Dr. Tali Hairston discusses diversity in the Free Methodist Church. Dr. Hairston has been working with the Board of Bishops, the Diversity Task Force of FMCUSA, and the Seattle Presbytery on community organization, advocacy, and development. For 17 years Tali was the founding director of the John M. Perkins Center for Reconciliation, Leadership Training, and Community Development at Seattle Pacific University emphasizing research and development of reconciliation, equity, and diversity. The center also provides service-learning and experiential education opportunities in justice, poverty, ethnicity, and cultural literacy for undergraduate students.
Called to engage the work of reconciliation and community development, the work has taken Tali all over the world, working with ministries and leaders from Cambodia to South Africa. Formed by these global experiences and inspired by his own family history as one of the largest enslaved families in American history, Tali is known for his gift to encourage and equip youth and young adults of all backgrounds to pursue God’s call and purpose to be and become.
