Board of Directors
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Co-President
Pastor Culbreth is a native of Twin City, GA and is the son of the late George W. Culbreth, Sr. and Ola M. Culbreth. He has been married to the love of his life, Gloria Moore Culbreth for 34 years and he has two sons, Micah J. Culbreth and Malachi J. Culbreth. He also has a daughter-in-law, Michaela Layne Culbreth.
Pastor Cul
Co-President
Pastor Culbreth is a native of Twin City, GA and is the son of the late George W. Culbreth, Sr. and Ola M. Culbreth. He has been married to the love of his life, Gloria Moore Culbreth for 34 years and he has two sons, Micah J. Culbreth and Malachi J. Culbreth. He also has a daughter-in-law, Michaela Layne Culbreth.
Pastor Culbreth worked from 1984-1988 as a religion writer and general assignment reporter for The Clarion-Ledger Newspaper in Jackson, MS. He was ordained as a United Methodist deacon in 1991 and as a United Methodist elder in 1993.
Pastor Culbreth was appointed as the lead pastor of ConneXion Church: A United Methodist Community, in June 2016. ConneXion Church formed from the merger of Aldersgate UMC, Cokesbury UMC and a portion of the Speedwell UMC congregation. ConneXion Church is intentionally cross-racial and inter-generational. The church’s first service was held on June 19 2016.
Community Involvement:
- Emmaus Community Spiritual Leader
- Kairos Prison Ministry
- Savannah Addiction and Recovery Coalition
- Juliette Lowe Elementary School Council
Boards and Agencies:
- Coastal District Board of Ministry
- South Georgia Conference Board of Ministry
- Savannah Speech and Hearing
- GA Commission of Higher Education
- Ready Set Go Back to School Board
Honors and Awards:
- Leadership Jackson Graduate: Class of 1994-1995
- Theta Phi: Gammon Theological Seminary 1991
- The Harry Hoosier Award: Black Methodist for Church Renewal 2015
- 2023: Elected as a clergy delegate to the 2024 Jurisdictional Conference and alternate to the 2024 UMC General Conference
Rev. Diane Williams
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Co-President
Rev. Diane G. Williams is a local elder at St. Paul CME Church. She has a deep
commitment to God, family, the church, and her community. She makes it her
priority to reach out to everyone and is always available to talk, pray, counsel, and
encourage. She is a retired educator and market research analyst.
Diane enjoys reading, tr
Co-President
Rev. Diane G. Williams is a local elder at St. Paul CME Church. She has a deep
commitment to God, family, the church, and her community. She makes it her
priority to reach out to everyone and is always available to talk, pray, counsel, and
encourage. She is a retired educator and market research analyst.
Diane enjoys reading, traveling, speaking, crafting, and helping. She is a
committed soldier in God’s Army with a goal to serve, especially the lest, lost, and
left out. Her motto is “If I can help somebody then my living is not in vain.”
Her favorite scripture is Psalm 23:1 NIV “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack
nothing.”
Diane is a humble woman of God, the wife of Michael C. Williams, mother of
ten, grandmother of fifteen, and great grandmother of two. Her pray is that people
will see the light of God and be encouraged by something she says.
Rev. Guillermo Arboleda
Rev. J. Michael Culbreth
Rev. Guillermo Arboleda
Vice President
The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda (he/him) is the Missioner for Racial Justice in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. This work includes community organizing, political advocacy, training others in antiracist leadership, and theological research about criminal justice policy. He is now also the Program Manager for New Church Star
Vice President
The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda (he/him) is the Missioner for Racial Justice in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. This work includes community organizing, political advocacy, training others in antiracist leadership, and theological research about criminal justice policy. He is now also the Program Manager for New Church Starts for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He has degrees from Messiah University and Duke University Divinity School. A grandchild of Ecuadorian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican immigrants, Guillermo is married to the Rev. Kelly Steele (Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Savannah). He enjoys watching sports and movies, creating music, video games, CrossFit, and yoga.
Bruce Walker
Maurice Middleberg
Rev. Guillermo Arboleda
Treasurer
Bruce K. Walker has served as JUST’s Treasurer since late 2022. He became active in JUST in 2020. He strongly supports JUST’s efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities for Savannahians of limited means, to decriminalize poverty in Savannah and Chatham County, and to improve the reading instruction in the early grades of
Treasurer
Bruce K. Walker has served as JUST’s Treasurer since late 2022. He became active in JUST in 2020. He strongly supports JUST’s efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities for Savannahians of limited means, to decriminalize poverty in Savannah and Chatham County, and to improve the reading instruction in the early grades of the SCCPSS schools.
Bruce holds the BSAAE degree from Purdue University and SM and ScD degrees from MIT, all in Aerospace Engineering, and the MBA from the University of Cincinnati (UC). He was on the Aerospace Engineering faculty at UC for 30 years before retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2016 and moving to Savannah with his wife, Carol Kramberg-Walker. They are members at Mickve Israel.
Maurice Middleberg
Maurice Middleberg
Maurice Middleberg
Secretary
Maurice’s professional background spans over 36 years of work in the fields of global
public health and fighting human trafficking. He served in senior management positions
in several non-profit global health organizations and was the Executive Director of Free
the Slaves, an international anti-human trafficking organization. He has
Secretary
Maurice’s professional background spans over 36 years of work in the fields of global
public health and fighting human trafficking. He served in senior management positions
in several non-profit global health organizations and was the Executive Director of Free
the Slaves, an international anti-human trafficking organization. He has been on the
Board of Directors of multiple organizations and been an officer on several Boards.
Maurice is a political scientist by training and is the author of numerous publications. He
held positions as Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Rollins School of Public
Health at Emory University.
Rev. Claire Marich
Maurice Middleberg
Maurice Middleberg
Personnel Chair
Connie Boole
Rev. Del Barksdale
Rev. Del Barksdale
Board Member At-Large
Rev. Del Barksdale
Rev. Del Barksdale
Rev. Del Barksdale
Board Member At-Large
Belinda Walters
Rev. Del Barksdale
Belinda Walters
Board Member At-Large
Martha Susie
Danielle Pilgrim, PhD
Belinda Walters
Board Member At-Large
Danielle Pilgrim, PhD
Danielle Pilgrim, PhD
Danielle Pilgrim, PhD
Executive Director & Lead Community Organizer