A.R. Bernard, Sr. November of 1979, A.R. Bernard, Sr. left a 10 - year career with a major New York banking institution to go into full time ministry. What started as a small storefront church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has blossomed into a 35,000+ member church that sits on an11 and a half acre campus in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, New York. He is now founder and CEO of the Christian Cultural Center. A. R. Bernard is also the President of the Council of Churches of the City of New York representing 1.5 million Protestants, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians. Bernard sits on the NYC Economic Development Corporation Board; NYC School Chancellor’s Advisory Cabinet and served on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2001 Transition Team and Mayor Bill DiBlasio’s 2014 Transition Team. Recognized as a New Influential – 25 Leaders Reshaping New York (Crain’s New York Business, September 2008); Most Influential NY Clergyman (NY Daily News, February 2008); Most Influential African American New Yorker (NY Post, February 2008); New York’s Most Influential (NY Magazine, 2006); Bernard was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Consulate General of Israel in NY in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council and, Jewish National Fund. He has been personally cited in the Congressional Records. Founder of the Cultural Arts Academy Charter School established in February 2010. A comprehensive educational alternative designed to meet the needs of children for the 21st century. In1993, Bernard also founded Brooklyn Preparatory School, a premiere early childhood education institution. He continues to revitalize communities; partnering with such organizations as Common Ground to build and develop affordable housing in the East New York/Canarsie section of Brooklyn and led a transformational team to purchase one of the nation’s largest Mitchell Lama Programs (Starrett City, Brooklyn, NY). In addition to guiding Christian Cultural Center’s many outreach programs (Food Pantry, Prison Ministry, Domestic Violence - Family Life Center), Bernard established a rapidly growing male mentoring program with more than 1000 male mentors. Bernard has a Master of Urban Studies and a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wagner College, May, 2010, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary, May 2009. Where he teaches periodically as an Adjunct Professor. Married 42 years to his wife, Karen. January 2012