Melinda Contreras-Byrd
Rev. Dr. Melinda Contreras-Byrd is a NJ state licensed psychologist who specializes in issues of "race", gender, ethnicity and faith. She is a graduate of the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and Princeton Theological Seminary, and she presently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd has been a professor of Psychology, Christian and Pastoral Counseling, and Black Studies. For six years, she served as the Special Services Advisor to the Office of the Dean of Students at Princeton University and has served as Chaplain for the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd is an ordained Elder and assistant pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is founder of Solidaridad, a mental-health/clergy wellness partnering initiative between pastors in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, where she is Dean of the AME Ministerial Institute. A poet and author, Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd’s most recent book is entitled Saving the Lives of Black and Latinx Pastors: A Self Care Study (Red Sea Press, 2019).
