Rev. John Sylvia & First Lady Susan Sylvia

Reverend John Sylvia is from Boston, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and a Master’s degree in economics from Indiana University. Rev. Sylvia has completed his Master’s in Divinity degree from Payne Theological Seminary in 2021. John is the pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, West Virginia. He has served in this capacity for 18 years. He is secularly employed by the West Virginia Legislature as the director of the Performance Evaluation and Research Division which conducts legislative research and performance auditing for the State. John has been employed by the Legislature for the past 30 years, and he also worked for the Indiana Legislature for 8 years. John is involved in ministry at St. Paul and the A.M.E. denomination. He also serves as the 2nd Vice-President and youth coordinator for the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance, and he serves on the West Virginia Council of Church’s prison ministry and he is the chairperson for the Kanawha Community Reentry Council.