James Singletary

James comes to us with 16 years of experience in human service, higher education, and parish ministry. He previously served as Program Director at Harlem United where he managed and oversaw nine government contracts totaling 1.9 million dollars as well as managed the day to day operation of the H.O.M.E. Program that provided supportive services to LGBTQ youth and young adults living with HIV. In 2010, he accepted a call to The Riverside Church and served as the Direct for Children, Youth, and Families in the Education Ministry up to and through 2015.  During his tenure at The Riverside Church, he expanded the program portfolio by adding six new program initiatives during his first year as director. Additionally, in 2015, he led a group of nine at risk high school students to the White House to meet President Obama after competing in the Annual White House Student Film Festival.  His students were awarded First Prize for their documentary film on Mentoring in Harlem.  Since 2008, he has taught as an Adjunct Lecturer in the African Studies and Communications Departments at CUNY.  While a graduate student at the Columbia School of Social Work, he had the privilege of providing support as a research assistant to Dr. Mincy at the Center for Research on Father’s Children Family and Well-Being. He provided research assistance on two qualitative studies (Income Support Policies for Low-Income Men and Noncustodial Fathers and A Qualitative Look into the Lives of Unemployed Young Black Bermudian Men and the Gender Gap in Educational Attainment).  James is a 2010 graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work and Union Theological Seminary and he holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from The New School.