Carlton David Johnson is a native of Atlanta GA.

He received his undergraduate degree from Emory University in English with a concentration in literature from the African diaspora. Following a 25-year career in Project, Operation and Client Services Management, Carlton returned to the academy to receive the Master of Divinity at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and, more recently, the Master of Theology (Homiletics) from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. His area of research is the impact of African American preaching on grief and mourning.

Throughout his life, he has maintained an intimate concern for the disenfranchised, especially young African-American males. He has worked in the outreach ministries of the church and given himself to mentorship with such organizations as the United States National Guard Youth Challenge Academy and his beloved Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Carlton serves as the Associate Director of Theology, Formation and Evangelism for the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). Carlton also serves as a Chaplain for both Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Grady Health Systems. At Grady, he developed a specialty in Emergency and Trauma Initiated Palliative Pastoral Care. He previously served as Chief Operations Officer for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary.

Carlton is an associate minister at the First Afrikan Presbyterian Church in Lithonia, GA. There he works with the Ujima Men’s Fellowship, Kijana Boys Rites of Passage, Fawohodie Ministry to the Incarcerated and their families and serves in Music Ministry. He is a board member of the First Afrikan Presbyterian Church Community Development Corporation, the Presbyterian Pastoral Care Network and NEXT CHURCH (Strategic Planning Team). He is a regular contributor to the Presbyterian Outlook monthly magazine.

Carlton and his wife Cara split their time between Atlanta, GA and Louisville, KY