Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer
Founding Director
The Reverend Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer is a third-generation African Methodist Episcopal preacher. He is the pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Woodbury, New Jersey, and the founder of Salvation and Social Justice, a non-partisan Black faith-rooted organization that believes liberation should precede legislation and prophetic vision should precede public policy.
Nationally, he has represented the Social Action Commission of the A.M.E. Church in several capacities including, the United States Senate regarding solitary confinement, and the House of Representatives for gun violence. Dr. Boyer also co-authored the Anti-Poverty Network’s Report, “The Uncomfortable Truth: Racism, Injustice and Poverty in New Jersey.”
Dr. Boyer is a leading faith voice in the New Jersey for racial justice issues. He works closely with the Black Legislative Caucus and is a co-convener of the United Black Agenda. He is New Jersey’s leading religious figure in the campaign to abolish the drug war, isolated confinement, and the criminalization of Black people. Rev. Boyer has been recognized as one of New Jersey’s 25 most influential African Americans by the South Jersey Journal, a Game Changer by the NAACP, a Torch Bearer by the ACLU, a Movement Maker by NJ Working Families, and a Community Servant by NJ Citizen Action. He has been recognized by the NJ Work Environment Council and received the Making Democracy Work award by the League of Women Voters. He was named #4 on the “Twenty-Five People to Watch in 2019” by NJ Advanced Media for his work around the police accountability.
He is married to Rosalee and they have three children; Shaina, Kyle, and Jayden. More than anything, Rev. Boyer is passionate about the spiritual disciplines especially prayer and meditation. He rises early every morning to commune with God and seek guidance. His favorite scripture is Psalms 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed, that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Rosalee Boyer, MHS
Co-Founder, Deputy Director
Rosalee Boyer has many years of experience in the legislative arena. She has worked closely with legislative officials and their offices to organize and plan events and public forums. She has corresponded with agencies on behalf of constituents to settle community related issues. Rosalee is considered the minister of "organization and planning" for Salvation and Social Justice. She is the First Lady at Bethel A.M.E. Church. She has a passion for education, Rosalee has developed and organized off-campus adult continuing education programs. She served over 15 years as a faculty academic advisor in higher education. Her favorite scripture is, "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I Fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner
Chief Strategy Officer
Reverend Dr. Robin Tanner is the Minister of Worship and Outreach at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, NJ. She is a founding partner in Launchpad, a learning collective powering progressive faith communities. Rev. Tanner has a M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School and a Doctorate in Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion. She organizes with Repairers of the Breach and co-convenes the NJ Prophetic Agenda.
Gantry Fox
Police Accountability Director
Gantry Fox graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in African American Studies from Rowan University; as well as a Master’s of Public Health from Drexel University. He possesses over 17 years of experience in the criminal justice social work field and has dedicated his career to those with just and unjust forensic backgrounds. He currently serves as director of several diversionary court programs in Philadelphia working in partnership with First Judicial District officials and staff.
Gantry has been a racial justice advocate since his early high school and collegiate years serving in elected positions with the NAACP and other minority centered organizations. He currently serves Phi Beta Sigma Incorporated as the Director of Social Action for the Gloucester County Alumni Chapter driving service, engagement, and elevation of local disadvantaged communities. Gantry continues to do the same in his role on the NJ Environmental Justice Advisory Council and in his affiliation with the NJ Environmental Justice Alliance.
Gantry is most invested in encouraging systemic changes in the current state of policing in an effort to liberate black and brown citizens from both implicit/explicit racial bias and alleviate physical/mental abuse. He believes anything less is to condone arbitrary use of power and control against the defenseless which helps to sustain oppressive governing. His missionary scripture is 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” Gantry is married to Melissa Fox and they have three children: Angelina, Aalliya, and Richa
Rev. Lori Person-Baynard
Theology & Public Policy Director
Rev. Lori answered the call to ministry in her early twenties and has served in almost every facet of church life. Lori was ordained in 2004, and she served as a Christian Education Teacher, trustee, Elder, intercessor and Pastor. Lori is an advocate for education, firmly believing that it is one of the essential keys to liberation. Lori served as an Affiliate Faculty Member of Eastern University’s School of Leadership and Development where she directed the US program and taught various leadership courses to students in the Master of Organizational Leadership Program. She formerly volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), where she advocated for abused and neglected children in NJ. She also served as a committee member of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives, New Conversation on Race and Ethnicity (NewCORE), which is a multi-racial, interfaith body of people striving to become one through conversations on race and ethnicity.
Currently. Rev. Lori also serves as the Director of Theology and Public Policy for Salvation and Social Justice under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Charles Boyer. Lori is also a Lead Advocate of the Advocacy Committee of Woman of Color in Ministry under the leadership of Dr, Martha J. Simmons. Rev. Lori serves as a United Nations Woman who helps solve geopolitical problems that women face both nationally and internationally. Lori was thrusted into Prison Ministry where she speaks, conducts workshops, and facilitates community meetings with returning citizens. Lori holds a BA degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree in Faith and Public Policy from Palmer Theological Seminary. Lori’s most prominent roles are that of wife to Rev. Paul Baynard and mother to Alex and Aaliyah.
Rev. Sammy Arroyo
Public Education, Director
Sammy Arroyo grew up in Puerto Rico and received a BA in Education from the University of Puerto Rico. He worked for five years as a High School Social Studies teacher in Puerto Rico.
Sammy received his MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2009 and is currently working on his Phd. dissertation in Christian thought at the Interamerican University in Puerto Rico, where he focuses on studying the first stages of the development of an anti-African slave theology in the Caribbean during the 16th and 17th century. First by studying how Spain and Portugal built an African slavery structure through their respective Crowns and with the help of the Catholic Church, and how they developed a pro-slavery theology in Europe and then translated it to the Caribbean. This happened through legislation from the Crown and church practices (and church legislation) in these centuries. Sammy will bring to the front the historical figures that opposed African slavery by analyzing their sermons, letters, books and Inquisition trials. He will highlight the movements during those centuries that opposed African slavery and the leading voices of the time.
Sammy serves as part of The United Methodist Church of GNJ Board of Church and Society and is part of the Immigration Task Force for the same denomination's conference. In the Spring of 2018 he served as co-chair of the Faith Communities Outreach Committee of the Poor People's Campaign in NJ.
Sammy Arroyo believes his faith moves him to advocate for those who are oppressed in our society. He has been actively speaking at rallies and conferences in the state of New Jersey, advocating for immigrant rights and opposing family separations, not just at the border but for the ones also happening all over the nation.
One of Sammy's goals is to help faith leaders in formulating a social moral argument for the poor and oppressed in their communities.
He enjoys good coffee, good friendships, and reading. He is married to the Reverend Dr. Joy Arroyo, Phd, and is blessed with a five-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl.
Rev. Amos Caley
Prison Oversight Campaign Director
Amos is the Associate Pastor of Worship and Faith Engagement at the Reformed Church of Highland Park. He is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and the Rutgers School of Social Work. Amos is committed to the work of building coalitions and programs to address social and racial injustice, particularly in the criminal justice system, and he serves as the lead organizer of the New Jersey Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (NJ-CAIC). He has also worked closely with NeighborCorps Reentry Services, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. Amos and his spouse Sarah are the proud parents of Leo, Elory, and Ira.