Rev. Stacey L. Smith
Presiding Elder

Rev. Stacey L. Smith is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was raised with her six siblings of which she is the youngest. She holds a B.A. degree in Organizational Leadership and Development from Bethel University, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and earned a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary, in New Brighton, Minnesota. Rev. Smith served as a successful business leader in Corporate America for 25 years leading diverse groups in Health, Human Resources, and Business Operations. She is married to Jeffery L. Smith, for which they have shared thirty-two wonderful years of marriage. They are the proud parents of two children, a son Ian and a daughter Ainsley.

Rev. Smith previously pastored St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church in Duluth, Minnesota for 4 years, and in November of 2013, she was appointed as the 37th pastor of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, in St. Paul, MN, where she is currently serving. Rev. Smith has traveled internationally on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and is known as a National and International speaker.

On September 30, 2017, at the 135 Session of the Chicago Annual Conference, Bishop John Franklin White, appointed Rev. Smith to become the Presiding Elder of the St. Paul Minneapolis District of the Chicago Annual Conference. Rev. Smith is the first female to be appointed as Presiding Elder in the Chicago Conference. Rev. Smith also sits on the Board of Trustees for United Theological Seminary and the Minnesota Counsel of Churches. Rev. Smith is a woman of prayer, and vision, and a leader committed to following the will and teachings of Jesus Christ.