Willard Walden Christopher Ashley, Sr. is the Founder and CEO of Dr. Willard Ashley, Sr., LLC, Montclair, New Jersey. Under this umbrella, Ashley conducts webinars, counseling, consultation, coaching and supervision. Ashley is the founder and senior pastor of the Abundant Joy Community Church, Jersey City, New Jersey. Reverend Ashley has served as a pastor for 38 years at four congregations. He is a Board Member, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School; Board Member/faculty of the New Jersey Institute for the Training of Psychoanalysis; Vice Chair, Bergen County Human Relations Commission; New Jersey State Certified, and a Nationally Certified Psychoanalyst. Ashley has published numerous books and chapters. His latest book is, Rules for 21st Century Radicals, Judson Press, 2021.
July 2012 Ashley was granted tenure and appointed by President Gregg Mast as the first African American Dean of the Seminary in the 200 plus-year history of New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NBTS). July 1, 2020, Ashley retired from NBTS as a Professor of Theology. Memberships include the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, American Association of Marriage Family Therapists, American Group Psychotherapy Association, and Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society.