Reverend Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr
Executive Director
The Reverend Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) United States and Canada. He serves as executive director of the Columbus-based Ohio Council of Churches. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Sullivan is an ecumenist, preacher, justice advocate, journalist, and death penalty abolitionist. In recognition of his work to stop executions, Dr. Sullivan was given the 2022 Death Penalty Abolition Award by Restorative Justice International, the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Social Justice Award by Governor Mike DeWine, and the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission, the 2019 Humanitarian Award from the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center of Findlay, Ohio, and the 2019 Victims Services Award from Journey of Hope From Violence to Healing. In 2018 Dr. Sullivan received the African American Liberation Award from the National Convocation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio University; a Master of Divinity degree from Lexington Theological Seminary; a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary (Dayton); and honorary doctorates from Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia and Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio.
Dr. Sullivan is the Governing Board chairperson of Journey of Hope From Violence to Healing and co-president of the Disciples Justice Action Network. He is an Advisory Board member of Catholic Mobilizing Network; Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; Death Penalty Action; Restorative Justice International; and the United States Global Leadership Council. Dr. Sullivan is the immediate past Board chair of Ohioans to Stop Executions and a former Steering Committee member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He holds life memberships in the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and is a member of the Faith and Order Commission and Governing Board of the National Council of Churches. Dr. Sullivan holds additional memberships in the Mount Zion Baptist Church Preservation Society of Athens, Ohio; the National Association of Black Journalists; the Society of Professional Journalists; the Academy of Homiletics; the Lions Club of Canal Winchester, Ohio; and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
Rev. Dr. Amariah H. McIntosh
The Ohio Council of Churches is pleased to announce that the Rev. Dr. Amariah H. McIntosh of Toledo, Ohio has recently accepted the call to serve as the Council’s Director of Public Policy in a half-time capacity. Rev. Dr. McIntosh, an ordained elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, succeeds the Rev. Brandi N. Slaughter who recently began service as a member of the faculty of the University of Maryland at College Park.
Rev. Dr. McIntosh has served as pastor of congregations in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio where she is the current pastor of Phillips Temple CME Church in Toledo. A longtime ecumenist and justice advocate, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in History and Afro-American Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; a Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Louisville, KY; and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. Her doctoral project was titled, “What Does the Lord Require of You? African American Leaders of BUILD (Building A United Interfaith Lexington through Direct Action) Reflect on Micah 6:8.”
Director of Public Policy
In addition, Rev. Dr. McIntosh earned a Certificate in Theology and Racialized Policing from the Certificate in Theology and Racialized Policing from the Howard Divinity School, Washington, DC, and is set to complete a Certificate in Trauma and Spiritual Care from the University of the Redlands, San Francisco, CA.
Rev. Dr. McIntosh is a current member of Toledo-based ecumenical expressions such as the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance, Methodist Ministers Affiliation, United Pastors for Social Empowerment. Her prior ecumenical leadership posts were with the Kentucky Council of Churches where she was Chairperson of its Justice and Advocacy Committee and At-Large member of the Council’s Executive Board.
Additionally, Rev. Dr. McIntosh has served with groups such as Evansville’s Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment (CAJE) where she chaired a research committee on re-entry and recidivism, Lexington, KY’s Building a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct Action (BUILD), and the Alliance for Congregational Transformation in our Neighborhoods of Youngstown.
Other areas of involvement for Rev. Dr. McIntosh include service on the Alumni Board, President’s Roundtable, and the Black Church Studies Advisory Committee of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary; and Co-Director of Nehemiah Project, Director of Social Concerns, and Former Statistician of the Ohio Central Indiana Annual Conference of the CME Church. She has engaged in legislative advocacy with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Ecumenical Advocacy Days, Kentucky Council of Churches, CAJE, and the Ohio Council of Churches.
Rev. Dr. McIntosh was the recipient of the inaugural Linsey/Hoyt Ecumenicity Award from the CME Church and is a member of the NAACP and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Deanna is a resident of Columbus, Ohio. She earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies at Columbus State College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetorical Communications at The Ohio State University and a Master of Legal Studies from Northcentral University. Deanna completed a certificate in Ministry Studies at Ever Increasing Life Ministries and a diploma of completion in Ministry Education at Ever Increasing Word Ministries. Deanna is a Licensed Minister through Good Life Church of Columbus, Ohio.
Deanna has worked in corporate and public sectors. For ten years she was an entrepreneur of an early childhood learning center. Her beloved occupation has been working for non-profit organizations.