Rev. Elizabeth Styron Howze

Director, Teaching, Training, and Learning

Rev. Elizabeth Styron Howze directs the Ormond Center’s Academy of Teaching, Training, and Learning, which is tasked with bridging the gap between theological education, congregational social innovation, and community transformation. The Ormond Academy is also tasked with disseminating teaching, training, and learning materials for clergy, congregations, and communities. Elizabeth led the development and 2022 launch of the Community Craft Collaborative curriculum, which nurtures faith-inspired imagination alongside faith-informed action through interactive, co-learning and co-creation among the academy, the church, and the communities that they share. This curriculum has experienced success across multiple sites in North Carolina and Virgina. This unique faith-based, community-academic partnership course development process was published for global consumption in a co-authored research article “Faith-based community-academic partnerships: An asset-based community development strategy for social change” that appears in Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, Vol. 16, No. 2, December 2023.

Elizabeth is an Ordained deacon in the AME Zion church. Before joining the Ormond team, she served as the Sr. Program Manager for Faith and Justice Initiatives at Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) where she led the programmatic efforts of YES! to strengthen and sustain collaborative partnerships with clergy, congregations, and communities through curriculum development and facilitation. Elizabeth has over 10 years’ experience in developing community-level teaching, training, and learning programs and a proven track record of success in program management, project implementation, and community outreach within diverse settings.