Numerous Adventists around the world play key roles in law offices, elected government, and policy advocacy. The Center highlights and celebrates some of those examples of excellence in order to nurture a sense of community amongst Adventists in these arenas. If you know of someone who should be featured on this page, please send us the information via the Contact page of this web site.

Chaplain Barry C. Black

On June 27, 2003, Rear Admiral Barry C. Black (Ret.) was elected the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. Pastor Black will be the first military chaplain, the first African-American and the first Seventh-day Adventist pastor in the post, which has a two-year term.

Prior to coming to Capitol Hill, Chaplain Black served in the U.S. Navy for over twenty-seven years, ending his distinguished career as the Chief of Navy Chaplains. As Rear Admiral in the Navy, his personal decorations included, among many others, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal.

Chaplain Black has also received many awards outside of the military, including the 2002 Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Leadership Award and the 1995 NAACP Renowned Service Award for contributions to equal opportunity and civil rights.

After earning an undergraduate degree at Oakwood College, Chaplain Black went on to earn M.A. degrees in divinity, counseling and management, as well as a Ph.D. in psychology and a D.Min. Before joining the Navy, Black was a pastor and evangelist for eleven Adventist churches in North and South Carolina.

Chaplain Black is married to Brenda Black. They have three sons: Barry II, Brendan, and Bradford.

Representative David A. Pendleton

David Pendleton is currently in his fourth term as an elected member of the House of Representatives of the State of Hawaii. Pendleton is a graduate of both La Sierra and Loma Linda Universities, as well as the University of Southern California Law School.

In the year 2000, Pendleton was named Legislator of the Year by the Hawaii Medical Association, and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. The Representative has received multiple awards from the Filipino community in the United States for his work as a legislator and leader, and he received the key to Manila in 2001.

Pendleton has published over 150 articles, and is asked to speak all over the world. Interns come to his office from a wide variety of locations, and are often from Adventist universities and colleges. His current and past Chiefs of Staff are both graduates of Columbia Union College.

Pendleton is married to Noemi Protesta Pendleton, and they have four children: Roland, Raquelle, Danielle, and David II.

Justice James E. Graves Jr.

Judge James E. Graves Jr., religious liberty secretary for the New Heights Adventist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court on October 29, 2001. Graves, who has both a J.D. and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University, served as a Circuit Court Judge of the 7th District for ten years before being appointed by the Governor of Mississippi to the State Supreme Court.

Justice Graves has taught trial advocacy at Harvard Law School, and has served as an adjunct professor at Jackson State University, where he taught both media and civil rights law. Graves is also active in the local public school system, where he coaches a mock trial team with a long record of success.

In 2001 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services presented him with the Commissioner’s Award for outstanding leadership and service in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Among his many other recognitions and awards, Justice Graves received the first Distinguished Jurist Award from the National Bar Association in 1996, and the Judge of the Year Award from the National Conference of Black Lawyers in 1992.