MINISTERIAL TEAM
Reverend Carol Roache, Associate Minister
Rev. Dr. Sakima Romero-Chandler is a subject-matter expert on domestic violence and sexual violence, addressing culturally related challenges of African, Black, Caribbean, Black women, and children. She has extensive experience working with grassroots communities and local organizations. She currently works with Ujima, The National Center on Domestic Violence in The Black Community as Domestic Violence Homicide and Firearms Consortium Manager to implement ongoing site assessments and provide training and technical assistance to Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grantees. Dr. Romero-Chandler began her work in domestic violence prevention in 2008 as a member of the community advisory board to provide feedback, support, and implementation of the Healthy Relationship Education Program through Howard University and other partnering entities. Serving as the program manager for the university’s OVW-funded grant, Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Initiative, she collaborated with other national technical assistance providers to conduct OVW-sponsored conferences with special emphasis on community engagement across diverse, social, economic, cultural, faith-based, and geographic locations.
Dr. Romero-Chandler conducts key stakeholder and informant interviews, listening sessions, and surveys, as well as hosts, focus groups on communities with high domestic violence rates of Black women. She has provided oversight for Howard University support staff members in developmental areas, directing projects and developing systems for planning, performance, documentation, forecasting, and evaluation. She contributed to the design, preparation, site selection, community-based consortium approach, and webinars of the OVW-sponsored Domestic Violence Homicide and Firearms Project. Dr. Romero-Chandler specializes in community networking and working with diverse communities. Beginning in 2011, she served as a board member on the Engaging Men of Faith Against Domestic Violence program, which served as an opportunity to collaborate with partnering organizations to educate men and young men about domestic violence. Rev. Dr. Romero-Chandler has previously served as Youth Minister at Wesley AMEC in Houston, Texas, as Youth Pastor at Allen Chapel AMEC in Washington DC, and as Minister to Young Adults at Turner Memorial AMEC in Hyattsville, MD. Reverend Romero-Chandler is the Founding Assistant Pastor of Family Life Ministry AMEC in Hagerstown MD. and currently serves on the ministerial staff of Wayman AMEC in Frederick MD. Rev. Romero-Chandler; created Vashti’s Vessels, an annual conference for Girls and Young Women.
Dr. Romero-Chandler continues to enhance education through her consulting company, Romero Conway Howard Consulting Group, LLC., and works at Hagar’s Sisters Ministry. Her volunteer work is extensive: she served on the boards of Brook Lane Health Services, Young Life/Young Lives, and currently serves as the Maryland Domestic Violence Fatality Review State Implementation Team Survivor Subcommittee Co-Chair. As well as a board member of Ishshah's Place. She is a licensed and certified educator credentialed by the states of New York and Maryland, with more than 15 years of experience. Dr. Romero-Chandler earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Walden University, a master of divinity from Howard University Washington, a master of education, and a bachelor of arts in elementary education from the City University of New York Queens College, Queens, New York. She is a proud life member and chapter Chaplain of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated Xi Sigma Omega Chapter, Gaithersburg MD.
Rev. Katrina Norfleet, an ordained Local Deacon at Wayman AME Church in Frederick, Maryland, serves as the spiritual advisor to the Sisterhood in Christ Women’s Ministry. She has been a member of Wayman since 2015, having served as a stewardess and a member of the Constance L. Palmer Missionary Society, the media team, as well as the women’s fellowship. Rev. Katrina holds a B.A. in communications from Howard University and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University. In addition to having a long career as a nonprofit communications executive, she is an adjunct writing professor at University of Maryland Global Campus and author of several published works in literary journals and book anthologies that include Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memory of Mother, and A Cup of Comfort for Christian Women: Stories that celebrate your faith and trust in God. Rev. Katrina matriculated through the Washington Conference Board of Examiners and was ordained a Local Deacon in 2022. She is humbled to be a third-generation minister answering God’s call — following her grandfather, the late Charles H. Ballard, and her mother, the late Rev. Thelma Irene Carrow. Among her greatest blessings is being “mom” to her two adult children, Jared and Maya.