Dr. Carolyn D. Showell is an accomplished scholar-practitioner, theologian, and higher-education leader whose work integrates pastoral studies, counseling psychology, clergy formation, and the emerging field of Neurotheology. She currently serves as Dean of the Joint College of African American Pentecostal Bishops, where she provides national leadership in episcopal training, clergy development, and curriculum standardization across African American Pentecostal denominations.

A member of a historic ecclesial lineage, Dr. Showell is the great-niece of Bishop Joseph M. Turpin, one of the founding bishops of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). She is the daughter of the late Bishop Winfield A. Showell and First Lady Genevieve Francis Showell, and one of ten children raised in a family deeply rooted in spiritual formation, service, and academic excellence. Her father, Bishop Winfield A. Showell, served as one of the four founding bishops of the Bible Way Churches Worldwide, shaping her lifelong commitment to scholarship and ecclesial leadership.

Dr. Showell collaborates with leading neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg on clergy and academic curriculum in Neurotheology. Their co-developed work culminates in the forthcoming volume, This Is That: The Pentecostal Introduction to NeuroTheology and A Practical Approach to Faith (March 2026). She is also the author of Discovering Wisdom in Chaos: A Construct for a New Reality and founder of The Institute of Lifelong Learning (TILL).

Her academic preparation includes a B.A. from Goucher College, an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (NY) in Psychology and Theology, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the Carolina University of Theology. She completed executive training in nonprofit management at Columbia University School of Business, earned certification in Faith-Based Economic Development from the Harvard Summer Leadership Institute, and is completing a second doctorate in Judaic and Rabbinic Studies at Baltimore Hebrew University/Towson University. She is also a licensed therapist and certified pastoral counselor.

Dr. Showell’s professional background includes roles with AT&T as a consultant in Racism and Cultural Diversity, the Baltimore City Public Schools as a psychometrist, and Johns Hopkins University School of Business and Administration as a program developer. She was named a national finalist for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Builders Program, selected from over 13,000 applicants, and has served on the Harvard Divinity School Black Alumni/ae Network Steering Committee.

A visionary organizational leader, she is the founder of Transformed, Inc., God First Ministries, Inc., and the Next Generation Pastors’ Symposium, and previously served as President of The Sacred College, the leadership-development arm of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. In 2014, she was consecrated as a bishop in the Global United Fellowship, later becoming one of its Vice Presiding Bishops, overseeing Christian Education and Operational Programmatic Structuring.

Her academic and ministerial contributions include national conference presentations, among them multiple invitations to the Hampton Ministers’ Conference—and extensive work in leadership development, spiritual formation, organizational systems, and human flourishing. She is widely regarded for her ability to integrate theological depth, psychological insight, and practical leadership systems for faith communities and academic environments.

Dr. Showell’s life and leadership are anchored by her guiding philosophy: “Stay in awe of God… He is forever amazing.”