The Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Dr. Quinton Ross, President of Alabama State University, will serve as keynote speakers during the 2019 Leadership Conference Celebrating African American History Month Feb. 1-2 at Troy University.

Dr. Warnock will deliver the conference’s opening address on Friday, Feb. 1, in the Trojan Center Ballrooms on the Troy Campus. Conference check-in will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the second-floor lobby area of the Trojan Center. The opening session will begin at 6:30 p.m. Dr. Ross will serve as the conference’s luncheon speaker at 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 2 in the Trojan Center Ballrooms.

The Leadership Conference Celebrating African American History Month was launched in 2002 by the University and the City of Troy to promote dialogue that fosters multicultural collaboration and equip diverse leaders with tools to better serve their organizations and communities. This year’s theme is “Leaders Embracing New Relationships, Destinations and Opportunities.”

Adult registration is $30, while student registration is $15. Register online.

Dr. Warnock has served as the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., since 2005. Under his leadership, more than 4,000 new members have joined the Ebenezer congregation, enhancing the church’s legacy of social activism.

Dr. Warnock is a Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College (1991), receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree and a Ph.D. in the field of systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is a graduate of the Leadership Program sponsored by the Great Baltimore Committee, the Summer Leadership Institute of Harvard University and Leadership Atlanta.

Dr. Warnock is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc., and a Lifetime Member of the NAACP. His activism was honored in 2016, as his footprints were placed on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

Dr. Warnock is married to Mrs. Oulèye Ndoye Warnock and the couple has one daughter, Chloé.

Prior to becoming the 15th president of Alabama State University, Dr. Ross had begun his fourth term in the Alabama State Senate, having first been elected in 2002. In 2015, he was elected as the first African American male to serve as Senate Minority Leader.

Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Dr. Ross served on numerous committees, including Bank and Insurance, Confirmation, County and Municipal Government, Transportation and Energy, Military Affairs and the powerful Finance and Taxation Education Committee. He also was Vice-Chair of the Education Youth Affairs Committee.

Dr. Ross was born in Mobile and raised in Pontiac, Mich. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science (1992), a master’s degree in education (1995) and a doctorate in educational leadership, policy and law (2010) from Alabama State University.

Dr. Ross also enjoyed a distinguished career in education with more than 22 years of experience in K-12 public education and higher education. He holds professional memberships in several organizations, such as the National Education Association, National Council of Higher Education, Alabama Education Association, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and 100 Black Men, Inc. He is a member of Hutchinson Missionary Baptist Church and its male chorus. He and his wife have two sons.

In addition to the two keynote addresses, participants can take part in a variety of plenary sessions on Saturday morning. Plenary session speakers include: Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist and host of the popular podcast Therapy for Black Girls; Linda Garrett, retired Uniserv director for Coffee and Dale counties for the Alabama Education Association; Joseph F. Johnson, senior pastor of Mount Hebron Church Ministries in Mobile; Maceo Henderson, senior engineer in global manufacturing for Panasonic Automotive Systems of America and executive director of the Walter J. Henderson Foundation; and Jarrod Lockhart, assistant director of pipeline initiatives at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Additional information about the conference is available by contacting Barbara Patterson at 334-670-3204 or by email at bpatters@troy.edu, or Sheila Jackson at 334-670-2283 or by email to Sheila.jackson@troyal.gov. Registrants who wish to pay by check should contact Patterson by phone.