Curtiss Paul DeYoung

Curtiss Paul DeYoung is a social justice academic, author, and activist. He served as the Co-CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches--an ecumenical council of 27-member denominational communions from historic Black, Native Dakota mainline Protestant, Pentecostal, Peace, and Greek Orthodox churches--with programs in racial justice, refugee services, and interfaith relations. DeYoung previously served as the executive director of the historic faith-based racial and economic justice organization Community Renewal Society in Chicago, IL with its unique programmatic combination of church-based community organizing, policy advocacy, and investigative journalism.

DeYoung served Bethel University in St. Paul, MN as the inaugural professor of reconciliation studies; co-chair of the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Reconciliation Studies; and director of the South Africa Term. He has been an adjunct professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL; United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in St. Paul; Augsburg University in Minneapolis; and University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

DeYoung served on staff at congregations in Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, DC. He is an ordained minister in the Church of God (Anderson, IN). He consults and speaks nationally and internationally with extensive relationships among activists and peacemakers across the United States, in South Africa, and in the Holy Land. He has been a member of several boards, including as an advisor for the Center for Reparatory Justice, Transformation, and Remediation at McCormick Theological Seminary and the Martin Luther King Jr. Living Memorial Project Planning Committee (50th anniversary of Chicago Freedom Movement in 2016) as well as a board member at Greater Twin Cities United Way and Sabathani Community Center near George Floyd Square in Minneapolis.

DeYoung has a doctor of education in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas, in St Paul, MN; a master of divinity from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC, and a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Anderson University, in Anderson, IN.

He is an author and editor of thirteen books on racial justice, reconciliation, social justice activism, and cultural competency, including serving on the editorial team for The Peoples' Bible: New Revised Standard Version, With the Apocrypha. DeYoung has been married to Karen since 1984. They have three adult children.