to challenge normative power structures and traditional paradigms of proclamation, advocating for diverse platforms beyond the pulpit to amplify the voices of those that have not always been seen or heard.

At her core, she is dedicated to empowering individuals—regardless of their platform—to find, embrace, and use their voices to foster well-being, equity and the possibilities of flourishing. Dr. Yarborough is also a leadership coach, an Enneagram teacher, and a poet. Above all, she values her roles as a wife, daughter, friend, sister, and auntie.

To connect further, see iamchelseabrooke.com