Rev. Dr. R. Joaquin Willis is a triple graduate of Howard University, he holds the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics, the Master of Divinity, and the Doctor in Ministry degrees.
Dr. Willis is a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War where he served as a Chaplin during the conflict. He has served as Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Divinity. He also serves on the Board of the 79th Street Corridor Development, Inc. and is a columnist for the South Florida Times Newspaper.
In 1999, Dr. Willis was issued a certificate in Leadership by Harvard Divinity School. This was for completing their Faith-Based Community and Economic Development Summer Program. In 2011, Dr. Willis became a certified Economic Development Professional certified by The National Development Council.
Dr. Willis is the retired senior pastor of 3 United Church of Christ churches throughout the nation. He currently serves as the President/CEO of the Collective Empowerment Group of South Florida, Inc. (CEG), (formerly the Collective Banking Group).
The CEG of South Florida, Inc. is an affiliate of the National Collective Empowerment Group, in which Dr. Willis is currently serving as the National Vice President. The CEG is currently marketing four prototypes of a small, expandable, green starter homes, as well as traditional single and multi-family housing. Dr. Willis serves as the President/CEO of the Collective Developers, LLC which is a subsidiary of the CEG that is developing single and multi-family housing in a joint venture with four highly respected private-sector developers. Our new products will sharply improve affordability of homeownership so that reliance will no longer be exclusively dependent on financial subsidies. The CEG housing program will help increase the supply of attainable and affordable for-sale homes, designed to return wealth to the Black community.
Dr. Willis is the Founder and President/CEO of the Miami Youth Garden, Inc. (MyG) which is a nonprofit. He is the principal designer of The Seed to Harvest ™, leadership training program created to enhance leadership in both youth and adults. This initiative is an offering to our churches under the CEG’s umbrella. Our goal is to engage the entire faith community in leadership development, Urban Agriculture and Environmental Justice as well as supporting and lifting communities unfairly left behind.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Pastor Willis is the husband of Clarissa Willis and the proud father of five children and eight grandchildren.