About Our Episcopal Leadership
Bishop Vernon R. Byrd Jr. Esq. is the 145th elected and consecrated bishop of the AME Church. He is the son of the late Bishop Vernon R. Byrd, Sr., the 105th elected and consecrated bishop of the AME Church, and retired Episcopal Supervisor Theora Byrd. He is the Presiding Prelate of the 17th Episcopal District, which encompasses AME Churches in six countries including Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Burundi.
In 1981 Bishop Byrd accepted his call to the ministry at Hemmingway Memorial AME in Maryland, under the leadership and tutelage of Rev. Dr. William Robert Porter. He was admitted on trial at the Washington Annual Conference under the leadership of Bishop John Hurst Adams.
The then Rev. Byrd was assigned to his first pastoral charge, St Paul, South Bound Brook, NJ, by Bishop Philip Robert Cousin. After about six months Bishop Cousin assigned him to the pastoral charge of Grant Chapel AME Church, Trenton NJ where he and his wife, now Supervisor Melinda Contreras-Byrd, had a major impact on the church and the surrounding community for approximately eighteen years. Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram assigned Rev. Byrd to the pastoral charge of St. Matthew AME Church in Philadelphia. He and his wife served the church and community for seven years before the AME Church elected him to the office of Bishop.
As an attorney, Bishop Byrd served as an Assistant General Counsel and Vice President for Johnson & Johnson. He also served as a Senior Counsel for The New York Times and a Senior Associate at the law firm of Cohen, Shapiro, Polisher, Sheikman and Cohen. He has been a member of the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York Bar Associations.
At the General Conference in July of 2012, the AME Church elected Rev. Byrd to serve as a member of the Judicial Council where he served for nine years. He was Secretary for Council.
Bishop Byrd and Supervisor Contreras-Byrd are blessed with two daughters, Rev. Kamaria Byrd McAllister and Alexa Byrd, son in love Rev. Bryan McAllister, and granddaughter Mireya.
Last but not least, Bishop Byrd is simply a child of God who strives to lift up the love and the lessons of Jesus and to inspire others to do the same.
Episcopal Supervisor Rev. Melinda Contreras-Byrd, Psy.D.,
is a retired New Jersey state–licensed psychologist with more than 35 years of clinical practice. Her professional work has focused on addressing the psychological and spiritual needs of women, as well as men and women of color. Her areas of expertise include issues of class, gender, ethnicity, and faith, with clinical specialization in Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders.
She is a graduate of Rutgers University (NCAS), Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Her seminary thesis developed a psycho-spiritual approach to treating Major Depression in Christian women, integrating theological insight with clinical practice.
Supervisor Dr. Contreras-Byrd has served in a wide range of professional roles, including school psychologist in urban and suburban districts; clinical psychologist for juvenile offenders, homeless men, and adults experiencing substance abuse; and director of programs for bilingual preschoolers and intellectually gifted students. She has held faculty appointments in psychology, pastoral counseling, multicultural counseling, and Black Studies, and currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Doctor of Ministry program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, where she is also Director of the Presidential Scholars Program.
At Princeton University, she served for six years as Special Services Advisor to the Office of the Dean of Students, interim Director of the Third World Center (now the Carl Fields Center), and Director of the Minority Affairs Adviser Program. She has also served as a consultant psychologist and clinical supervisor for organizations supporting vulnerable and marginalized youth.
An ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Supervisor Dr. Contreras-Byrd is an internationally recognized preacher, lecturer, author, and workshop facilitator. She currently serves as Dean of the AME Ministerial Institute in the Dominican Republic District and is an elected member of the Board of the Association of Theological Schools. She now proudly serves as Episcopal Supervisor of the 17th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Central Africa.