Rev. Joy Carter Minor

Joy Carter Minor grew up on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, moved to Virginia in 2004 and has been a resident of Ruther Glen, VA since 2008. Her life experiences shaped and fueled her passion to be an advocate for providing opportunities for those who would otherwise not have them. She is an oceanographer and engineer with a diverse technological background, primarily in naval systems. She spent a considerable amount of time in the Middle East and Somalia surveying coastal waters in support of navy special operations. She has experience identifying technology paradigms and analyzing policy and strategy implications. She has supported the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon and she has provided engineering support to the US Navy, Coast Guard, Missile Defense Agency, Non-Lethal Weapons Program, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Joy received the Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal for her contributions following the Bosnian War. She was the Naval Oceanographic Office Federal Women’s Program Mentor of the Year, was competitively selected to attend the Royal Navy Hydrographic Long Course at HMS Drake in Plymouth, UK, and is certified by the International Hydrographic Organization as a Class A hydrographer.

Joy has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Masters in Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University and has completed all course work for a doctorate degree in National Security.

She is an associate minister at Oxford Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ruther Glen, VA. She serves on the Caroline County School System Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, she is the Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee for the Caroline Branch of the NAACP, and she is a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the American Society of Naval Engineers. Joy has previously served as President of the Caroline County Sunday School Union and she has been a Board member for the Homeland Security Foundation of America. Joy was a featured speaker at the US Naval Academy for the McMullen History Symposium and she is the author of a book, “Forward from the Sea”.

Joy has one daughter, Imani who graduated Valedictorian at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington Virginia, is a graduate of Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and is currently a Director at MongoDB, a New York-based tech company.