Rev. Dr. Gerald Folsom, son of the late Mary Nell and George Thomas Folsom, is originally from Quitman, Georgia, and recently retired from the U.S. Department of Transportation as a Division Chief, Senior Transportation Specialist in Washington, D.C.

He attended Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, GA. He holds the following academic degrees: a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Howard University in Washington, D.C., a Master of Divinity from Howard University, an M.A. in Organizational Communication from Bowie State University in Bowie, MD, and a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College in Albany, NY. He is a life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. 

Pastor Folsom served as the Co-Chairman of the Public Engagement Committee on the Transition Team for the Honorable Rushern L. Baker III, County Executive, Prince George’s County, MD. On November 7, 2012, he was appointed by the Prince George’s County Executive as a Commissioner on the County’s Human Relations Commission (County’s Civil Rights Agency). On April 12, 2016, he was re-appointed to the Human Relations Commission for another 3- year term. He serves as the Prince George’s County Faith-Based liaison appointed on November 7, 2023, by our current County Executive, Angela Alsobrooks.

Pastor Folsom served on the ministerial staff of Community of Hope AME church under the direction of Rev. Tony Lee in Hillcrest Heights, MD. He served as ministry leader of Community of Hope’s Social Justice and Public Service Ministry and Men’s Ministry leader. On Friday, April 11, 2014, Pastor Folsom was ordained as an itinerant elder in the AME Church at the Washington Annual AME Conference and, on April 2016, was appointed the 20th Pastor of Wayman Memorial AME, “The Miracle on Washington Boulevard” at the Washington Annual AME Conference by Bishop William DeVeaux. On May 19, 2018, Bishop James L. Davis appointed Rev. Folsom as Pastor of St. Stephens AME Church, “The Community Church,” in Elkridge, MD. On September 22, 2019, he was then appointed as Pastor of Hemingway Memorial AME Church in District Heights, MD. On May 27, 2023, at the conclusion of the North Carolina Annual Conference, Pastor Folsom was appointed to serve as the new pastor of Greater Mt. Nebo A.M.E. Church in Bowie, Maryland!

He is married to Joyce Folsom, and they reside in Upper Marlboro, MD.