Wynnetta Wimberley Announced as Faculty Speaker for the 2026 Wake Forest University School of Divinity Hooding and Commencement Ceremony
Wake Forest University School of Divinity is pleased to announce that Dr. Wynnetta Wimberley will serve as the commencement speaker for the 2026 Hooding and Commencement Ceremony. This year’s graduating class will join over six hundred alumni in the School’s ongoing commitment to forming “agents of justice, reconciliation, and compassion in Christian churches and other ministries.” With Dr. Wimberley as this year’s speaker, the School honors a pastoral theologian and clinician whose work addresses the critical intersections of clergy health, congregational vitality, and faithful leadership in challenging times.
Dr. Wynnetta Wimberley is Assistant Teaching Professor of Pastoral Theology and Faculty Director of the Lilly Endowment funded Thriving Congregations Initiative. A womanist pastoral theologian, she is clinically trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, marriage and family theory, and spiritually-based counseling. She completed three clinical counseling residencies at the Care and Counseling Center of Georgia, where the majority of her work focused on pastors, church leaders, and seminarians. Dr. Wimberley is also Founder and Executive Director of HULDAH Consulting, where she specializes in care, counseling, and consulting with clergy, grounded in her conviction that healthy leaders make for healthy congregations.
Dr. Wimberley’s scholarship has made a significant contribution to pastoral theology, particularly through her pioneering research on depression among African American clergy. Her book, Depression in African American Clergy (Palgrave, 2016), is widely regarded as the first major scholarly work on this critical yet often overlooked issue. Her work examines the historical and cultural pressures placed upon Black clergy, including what she describes as the “cultural sacramentalization” of the Black preacher, which can foster isolation, unrealistic expectations, and diminished self-awareness.
In addition to her clinical and theological work, Dr. Wimberley has contributed to interdisciplinary research initiatives across the Emory Schools of Medicine, including studies on post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of sexual assault, theological understandings of hope among critically ill children, and public health challenges such as HIV and Hepatitis-C in underserved communities. As a Merck postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Healthcare at Tuskegee University, she examined issues of trust and trustworthiness in African American communities, particularly in relation to clergy and medical professionals.
Ordained by the American Baptist Churches, USA, Dr. Wimberley has also served pastorally in an African American congregation in central New Jersey. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Kean University, Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling from Emory University.
“Dr. Wynnetta Wimberley’s scholarship and teaching speak directly to the challenges and
possibilities of ministry in our time,” said Corey D. B. Walker, Dean and Wake Forest Professor
of the Humanities. “Dr. Wimberley is a meaningful reflection of our institution’s mission –
preparing graduates for faithful and transformative service rooted in care, resilience, and a deep
commitment to human dignity. Her leadership and commitment to holistic well-being make her
an inspiring guide for our graduates as they step into lives of purpose and service.”
The School of Divinity’s Hooding and Commencement Ceremony will take place in historic Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Livestream options for all events will be available for those unable to attend in person. For streaming links and a complete listing of Commencement Weekend activities, please visit commencement.wfu.edu.